March's Spring Wind

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.
-Lewis Grizzard
There comes a week in the first quarter of the year when the spring wind blows in and everything suddenly feels different…loud. I think of it as the sounds of the greatest waking up of the year. It’s not just the tease of a warm winter day…it’s time to rise for the year…to photosynthesize. I swear I’m turning green too. Just this past few days I’ve wanted to ready the outdoor benches for spring transplants, open all the doors on the barn and let that spring wind freshen up our work spaces.
I realize that Rich, the kids and I are fortunate to work in tandem with the seasons. We wait for the seasons to cue us, calling us to work in different capacities, the changes are visceral! Spring feels like a triumphant start to the year’s journey…almost like the REAL new year’s celebration. Personally, it always seems to really ignite something within. My body seems to sense it’s coming and my brain tells me to condition…picking up our walks and hikes, slowly increasing our physical work outside by organizing the barn, cleaning up after winter. And now the baby bok choy, broccoli rabe and lettuce transplants are calling out to ready their space in the ground. That’s what today, the first day of March is going to be made of: warm hoop house time preparing the soil for our first ever spring planting in the new hoop. I welcome the gift it is to have this new microclimate which helps us cheat the tail end of winter, stepping on Father Time’s toes just a bit.
March!!! It goes without saying that I am so glad you’re here. Jack will revel in his first puddle runs, the bravest of the migratory birds will make their way back to us and the slumbering fields and pasture will be coaxed into wakefulness.
This March:
-We continue our weekly online ordering and we may see the first harvest from the hoop house…greens, bok choy, broccoli rabe, Tokyo bekana greens, head lettuce. Keep an eye on the weekly menu as we start to harvest more produce.
-We have weekly pick up for online ordering in Oakwood on Saturdays but will have our monthly pick up at This Old Couch on March 14th.
-We are nearly full on csa sign ups, but a few spots remain!
-On the farm, we are going to be getting all of our ducks in a row for the season to really take off. Plant sale transplants will be seeded, beds will be prepped if the field dries out this month…the pot will come to a simmer this month.