I see people bickering on social media about the use of” Happy Holidays” as the greeting of choice for this particular season, that we should be embracing the traditional Merry Christmas as the only appropriate greeting. But I offer Happy Holidays because I am a Christian and I am a bit of an old fuddy duddy traditionalist. If Happy Holidays- (the song)- was good enough for good old Andy Williams, then it stilll works for me. Besides, its a bit more inclusionary for the rest of the good folks, and I think that’s a nice thing this time of year.
Two days ago the ground was bare, it was 55 degrees and we were outside in our shirtsleeves. Tonight at dinnertime it is 21 degrees, and I have spent most of the day trying to figure out what to do with the 10 inches of snow we got yesterday, while also breaking a few plow parts in the process. The weather roller coaster continues at Edgewater Farm, and I think we may be getting used to it, if not actually expecting it. The warmth of the late fall through most of November allowed us to wash and pack root crops for wholesale, as well as to wrap up our fall CSA. We were also able to pick away at extra projects we hope to complete prior to the reappearance of bare ground in the spring. Most of the equipment has been serviced and put away, but there still remains substantial greenhouse maintenance to be done.
Recently we have been hamstrung by Covid; our family members have been coping with positive tests on themselves or another relatives. Ray himself tested positive and isolated himself in our onsite one room cabin. Fortunately, he’d been vaccinated and had only mild cold symptoms and some fatigue. He spent his quarantine generating 2022 seed orders, and attending a virtual vegetable conference. He also said something vague about reacquainting himself with the Rambo trilogy, all while friends and family sustained him with great quantities of food. He is home with his family Billie, Hobbes and Jenny today, But there have been other positive tests here and there among friends and acquaintances and we’re thankful that none of them created serious illness. I have done a bit of elder care myself, as Anne had a new knee put in 2 weeks ago. She put up with pain and stiffness with it as long as humanly possible, but the old one was just plain worn out. But it’s hard to keep a good woman down; she is now recovered enough to relieve me of laundry detail, she did pay roll today, and is well enough to criticize my bed- making skills. She is healing……..
Big news for Edgewater: we just recently closed on a piece of property in Windsor that has 28 acres of tillable land. It was a property that the Upper Valley Land Trust assisted us in acquiring, and it was a complicated transaction to put together, but last Wednesday I signed on it. The previous owner had been good enough to let us break ground and start cover cropping in late summer, so it is remotely possible that we could be cropping it as early as this coming spring. This will give us more wiggle room in our crop rotation. Our vegetable enterprise has grown significantly the last couple of years, partially because of the pandemic, but also due to shipping and handling issues that affect the West Coast growers. It is a welcome addition to our farm.
The upcoming year will be challenging for Edgewater as much as for individual households in the Upper Valley. Covid still hangs around us like an unwanted house guest, and there are shortages of goods due to shipping and production problems. There is acrimony in our society resulting from differing beliefs, distrust, politics, and unwarranted feelings of both entitlement and fear. It’s a sad thing for all of us to be experiencing at a time of the year that we usually feel so joyful and grateful. My hope for us all is that we can start to realize that we all have a pretty good deal here in spite of ourselves and situations; we should never take our ample food to eat or freedom to come and go for granted. We can focus on the fact that we have good friends and family, and not that we missed our opportunity to buy the trophy 2nd home. That we are lucky to have “enough,” and that real suffering is not our reality. On a personal level Anne and I can speak for the troops - be they from Kingston or Keene. The people whom come every day, all year long, to “get it done” for Edgewater Farm. We recognize that we do what we do on this farm because of your support and encouragement. And for that, we are very, very grateful.
Happy Holidays from all of us.