Killing Frost

It came in last night, not exactly on cat's feet, but it was gentle and snow. I couldn't see out the windows when I woke up, and I cracked the frozen little blades of grass when I walked up to open the chicken coop door.
The good people of Asheville will get no more basil from Let It Grow, and I shudder to think of the insect death tally from last night. Mass carnage of weeds, tender annuals and arthropods, all in the space of a few hours.
And yes, I did check the pumpkins. And yes, there was frost on same.
All this comes, coincidentally enough, just as I'm kicking clean-up mode into high gear, for I leave for Texas in a week. Ten more tons of rocks to move to the new greenhouse, a bit of work on the truck, draining anything that will freeze out of anything holding anything that will freeze, a bit more rye down, and we'll be winterproof.
Could use some more firewood.
This has not been a well documented year, blogwise, because of some electronic defeciencies on the farm, but I plan to remedy that for next year.
Anyway, some stuff happened, trust me.
I ran into a bunch of our CSA customers at the one year anniversary of Marshall's hippest new health food store, Good Stuff, and got plenty of thank yous. We started off well with the CSA, and then thr drought hit. It was with a certain lack of confidence that we were distributing boxes in mid-summer, and then, with cooler weather, felt good about them again. We feel a continueing need to provide and absolutely fabulous CSA box every week, 'cause people have already paid us, and because people have cast their lot with us, or with the fields, and haven't done any shopping, anyway. A weak table, or a table without variety, at a farmer's market isn't so bad - people buy what the need and leave the rest. But a weak CSA box - it makes me feel like I haven't had enough for dinner. The thank yous and the commiserating over the weather was good for me - even better was when customers said they'd join us again next year.

Foundation

It's time to build a new greenhouse.

I'm basing this one on these really big buildings they have over in Egypt.

Back By a Modicum of Demand

The frost is on the pumpkin.
The frost is not quite on the pumpkin, but it feels as though the frost could be on the pumpkin at any moment. At any rate, it's time to get the sweaters out.
We're come down from the hills to lay in supplies, and decided a little media exposure wouldn't help. Our scheduled appearance on Anarchy TV, as well as our speaking engagement at the one year anniversary of Good Stuff Grocery, is again thrusting us into the limelight, and we don't want the blog to feel left out.
Furthermore, because a certain someone has promised me an interactive grocery list (thanks, G! What would I do without you?) I feel I'm back, firmly, in the world of electronic communication, and it's only a matter of time now before a computer graces the great round conference table at the heart of Let It Grow HQ.
I'm getting back in the habit of actually interacting with my fellow upright bipeds, and can think of no better first step than to sit here in front of this monitor and say absolutely nothing.
Good times.
Fall brings with it a full social calender (I'm still in the theme of explaining why I'm back.) What with the pig-pickin's, theatre openings, diner grand openings and ubiquitous autumn covered dishes that have demanded my time of late, I'm reminded that there are only seven, or less, degrees of separation between myself and you other five billion. And what better way to express my joy in sharing this planet with all of you than to post. So here I am. And there I was.