Meet this week’s vegetables:
- Salad mix — This is a special ‘winter’ salad mix, full of good things: kale, mustards, chicories, cabbage, and … lettuce! Yes, lettuce!
- Komatsuna — This is an Asian fresh eating green — it is a mustard with that distinctive taste but very mild and sweet.
- Celery root — We have chicken stock in the fridge right now, just waiting for me to make some brothy soup with cubed celery root, sweet potatoes, leeks, and rice!
- Sweet potatoes — As a friend said recently, eating sweet potatoes has completely revolutionized his expectations for winter eating. Well put — these sweet carbohydrate bombs add a bit of stored summer sunshine to any dish.
- Beets — These big beets are great for making fritters! Grate the beets and mix with a little bit of flour (to coat the beets). Make very thin patties and pan fry in butter until cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve at breakfast with eggs (yuuuuuuummmm!) or as a side dish with dinner.
- Leeks
- Garlic
The population on our farm has been growing rapidly lately. Seven lambs have been born in the last week, bringing the total farm population up significantly.
Lambs, you ask? Since when are there lambs?
Let me back up a bit and tell you a story of patience and perseverance.
When we bought our land on Grand Island, back in 2006, we thought we’d found the perfect site to live and farm: 17.5 acres of class-one soil with water rights that we could afford (no house yet, but we could legally build one). It was everything we’d dreamed about, except for one minor detail — complete lack of privacy.
Our property and the property to the north were originally owned by one family, and it was obvious. Our neighbors’ house was very close to the property line, and the property line actually fell on a shared driveway. Since our own property sits mostly in the floodplain, the only place we could build our own house was along that same driveway on our small piece of high ground.
As one of many details of the sale, we reached out to our new neighbors, who turned out to be a very kind and generous older couple. In the first few months, we worked together to establish clear boundaries and make some compromises.
We felt lucky to find ourselves next-door to such great people, especially since the situation continued to be awkward at times, since we literally couldn’t walk outside without seeing each other. On the plus side, since we were in such close proximity, we saw each other in casual ways on a daily basis and had many occasions to trade favors, borrow tools, share coffee, and visit.
It was good, but they were older, and we did worry about who would live there when they moved on. And, I’m sure they worried about how they would ever sell their property now that we were next-door.
The same fall that we bought our property, my (Katie) parents moved from the Seattle area to McMinnville. Before buying a house in the area, they offered to buy our neighbors’ house, knowing that they might be up for a change to a more private place. The neighbors took the offer very seriously but turned it down — they were happy here and not ready to move anywhere until their situation forced it. Instead, they offered my parents an official ‘right of first refusal’ agreement to the property.
So, my parents bought a house on some acreage outside McMinnville, not knowing whether they’d ever move out to Grand Island at all. They built a barn and my mom started keeping sheep, and they quickly became very settled feeling in their home and new community.
Meanwhile, we farmed and lived and got along as well as anyone could hope with a random neighbor. The ground was as productive as we’d hoped, and in spite of the lack of privacy and the future’s uncertainty, we were very happy to be here.
Then, in spring of 2009, just weeks after I found out I was pregnant, one of our next-door neighbors passed away unexpectedly. His death threw our two homesteads into a period of mourning and increased uncertainty. With his absence, his widow knew she wouldn’t be able to maintain the house and farm for long, but she stayed at first to let the dust settle in her new life and to enjoy the place with her extended family.
Eight months later, our son Rusty was born on the farm that December. Our neighbor called when she saw the midwives’ cars leave to see if there was a baby! What fun to carry him over to meet her, after years of knowing each other.
That winter, our neighbor decided that it was time to move on from the farm, which put my parents in decision mode — it was no longer theoretical: were they actually willing to give up a house they loved close to town to move to an old farmhouse next-door to family? Buying the house in this market also represented a big financial risk — properties just weren’t (and still aren’t) selling quickly.
We talked as a family a lot about the future: how we would all live together, their vision for the old farmhouse and the property, and financial concerns. And, eventually, realizing that this was a truly unique opportunity, they went for it.
First, they bought the property, which was a long, often frustrating process (as these things tend to be).
Then, once the sale closed, they went through a second round of tough decision-making. This was the period during which Casey and I briefly planned to move into the farmhouse and then backed out. It was an emotionally difficult time, not knowing how to best proceed.
Eventually, everyone came to the same conclusion again: to live next to ones dearest loved ones, on a beautiful vibrant farm — what could be better? My parents found some needed vision for the farmhouse and jumped into a long and thorough remodel.
That was months ago.
Most of this journey is really my parents’ story — the ups and downs of the remodel, seemingly endless decisions (and costs!), expanding the barn for the flock of sheep, rethinking the patterns and shape of their life … Casey and I have been there along the way, acting as a sounding board and cheerleaders (saying, “yes, we want you!”), but they have done the work.
Just over two weeks ago, that journey came to an end and a new era began: my parents moved into the farmhouse. And one week after that, they moved the sheep into the barn. The next morning, the first lambs were born here on Grand Island. Casey and Rusty happened to be visiting the sheep when it happened and got to see the birth of the second lamb.
For all of us, getting to this unbelievably wonderful situation has been a marathon of hope and patience. We have literally been talking about living on the farm together since May of 2006, when we first brought my parents out to see the Grand Island property.
Now, almost five years later, we’re finally living that dream. And, it is as great as any of us could have dreamed. Just as with our neighbors before, we’re close enough for easy daily interactions, helping each other, and visiting.
But, of course, it is that much more wonderful since we are family, not just randomly thrown together neighbors. There will probably be bumps in the road. But we all have a lot of incentive to work things out. So, we are now a three generation farm.
Casey and I are very blessed to have all of our extended family here in northwestern Oregon — his parents live in Lincoln City and are also a regular part of our life (and CSA members!), and his siblings live nearby (along with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins for both of us).
Casey and I have noticed the three (or more) generation trend here in Yamhill County as well. We’re hardly unique in wanting to be close to family — many of our CSA members have moved to the area to be close to kids or parents. In fact, we have many multi-generational CSA members. I hope we are all part of a larger movement toward more family connection in America.
I know that for some people, life has permanently settled them far from family (perhaps because of a marriage or job or love of a different region) … life can be good in many forms, especially if we make the extra effort to keep our relationships strong and active in spite of any distances or challenges. And, of course, friendships can become as strong as family over time.
As we bask in the glow of our newly enriched daily life on the farm, we are daily reminded of the challenges we have faced in getting to this point and the importance of pursuing our priorities in life: growing good food, sharing life with friends and family, and helping to build connections within our wider community.
Yes, even amidst the continued stress of a big land purchase (loan stuff still going on and on), we are approaching spring’s arrival in a haze of loving thoughts and renewed dreams.
Of course, the sunny weather we had over the weekend helps too. As does the fact that there are plants growing in the greenhouse and in the field. And lambs jumping in the orchard/pasture.
Warmer growing weather and longer days are just around the corner. We’re excited for the season when the fields seem to explode with growth. In the meantime, we hope you have a meal with friends or family this week, and enjoy this week’s vegetables!
Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla
