The last CSA week! I feel the pressure of writing the "final" newsletter... to bring it all together, create some kind of summary or leave some lasting flavor of what this season has been. I can tell you so far it takes a lot of big sighs to write the final newsletter! :)

There is a big feeling in my heart that is hard to pin down as we wind up this season, and the feeling is so expansive and ephemeral because it is tied to each person who has contributed to Ironwood Farm this year. It feels like a big sparkling web that contains: fiery fall leaves, the combined joy and drain of too much coffee, the heavy cling of mud on boots. watermelon seeds, dew drops of sweat, and bits of milkweed fluff. It's the day-on-day layer cake of working with folks for a year or more, laughing together, crying in front of each other, crawling through the dirt, and celebrating, that is central at the end-of-season table. Its a bittersweet cake to be sure!

This next year is a big year of transition where in 2023 almost all, and possibly all, of the current team members are moving deeper into their life's needs and desires and taking space from farming. While I will miss the everyday presence of these sweet humans immensely, I feel a sigh of relief knowing that each person I love from the farm is taking the steps that are following their intuition. It's been a really intense 3 years farming during a pandemic and climate change, in amongst many other cultural challenges and vacancies of support that are part of living in the "United States." Farming at any scale requires a certain amount of badassery, no matter how large or small or how the internal structures on the farm are carefully constructed to allow for the most care. I feel very proud and inspired by these friends who take a rest from badassery to breathe into all of the other vibrant, vivid sides of their lives. Or maybe what I meant to say is: these folks teach me that this is what it really means to be a badass. To move in and out of challenges and pressures, to bend and go with the flow and allow transformation and pause, to listen to ourselves.

In light of this change, we are anticipating that next year will look very different for Aliyah and I. We hope to follow our own intuition as it emerges, as far as where we put our farming energy, what we grow, and how we take this moment of transition to evaluate our own trajectory. Stay tuned as we share more information in the coming months!

A huge THANK YOU to all of the CSA members who have been part of our journey this year! Growing food for CSA customers is a challenge because we want to give CSA absolutely everything, and it can be tough to be learning and growing at the same time as providing consistent, high quality produce to local households. This year was especially challenging with the drought! The connection with CSA members is such a joy and we try to improve it every year. We hope you will join us in seasons to come, and we look forward to updating you about changes for next year.

Once CSA is over, if you are craving our veggies and herbs you can find them locally at the Rhinebeck Farmers Market on Sundays through the end of November, at MX Morningstar Farm Store, The Philmont Coop, Rolling Grocer 19, Talbott and Arding, and Random Harvest! As well as many other great local restaurants.

Much love,

Lauren