The winter has felt long to nearly everyone on the island… I
have heard (and given) lots of grumbling and muttering about the cold and the
snow and the delayed warm weather. Last years unusually early spring seems to
have spoiled most of us. Now, the more normal start to the growing season with
its cold nights and windy mornings seems unreasonably long. But warm weather is
coming! It really is.... right?
All winter we have been making moves at our new farm on
Chappaquiddick with a wide range of projects in preparation of the season.
We installed a new greenhouse, which provided some
much-needed summer therapy in February and March. The greenhouse is nearly full
with baby plants at this point. I have found myself telling the plants to slow
down just a bit since we do not yet have good warm soil to plant them out in.
Our chickens grew up
and now strut confidently around their yard and provide us with beautiful brown
eggs that we have just started selling.
Their shells are nice and tough and their yolks creamy and bright
yellow. I am constantly in awe of how beautiful the ladies (and one gent too)
are… their feathers are vibrant and shimmer in the sunlight. The Barred Rocks
are my favorite, their black feathers turning to green in different light.
We feel fortunate to have completely sold out of our CSA
shares this spring. We have fifty members on-board who will receive vegetables
from us on a weekly basis throughout the summer. We have also decided to run a
farm stand on the weekends, selling Chilmark Coffee beans, Mermaid Farm yogurt
and feta, and a few baked goods by our friend Jean Cleary, in addition to our
own produce. We hope to open the stand for the season Memorial Day weekend. Maybe
you will come by for a visit?