The sun’s warm light feels like a gentle invitation to reemerge and let the world outside embrace and hold us. The cold, gray days of a long winter are gone, and the crisp blue skies and greens of spring have arrived. The snow still melts from on high, and fills the creeks and rivers with water that has been desired and desperately needed for so long, feeding the parched ground and allowing for green to blanket the hillsides and meadows and pasture lands. The glory of spring feels incredibly potent this year.
Alongside this exquisite feeling of relief and gratitude for the long awaited and late abundance, comes a sense of urgency. One can see it in the creatures of spring. The birds, bees, and deer are anxiously scrambling to feed the ones that rely on them, as the worms, and flowers, and grasses they usually depend on many weeks before now, are only starting to emerge. There is much to catch up on…
And you can see and feel this urgency in the farmer as well. Spring is always a small tornado of chaos, with pressures seen and unseen. The need to prepare the land and plant the seed in time is a stretch in “normal” years. This year feels particularly swirling. With an already short window in our mountain growing season, a several week delay feels almost oppressive. There is much to catch up on…
But this is when I have to sit back and remind myself, ultimately, of the humility and surrender that a farmer needs each growing season. This mother of ours, nature, is always in control. She is our guide, our teacher, our nurturer. And she will always hold us with care, but also remind us that we have to trust in her and allow her to run the course she desires. And we are beholden to follow her. We learn to let go and honor the season, have faith in her plan, and hold dear the late abundance, because next year she may take it away. So, let’s be grateful and reverent in the arrival of spring, and trust in our ability and our role to let her shine and make the best of what she has on offer for us this year.
And with that, I’d love to invite you all into the swirling beauty of Gracie’s Farm this season…
Even with being four or five weeks behind where we have been for the past few seasons, the farm is full! Spring is known for greens out here, and we are swimming in them. Peppery arugula, tender kale, crisp lettuces are all ready for harvest. Our roots are nestled happily in the still cool moist soil, and are sweet and crunchy. It is a special and sweet time to soak in the seasonality of fresh food. While many of our crops are still yet to be planted, these spring offerings remind us of the abundance and bounty to come.
With the temptation of fresh of greens on your mind, we’d like to invite you all to our first Farm Stand of the season, tomorrow, Friday June 9th from 4 to 6 pm. This farm stand will feature all of our greens and some baby root vegetables. And perhaps most exciting, we will be hosting a plant sale as well. We will have tomatoes and other plants available for you all to take home and nourish in your own home gardens. These tomatoes and other warm season crops have been babied in our nursery, and are ready to go home with you and provide you with a bounty of sweet and colorful produce this summer.
Another exciting set of events to look forward to is our Farm Dinner Series. These dinners are pure gold, and always the highlight of our season. They are the heart of the farm, and our way of connecting our love of the land with the culinary magic of our chefs. Our first dinner has come and gone, and was such a success, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the support, and filled with excitement for the rest to come. Chef Jason Franey has taken the lead at Blue Sky, and has come in with a bang. His appreciation and reverence for the farm is showcased in these unique events. Our next dinner is this coming Tuesday, June 13th, and will feature the baby roots and greens from the early spring harvests. The menu will come straight from the heart of the farm and feature elegant wines and curated cocktails that highlight the creativity of Chef Jason and his team. The rest of our dinners can be found at our calendar page on our website, but a sneak peek of the reel to come are dinners featuring other seasonal ingredients like garlic and tomatoes. We will bring in guest chefs from around the country to join us on the farm and make their mark on Gracie’s Farm. It is a dinner season to be remembered, and we would love to see you all and enjoy an extraordinary meal together.
So, with that, I will leave you this time. There will be more updates to come, and many more exciting announcements to reveal. Because for now, I have to get these fingers back to the soil, my skin in the sun, and my knees on the ground to honor the beginning of this bountiful season.
Until next time,
Lynsey
