Oct 12

Today, we packed up the last CSA boxes for the summer. Potatoes, onions, 2 kinds of squash, garlic, purple carrots, collard greens and perpetual spinach. Much smaller boxes than the peak of the season, but still 9 different items.

This afternoon I started separating the garlic bulbs into cloves for planting. The area of the garden they will go in is all tilled up and some "nice" fresh compost has been laid down. After planting the individual bulbs, we'll cover them with a thick layer of straw to help protect them over the winter.

Late last week we finished clearing out the hoop house, tilled it and planted winter spinach. I was noticing today that the first seeding is starting to germinate! When I first came to the farm, last February for a little preview of the farm before I officially became an intern, it was almost 60º in the hoop house, and the spinach was growing like crazy. Yet another example of the "circle of life".

I was home last weekend (late Sat night through Mon evening) and had a very hard time leaving to come back here, even though I knew there was only one week left.

But, now that I am here, I already feel like this last week is slipping away from me. I'm trying to savor my time, and it feels like it's flying by!

Tuesday is over, tomorrow she's going to be showing me some of her systems for bookkeeping and record keeping (I wanted to learn about those kinds of things too), and we'll be prepping more garlic for planting. Tomorrow night, I've got dinner plans with A&K.

Then, it's Thursday already. Hopefully, the garlic will be ready for planting then, and we're going to do pizza prep. Thursday night is potentially a reward night for Ashlan's good behavior at school (she was having some trouble with that!) and he chose to go to a roller skating rink! I want to go, because the boys will be with their dad this weekend, so it will be my last chance to see them.

Friday we have plans to go to an auction held by some of the local Amish. They use this as a chance to get rid of any leftover produce they have before winter. (Last year, she got 5 lb bags of potatoes for $1!) We also may bring the older group of chickens to them. They are several years old and only producing a few eggs per day (when I arrived in April, they were laying 2 dozen + per day) and it's not very cost-effective to have them processed... there's not enough meat to them. The Amish will butcher the chickens themselves, so there is no additional cost.

Friday night is my "last supper". Each intern gets to choose the meal for their last night here. I chose stuffed manicotti, salad and garlic bread. That brings us to Saturday pizza, and then I'm done. Wow. How did that happen?!