Many global traditions celebrate the sun and light in this season of darkness. Among the many miracles you may choose to celebrate in these weeks, choose also to be in awe over the miracle of fresh local winter greens!
Today’s glorious and rare bluebird December sky will enable us to gather the maximum daylight possible at this latitude and longitude.
According to a U.S. Naval Observatory tool that charts day length, we have a maximum of 8 hours and 42 minutes of daylight on Winter Solstice. Factor in Butternut Hill to our West, which has our sun setting significantly earlier than others and the days with clouds or snow and that sunlight just shrinks. It helps one understand why the most we can expect of all those beautiful plants in the hoop houses is to hold on in suspended animation, letting their cell walls freeze and then when short bits of direct sun come their way, photosynthesize enough to keep life present.
This process will thicken and sweeten the spinach leaves, creating something very special.
But when you consider that growth from plants happen at night, and you look at all the single digits in the forecast, it means we need to figure in only accent touches of these greens in our meals. A dash of miracle, underpinned by tried, true and trusty nutrient dense storage veggies and the greens we froze in the height of the growing season!
Snowy white outside & White inside as greens all tucked in for the night
Summer Chard Frozen for Winter Joy!
Mind you, if you are into making resolutions at the calendar transition, it may be inspirational for you to remember that miracles happen all year long within ecological farming systems! We were personally inspired by an article shared with us “How to Make (and Keep) Resolutions”. “You’ll give yourself your best shot at success if you set a goal that’s doable — and meaningful too”.
We are zeroing in on consuming daily doses of bone broth for the winter season (article says we should be “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound” — ü). We want the minerals from our top of the watershed clean mountain well water and nutrients from the livestock who ate diverse vegetation, tapping the nutrient reach of a broad spectrum of soil microbial and fungal life!
Tell us how the farm can become even more your farm in 2018 either by helping make your own resolution doable or in any other way. And if anyone wants to join us in our deep dive into bone broth, know that the freezer will be stocked with broth (a.k.a. “sip-able sunshine”) all year long and we are considering a fresh bone-broth of the week club!
With love and appreciation to all beings and the sun on this bright day and wishing comforts to all who feel the darkness penetrating deeply through grief as the holidays are upon us.
Mari, Laura and the Farm Team
Rin Tin Tin soaking up some December Sun & Snow