Greetings from New Hampshire, where it’s been a mild winter so far, but with enough snow to protect the fruit crops and give Abbey plenty of places to roll, shake, and make snow angels.

It’s in the mid 20’s now and she’s outside soaking in the sunlight under the cherry tree where the bird feeders hang, and she can protect the seeds from marauding squirrels. The birds are all around her singing merrily. I wonder if she loves hearing their songs as much as we do.

‘Tis the season of gratitude for the bounty of the harvest, and we are truly grateful for every fruit, every flower, all the vegetables and herbs, for the loving help of Elisha, Lara, and Beth, and for YOU!

When I last wrote, we were embarking on spring-sowing and the very first shoots were up. The seedlings grew and flourished, were planted out in perfect timing, and ample rains gave us some of the most beautiful gardens we’ve ever had.

“March is the month for waiting” said an old farmer friend of mine. It’s good advice. Even though I’m chomping at the bit to work in the greenhouse, I know it’s too early to start all but perennial herbs and flowers that take a long time to germinate (or onions, peas, and cabbage family crops that we no longer grow.) The vernal equinox is coming soon, and today in New Hampshire we have reached equal hours of day and night.

A spear of golden sunlight pierces the gray November sky as the winter solstice approaches, just one month away. The 2022 season presented challenges - mostly centered around water, with broken pumps, a dry well, and a drought that lasted 2 months.

In spite of it though, we grew some beautiful fruit and vegetables, and dazzling flowers, and have so much to be grateful for.

Old Man Winter is blowing the last of his cold air over New England and snow is falling again, but the days are noticeably longer and the red-winged blackbirds and robins have returned to seek out nesting sites. The finches’ plumage is changing from olive drab to brilliant gold. In the mornings birdsong awakens me, putting a smile on my face with happy anticipation of the day ahead. We gain 90 minutes of daylight in March, warming the earth and our hearts.

Yuletide Greetings to One and All!

The Deer Mother (Beaivi) takes to the skies on the longest, darkest night of the year to capture the sun in her antlers and bring it back to warm the earth.

In this season where we celebrate the triumph of light over darkness, our hearts are warmed by all the love shown to us after my last letter about Ralph’s battle with Lyme disease.

It’s sad for me to announce that we are suspending mail order until 2022.

Ralph, our rock-solid, strong-as-an oak, founder, is very sick with Lyme disease. He’s been bed-ridden for days with temperatures higher than 102, but late yesterday afternoon we finally got some antibiotics and his temperature is down to about 100.

We know from experience that the only way to beat this is with complete rest.

December is typically a frenzied month for us, with dozens of holiday packages mailed out every day, and cooking still going on in the kitchens. Even with Elisha’s and Lara’s help, it’s way more than I can manage.

It’s a sunny day, but chilly - bright for November, which is a hard month to love, especially with the return to standard time, which beings the afternoons to a smashing halt way too early.

Most of the trees have shed their leaves, leaving the oaks to stand alone in the landscape - their spreading crowns the only color but for the evergreens. The pears in the orchard, too, keep their leaves for a while and provide some color, and the witch hazels in the woods give me a grin when I see their blooms - blossoming in autumn in opposition to all the other trees and shrubs.

Happy Last Lovely Days of Summer!

The air is crisp and the light golden as summer slips away and autumn emerges. The hummingbirds have left, geese are flying overhead, and crows have returned. Their caws replace the songbirds’ morning melodies, and the comical clucks of wild turkeys bring us smiles throughout the day.

Happy High Summer, dear ones!!!

It’s been a wild ride since my last post in - YIKES - April! All those beautiful seedlings matured into plants that we transplanted in late May and they’re thriving.

Drought in June presented a huge challenge to our sandy soil and we rotated watering between 3 wells and managed to keep everything alive - but it was so bad you could feel the parched earth crack and gasp between waterings. Our main focus was keeping the transplants alive, and hydrating the strawberries who rewarded us with a stellar crop. Red currants also gave us their best yields ever - thanks to Ralph’s careful rotational watering.