Weekly Weeder

Olin-Fox Farms Volume No. 9 Issue No. 26 October 3, 2007

www.olinfoxfarms.com Fall Season Week 4

STANDARD REMINDER

Please be sure to wash your weekly share thoroughly before serving. To preserve freshness, it is NOT ‘table ready’ (i.e., pre-washed). We deliver your Olin-Fox Farms’ produce right from the fields to ensure highest quality.

Please note, next week October 10-13 is Week 5 of the Fall Program.

October 17-20 is an OFF Week, there will be no deliveries/pickups.

The Fall Program will resume October 24-27.

This Week's News From The Farms

The 2008 CSA brochure is currently available for the Northern Neck. We are working on pricing for Stafford & Alexandria. 2008 is Olin-Fox Farms' 10^th Anniversary of operating a CSA.

The OFF First Annual Garlic Roast on Saturday October 13^th will be held from 1 to 5 pm. This will be a closed event, for members and their invited guests. To cover costs, we will be asking for a contribution of $5 per carload. Please notify us by email (info@olinfoxfarms.com), or phone (804-453-4125) if you plan to attend and how many guests you may be including. This will help us in planning.

The Garlic Roast will be potluck, so whip up something fancy or just some good homestyle cooking or maybe even something sweet and bring it along.  The event will feature actual garlic production just underway for the 2008 harvest and garlic discussions with 4 garlic growers on varieties, growing methods, and uses for garlic.  Samples of roasted garlic and Canning Farm's hormone-free, steroid-free, grain-fed beef will be available for tasting.  Garlic and beef will also be available for purchase.  A number of our regular farmer's market vendors will be coming such as: Silk Road Treasures with their fine silk and cashmere scarves and Tibetan and pearl jewelry; and Locusville Plantation with some of their handcrafted furniture and folk art.  Olin-Fox Farms will also have a booth set up for produce purchases and CSA membership information.  More vendors will be added for your shopping enjoyment.

CSA member Mary Small will be at the garlic roast to tell stories. Local musicians including CSA members George & Pat Bilenki are invited to perform throughout the afternoon.  The gardens and wildlife trails will be open for touring.  Camping will be available at no extra charge for CSA members and their guests.  Please contact us to reserve a campsite as camping will be limited (804-453-4125, info@olinfoxfarms.com).  There are a number of Bed and Breakfasts, and two motels in the area:  Bay Motel (804)453-5171, about 3 miles from the farm; and Holiday Inn Express (804)436-1500, about 18 miles from the farm.  Regarding Bed & Breakfasts, closest to the farm is Fleeton Fields B&B [800.497-8215, www.fleetonfields.com].  Also close at hand, in historic Reedville, there’s The Gables Victorian Mansion B& B [804.453-5209, www.thegablesbb.com]. 

Water and sodas will be available for sale, although no alcohol will be sold, beer and wine will be permitted.  We ask that paper and plastic cups be used for beverages as no glass will be allowed.  The 1-5 garlic roast will be followed by a bonfire and drum circle after dark.  So, come out for the day and plan to stay for the night, and have a great time!

Directions to Olin-Fox Farms, 236 Chesapeake Beach Rd., Reedville, 22539, 804-453-4125:

1. Merge onto I-395 S toward RICHMOND. (5.95 miles)

2. I-395 S becomes I-95 S. (43.82 miles)

3. Take the US-1/US-17 S exit- EXIT 126- toward MASSAPONAX. (0.39 miles)

4. Turn RIGHT onto JEFFERSON DAVIS HWY/US-17 S/US-1 S. (0.59 miles)

5. Turn LEFT onto MILLS DR/US-17. Continue to follow US-17 S. (46.38 miles)

6. Turn LEFT onto US-360/QUEEN ST. Continue to follow US-360 E. (18.50 miles)

7. Turn RIGHT to stay on US-360 E. (7.10 miles)

8. Turn SLIGHT LEFT to stay on US-360 E. (13.09 miles)

9. US-360 E becomes FLEETON RD. (0.78 miles)

10. FLEETON RD becomes VA-657. (0.25 miles)

11. VA-657 becomes FLEETON RD. (0.54 miles)

12. Stay on Fleeton Rd. about 1 mile, on the right is Barnes' Store, on the left Tibitha Church of God.

13. Just after the church, take a left on Chesapeake Beach Road.

14. Take a right onto Taskmaker Lane for parking.
    
    

It's Autumn in Virginia--- the other great season here being Spring.  As far as I'm concerned, Winter and Summer in the Old Dominion are … let's just say, less than the best.  If I had my druthers, I spend summers in Nova Scotia, Scotland or Sweden and winters somewhere close to the equator.  Costa Rica comes to mind, or even Hawaii.

