Michelle, Dani, and Kim eating lunch

When Jen asked me last week to write the upcoming blog post, without hesitation I agreed, already looking forward to it. As the week passed on, I tended to my field, weeding the 100 ft beds of greens; transporting and shoveling loads of compost in the scrappy-but-good-enough compost box David and I made early this past spring; adding fertility to the soil before seeding new beds of arugula, babyleaf lettuce, radish, sweet salad turnip, spinach, and many other delicious, quick-turnover crops. As I did my usual flow of work for the week, dozens of ideas for a blog post came to my mind. And I wrote none of them down. Not even one.

And as the end of Tuesday encroached, and the Wednesday morning deadline felt increasingly daunting, I realized I’d have to do what I always do, and simply write from the heart. And what my heart has been affirming and reaffirming to me since arriving at Abundant Acres is that, this place feels really good. I’m sure you all know the feeling. Be it the feeling you get from the warm company of a best friend, the comfort of visiting a well-loved stream in the forest, or the feeling of seeing those first few blooms on that shrub you’ve been watching so closely since the snow melted. It’s comfort, it’s ease, it’s the feeling of home.

Through my life, I’ve noticed that that feeling comes naturally, and can never be forced. And it’s so special when you find it! Abundant Acres rouses that comfort for me, and it guides me through those extra long days and rainy harvest days with ease.

And for the harvest this week, we will all need to channel our inner drive alongside that feeling of comfort. With every passing week, our wonderful customers are returning to the Warehouse Market and taking home loads of vegetables, with new customers making their way around, too. This makes us so happy that people want to eat the food we put so much time and care into! But it also means we need to be able to supply enough so everyone goes home happy! So this week’s harvest day is BIG. And we’ll need all the focus and energy we can muster to get it done before sundown!

The sun is rising on the farm as I write this, and tomorrow morning we’ll be sending the vegetables off to Halifax, where our wonderful and loyal customers will take home food to cook some delicious summer veggie dishes, and share kind words with Jen and David for the crew and all the work we do to make those delicious vegetables.

It’s a simple thing to draw so much joy in, but we all feel it here. Living in a place that is comfortable and homey, while growing healthy food in a sustainable way for our friends and family in the city… It’s a truly wonderful life, in my opinion, and brings joy to so many people in so many ways.

With all this said, I’m off to eat breakfast and prepare coffee for the crew, who will all be gathering in the kitchen any minute now. We have an early start and a big day ahead, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone rip through this harvest day!

Until next time, Dani, Jen, David, and the AA crew.

Kenny and Sydney harvesting crisp radishes.

Michelle harvesting spicy mustard greens for the salad mix.

The sweetest, freshest salad turnips look beautiful after a hosing off!

Justin Currie making HUGE mustard bunches!

Two Justins.  Justin Affeld, foreground in lettuce patch, Justin Currie, background on ‘quad’ with harvest trailer.