With Love

There's dirt under our fingernails from the last-minute carrot dig that Rich and I did to fill tonight's orders. We thought we had dug enough, but had underestimated how many people ordered from us this holiday week. With just thirty extra minutes on the clock before I had to leave, Rich sped a wheelbarrow out to the carrot bed. Thanks to yesterday's rain, we were able to pluck the carrots right out of the soil. After a supersoaker spray on the washtable, they were tucked into bags packed with our rolls, beets, watermelon radishes, etc. , loaded into the sleigh, and off the reindeer flew me to Oakwood :).

And despite all of the holiday prep and hosting, wrapping and running around they were likely in the midst of, a bunch of sweet folks met me there to pick up orders from us. So a little bit of Foxhole will be welcomed into the sanctity of their holiday experience. Boy, is it an honor to be included in that. And so the extra step was taken to brown the butter and chill it before grating it for the pie dough. And the rolls were gingerly packed on top of root vegetables so that they are maximally fluffy for Christmas dinner. The microgreens were clipped when young and crisp and cute. And the carrots were dug and washed with love, with no order left unfilled, just in time for pick up.

It's a pleasure to grow food. When we started farming, working the land was the most alluring part for both of us. It's what we pored over, what we read about, what we talked about, and what we tried to understand enough to build a life out of it. But on my drive home from tonight's pick up and on all the drives back from farmers market, I can feel the meaningful part of what we do is providing something for people's tables...people who we know after years of seeing them at our market booth, people who we have developed relationships with, people who I've grown to care for.

And what could feel more fulfilling than feeding the people you care for?

Happy holidays to you :). I hope yours are full of down time spent with your people, eating good food, playing games, letting your hair down, being cozy, reminiscing and story-telling, and letting your troubles slip out of sight.