Autumn with a vengence

A couple notes here - I know that I am stretching the idea of 'coincidence' a bit, but here are a few fun parallels from last year to this year.

2011 - Our first big storm of the year that shut down school was Hurricane Irene.
Our first big snow storm happened just before Halloween.

2012 - Our first big storm of the year that shut down school was Hurricane Sandy.
Hurricane Sandy hit just before Halloween.

Like I said . . . it's a stretch at best, but fun none the less.

Here on the farm we are really wrapped up for the year at this point. The goats are bred, the sheep are bred, the fields are largely put to bed. We have a bit more broccoli, kale, cabbage and leeks out one field, but most of the active growth is in the hoops. The hay is put away, the garlic is planted, our leaf pile for composting over the winter is mammoth (Many thanks to everyone who contributed!!!).

While we bid adieu to warm weather and 'active farming', the most melancholy part of the autumn is the coming of the last of our field trips for the season. We love the energy that our local schools bring with them and we look forward to both the spring and autumn visits. Alas the weather is turning. Its 40 degrees right now and the coming week is promisingly colder.

A usual field trip takes about an hour or so and consists of a tour of the farm a talk about what we do and then some 'critter time'. Our last two visits from the crew at Songo Locks School was very different though. Four or five classes of first graders came out to harvest the last of the autumn veg to be used in their cafeteria. How cool is that? Real food in the cafeterias that was picked by students. Jamie Oliver would be tickled!!!

This kind of  truly interactive field trip was definitely a neat experience and one that we will perfect in the coming years. For example, we really needed more time to give them a proper tour and then time to get things picked and washed, but everyone seemed to have a good time. . . especially with the bunnies (no we didn't harvest and wash any rabbits).

Seeing as my camera is still on the fritz here is a link to the blog site that one of the teachers at the Songo Locks School set up. Some good pics here.

Enjoy.