I have probably seen too many kids movies and books on the topic,  but our little tractor really shows some personality here. 

With the help of our neighbors Mike and Lindsay, who are using the "field stones" in their landscaping, we are finally clearing the paths from all the rocks I have dug up over the last 3 years of planting. I am so happy that I will finally be able to mow between our berry and herb rows.

This is just one bucketload of thousands available. No kidding. Let me know if you would like some.
​

Growing fruit is real joy.

After three years since planting, seeing our apricot in full bloom for the first time is inspiring. Adding the warm sunshine, sweet perfume of the blossoms and action of visiting bees makes fruit tree watching a actual activity everyone should try.

This idea looked easy enough on paper but, with the normal demands of farming and daily life, our greenhouse/high tunnel project took way longer than expected.

We could not have finished this without the help of our incredible friends and neighbors. Our good friend Joseph (also instrumental during other crisis moments- see earlier posts on fruit trees, watering etc), was there every weekend to lend a hand. As a retired lineman with the phone company, Joseph has skills for this sort of thing that only come with years of experience.

​And our neighbors, Eddie, Mike, and Lindsay showed up with hammers, clamps and drills when they heard that our deadline was fast approaching. The pivotal moment came when Mike came over with warm Pastrami, egg and sausage breakfast sandwiches one cold early spring morning. These tasted so good that it gave us all energy to push through to the final stages of the project. I'm still trying to get the recipe.

Now that the greenhouses are done (we built two), we can look forward to early and extended harvests of pristine table fare. I am very much looking forward to creating Easter and Thanksgiving dinners around fresh greens and veggies picked fresh from the greenhouse. 

Our strawberry patch always amazes me. This little woodland plant can sit under snow for 4 months enduring all that the cold dark winter throws at it. And while we huddle next to the fire and dream of spring, the strawberry seems perfectly content. This becomes apparent in spring when the patch emerges from hibernation and throws out uncountable little cascading white flowers. Some of the first real nutrition for our wild bees that help us so much on the farm.

And the bounty of fruit that follows! So delicious and beautiful of all shapes, sizes. With flavors that can not be found on supermarket shelves. If there is one plant that can represent the value of locally-grown food, it just might be the strawberry.

This year, our berries were featured by some of the finest restaurants in the area. Our chef friends featured them in strawberry lemon verbena ice cream, gourmet salads and chocolate-dipped confections. We are very happy that, after their long untold ordeal under the snow, they will be appreciated in so many ways. 

Getting hungry? This is a fleeting season so stop by the farm stand and pick up your berries today!

Living in an age where you can buy flowers anytime of the year has it benefits. 

But I have often thought how mind blowing it must have been for our ancestors (I'm talking way back here) when our cave-dwelling great great great grandparents saw that first flower of spring. When there were no greenhouses, no pictures, cameras, phones, no magazines, billboards, books or anything but a memory to preserve the image and concept of a flower through the long winter. 

And, after months of seeing nothing but monotones- whites, grey and browns, this magical color splash springs from the ground. Sometimes even sending out a mesmerizing perfume. How profoundly exciting and heart warming those ancient moments in spring must have been.

Now we can get any flower all of the time. Even at the click of a button. So much that we sometimes forget to appreciate the beauty of nature and its cycles. 

Here at the Old Millpond Farm, we pot our daffodils and tulips in December. We protect and nurture them in the root cellar throughout winter just so that they can spring forth in April and remind us how lucky we are.

Stop by the farm stand and pick up your spring flowers today!

Living in the Northeast has its pros and cons. The obvious "thumbs down" goes to the long winters. And this winter was a doozy! But all this cold creates the beautiful deciduous forest. And among the gems growing here is the sugar maple tree or sugar bush. Seriously! 

We took the opportunity of living on the edge of the Northeast sugar belt to tap sugar maples on the farm and do some good old fashioned sugarin' this season.

Making maple syrup is a fascinating topic rich in lore, history, science and I could go on and on about the process. It's kind of like beekeeping, mushroom hunting, or surfing. Nature puts it there. You just have to be curious and persistent enough to be there when the gettin's good. 

This year we collected 100 gallons of maple water from 10 trees. When it is all reduced down, that amount will only make about 2 gallons of syrup! Yes- a lot of work but the outcome is so delicious...subtle flavors beyond anything you can buy anywhere. Maple syrup is really the ultimate seasonal treat- a gift from nature. 

This is a trial run but we would eventually like to tap more trees and get an official wood-fired evaporator for the Old Millpond Farm Sugar Shack. Next year, look for some delicious maple syrup at our newly built, community supported farm stand. I'll keep you posted. 

I've got some sap on the boiler right now... gotta go! 

When our friend Estella celebrated a birthday, Simone made her this beautiful harvest basket. With the exception for Simone's home-made organic granola (upper left), it is 100% farm grown. We are quite proud of that!

It all came out so beautifully that we plan on making more of these next season. Just drop us a note on our website if you would like to special order a basket or some granola for a friend. 

Creating our farm stand each year is always an adventure and a true creative process. It is inspired by the harvest and is creatively built with what we have on hand. 

Each year, we find some new farm stand furniture that has been put out to the road for recycling.  And we have plenty of old "treasures" laying around the barn that can find a new life on our display. Adding these spontaneous finds to a hay bale frame makes the perfect display for our rustic and delicious produce. 

Our pepper harvest was remarkable this year. One thing I have learned about farming on the east coast is that peppers thrive as the days shorten and weather cools. So while the tomatoes, beans, and pumpkins wither and shrivel having spent all their energy during the heat of the summer, peppers chug along confidently until the first frost.

This year's choice variety was the Shishito- is mild pepper with hot pepper flavor. These are famous among chefs for their deep and complex flavors minus the brain-searing heat that can mask these nuances in their more aggressive cousins. We love them grilled over a wood fire with a dusting of sea salt…along with a cold beer.