1,008 CSA shares grown on about 3 acres by 2 1/2 farmers (counting Silas). That was Season No. 7 at Plot Twist Farm!
The end of the year was an unusual one. We had someone in our care, and this, added to the fact that Silas and I have shifted our focus to cyber school, halted my farm work almost entirely, leaving Jason to finish out the CSA season pretty much on his own.
On Saturday, Jason and Silas delivered the last shares of the year. Afterward, we hopped in the car and returned the person in our care to their home. Party animals that we are, we celebrated the end of the season by collapsing in the living room.
But, Jason did have a little surprise up his sleeve, or I should say, hidden away among the farm’s seed stash. After briefly disappearing downstairs, he came back up with a small gray box. The appearance of this little parcel, even for a minimalist such as myself, was quite thrilling. What could it be?! When I lifted the lid, my usual disdain of earthly trinkets was replaced by delight at the sight of a delicate, gold-dipped birch leaf pendant.
He settled on birch after reading it was a symbol of new beginnings. It’s one of the first trees to come to leaf in the spring, and there’s all manner of interesting Celtic mythology surrounding birch. During the Celtic celebration of Samhain (what’s considered Halloween in the U.K. nowadays), bundles of birch twigs were used to usher out the spirits of the past year. As you know from what I shared last week, our minds are all about a new beginning now.
When a season draws to a close, I usually have a sense of relief. Then, a few weeks later, as we pull out the brown tomato vines and put away water sprinklers, I get the itch to start all over again.
But this year, the feeling of relief that ushered out the season has swirled with excitement for next spring like an internal cyclone. I’m not wishing away autumn and winter, because I love all the seasons and don’t generally hurry away any time in my life, but when I picture next year, with all three of us going about our farm work, happily tucked inside the fence, my heart beats fast.
The conclusion of this season was supposed to bring a close to this blog, as well. After writing sporadically about the farm for the past few years, last winter I committed to weekly posts to document the season. Now here we are. We’ve gone through a whole season together. But next year is a new beginning. It will be uncharted territory for us. There’s so much potential. So much to be gained and learned. And as long as I find writing about it enjoyable, I’d like to keep going.
As I finish this, I hear Jason’s chainsaw in the woods. It’s time to think about firewood and kindling and other cold weather preparations. The propagation tunnel is full of seedlings in bad need of transplanting in our winter gardens. When life is all about growing and creating, there’s always a new beginning just around the corner.
~ Stella