At the precipice

The red-winged blackbirds have been loving the seeds in these sunflowers. And, I’ve been loving listening to their songs!

Friends, we are in the midst of an annual seasonal shift — the shift from the warm and light half of the year to the cold and dark half. We stand at the edge, and each day can bring us a taste of both seasons: cool, misty mornings followed by vibrant bright golden afternoons followed by gusty and rainy nights.

This is the time of year when many cultural traditions say that the “veil” between the living and the dead grows thin, as the boundary between these two halves of the year is blurred in our daily experience. Perhaps in no other time of the year are we so conscious of our own mortality as well as the continued promise of life, now lying dormant in mature seeds waiting in the ground for spring.

Here on our farm, Casey and I are wrapping up the final harvests of the year and harrowing in fields to plant to cover crops. We are finishing one season and looking back — assessing this year’s garden success. But we are also already looking forward, as we use that knowledge to begin planning and dreaming about next year’s plantings. Seed catalogs will start arriving in the mail soon, and we will begin making lists and considering potential new varieties. We stand on that precipice of past and future. We stand at the shift from what has been to what will be.

We are also in the midst of voting season here in the United States, something I meditated on with friends and community members this weekend around the theme of “shift.” During an election year, there is the same profound sense of dual hard contemplation on what has been and hopeful dreaming about what could be.

We live in a country that is continually striving to live up to its own vision of fully engaged citizenry in self-governance. As United States’ citizens and residents, we do have a voice — in our ability to engage politically in the process through assembling, voicing our dreams, running for office, and of course through voting.

Ballots have been mailed here in Oregon, and many reading this newsletter have probably already voted (Casey and I have!!!!). I know that even in the self-selecting group of people in our CSA, we represent diverse viewpoints on the world. We likely do not agree on every choice on our ballots this year, and that is an integral part of democracy. Ideally, through our engagement in these processes, we can forge a path that shifts our community and country toward choices benefiting all.

So, today as we stand at this precipice together, I invite you to open yourself to the process of being engaged and to the dreaming and working. This ongoing work is something that transcends any singular political campaign or election. Think of yourself as one of many gardeners looking at your fall fields, honestly assessing the successes and failures of the waning season and beginning to dream about how you can dig in your spade and plant the seeds for the next. Remember that we are part of this system, affecting it and also affected by it, working within the limitations of nature and working from the hopes of humanity.

Much like gardening, the work of civic engagement is never done. Every year we will have the opportunity to engage in the shift — to work for the shift, to be shifted, to be the shift.

Let’s dig in … time to vote!

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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Looking ahead … we’re almost to the end of the CSA season! We have only three more pick-ups after this one. Our final pick-up will be on Thursday, November 12.

We will also have two Holiday Harvests this fall. These are opportunities that will feel much like the weekly pick-up, where you order ahead of time for some extra food for your holiday meals or to stock your pantry. A la carte members can use remaining credit. Other folks will pay for their orders at pick-up. We’ll send out the order list ahead of time, but so that you can play, here are the pick-up dates for your calendar:

  • Thanksgiving Holiday Harvest ~ Tuesday, Nov. 24, 3-5 pm (place orders by Sunday evening before)
  • Winter Holiday Harvest ~ Friday, Dec. 18, 3-5 pm (place orders by Wednesday evening before)

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Meet this week’s vegetables: Yummy fall foods!!!!!

Place your order:

Please select the vegetable items you'd like to receive this week, to total to your share size. If you order 2 (or 3) of something, it counts as 2 (or 3) items. Some items are limited, as marked.
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