Now, in the first few weeks after the autumn equinox, while the daylight hours mirror those of springtime, the temperature is tolerable for a change (and even pleasant, especially as the coolness of evening sets in), the huge field of feed corn across the sandy lane from my home has been harvested and the flocks of migrating geese fly low overhead, glide down in formation to the creek to rest up in the cove near my screened in porch overlooking the water, and, I must admit, life is good.  While I'd much rather lounge all day in the hammock studying German philosophy and dozing, the time spent gardening today at work had me bringing in the bounty of Merlot grapes from the vineyard I've tended since January and removing the spent blooms from the masses of Knockout scarlet red roses to keeping them flowering for months to come. 

I was waxing folksy with appreciation of autumn in rural VA.  This morning, I witnessed my resident groundhog emerging from his bank side burrow to actually climb a chestnut oak tree:  up he went, without a moment's hesitation, and the agility of a frequent climber, apparently.  Maybe that's 'normal' behavior for a woodchuck who chucks no wood.  Who'd guessed?  Why, only last week I came upon a cluster of sinister looking black vultures feasting on the maimed carcass of a recently dispatched 'possum accompanied by a curious crowd of wild turkeys.  Were the thanksgiving birds also attracted to the scent of carrion, or perhaps the avian ruckus stirred up by the squawking presence of other big birds, without Ernie?  Strange, eh?

The whole mood and atmosphere of Fall I find very seductive and mellow.  Granted, we still haven't had any appreciable rainfall [the 13 drops that fell while I was harvesting grapes doesn't count], but the fragrance of wildflowers in the roadside ditches mingles with a pervasive ripe smell rising from the earth itself and amplified by the wispy fingers of ground fog drifting across the secondary roads and clinging to the fields, illuminated in my headlights as I drive home late.  I look forward to the cool, refreshing nights, and sleeping with the windows open again.  The moonlit nights of late have been marvelous.  I savor simple events like the Full Harvest Moon last week, rising above the tree line on the horizon, with the stars so bright now that the humidity and haze have diminished, and the background audio score supplied by an energetic symphony of cricket fiddlers, all conspiring to remind me why I appreciate living in the country so much.

On Friday, I fly to New Hampshire for a seminar retreat with other grad school alumni discussing Rudolf Steiner's challenging book, The Philosophy of Freedom and the mission of Archangel Micha-El.  I'm bringing a big bouquet of Michaelmas daisies [a type of autumn aster] to our 93-year old former lead professor and mentor, in whose home we will be gathering for our discussions on Saturday and Sunday.  I didn't know much about Michaelmas myself until I began training to become a 'Waldorf school' teacher in Sussex, England.   Michaelmas (also the Feast of Ss. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael or the Feast of Michael and All Angels) is a day in the Christian calendar that occurs on 29 September.  Because it falls near the equinox, it is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days.

The Archangel Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, seen as a protector against the dark of night, and the administrator of cosmic intelligence. Michaelmas has also delineated time and seasons for secular purposes as well, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

More than you needed to know, I suppose.  Pardon my stream-of-conscious free-association.  I merely meant to convey some sense of the season, from my perspective.

In Your Produce Basket This Week

Red Pac Choi, Tatsoi, Romaine Lettuce, Salad/Braising Mix (Arugula, Pea Shoots & Red Russian Kale), Cubanella Peppers, Red Meat Radishes

See your site's distribution list for more details.

Please Note: With elements beyond our control such as the start or the end of a harvest, or extreme weather conditions that may limit the quantity of produce coming in, we systematically address each delivery and pick up group each week and do our very best to see that everyone receives some of everything.

Recipes