For most of the last twenty years, what has struck me most about the change of seasons on the farm at this time of year has been the sudden transition from cacophony to quiet. The principle cause of the transition... Read More ›

If you have any doubt about how much of our heritage derives from our pastoral, agrarian past you might think about how much of our vocabulary descends from it. This week, as we endured the agonizing wait to know who... Read More ›

For the last several days the weather forecasts have made apparent that the really significant freeze, the one where the air temperature goes way under the freezing mark and we were at risk for accumulating snow, was imminent. Just like... Read More ›

As part of my fall leek seeding project, I have tried to clear some trenches that I left fallow all season. That effort has involved removing one of the most prolific and stubborn weedy invaders on the farm, mugwort. Mugwort... Read More ›

It seems almost everyone I chat with of late is gripped by a high level of anxiety. Many friends report disrupted sleep. I have it too. I find myself wakened by dreams in which my world is disordered. People come... Read More ›

Friday felt a bit like Bible Day at the farm. The day started with the news which many commentators have described as a story of biblical character, in which inordinately proud or entitled individuals are taught that they are not... Read More ›

Weather forecasts are a wondrous thing. On a cloudless day without a hint of a breeze they can tell you that in twelve or 24 hours a storm will arrive, with 60 mile an hour winds and hail. They do... Read More ›

Only once did I see my mother really cry, full out. It was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, 1960. I was nine years old. As was our custom we got dressed up, far more than on any other day... Read More ›

Today’s Darkness by Mark Scherzer September 11, 2020, dawned refreshingly cool on the farm, but with a dark and foreboding sky. Very different from the crystal clear crispness of September 11, 2001, which we have now come to expect on... Read More ›

In a time of uncertainty, one certainty is that one’s feelings are going to ricochet all over the place. Mine certainly have been. We all wonder what the world will look like in six months or a year, even though... Read More ›