I spent the morning reading an article by Lyall Watson titled A Brief Eerie History of How the Wind Makes Us Crazy. The wind making us irrationally upset is something we talk about often on the farm. Voltaire is quoted in the article writing about the easterly wind in London, "Even the animals suffer from it and have a dejected air. Men who are strong enough to preserve their health in this accursed wind at least lose their good humor. Everyone wears a grim expression and is inclined to make desperate decisions."

On the farm, there is an inescapability to the wind that makes it particularly maddening. The cold air bites and blows the warmth off our clothes. When we hide out in the greenhouses, the wind shakes the frames and causes a draft that keeps them cool even on sunny days. Even from the house we hear the wind batter the greenhouses and barn, and we can't help but listen for any potential damage. Today the sign at the entrance to the farm blew off and broke into several pieces, and the wind ripped away a section of plastic on our greenhouse endwall.

If you're interested in reading the full article, the link is below. It's a fascinating piece that explores the maddening power of the wind through a literary and empirical lens.

https://lithub.com/a-brief-eerie-history-of-how-the-wind-makes-us-crazy/

On to other topics for the newsletter. We are looking for contributions for the local food pantries. We provide weekly produce through the summer for the Fitzwilliam District Nursing Association, the Jaffrey Food Pantry, and the Rindge Food Pantry. Last year we provided 14 CSA shares each week distributed amongst the three pantries. Some of those shares were purchased by the pantries themselves, but the rest were provided by donations from members matched by the farm.

If you are interested in making a contribution to one of the area pantries, please reach out to jack@dogdaysnh.com to make arrangements. All shares purchased for the pantries by members are matched by the farm, so if you buy a half share for the pantry, we will match it to make it a full share. If you buy a full share, the pantry of your choice will receive two shares. Contributions towards the pantry shares are tax deductible and a receipt from the food pantry your share is going to is available upon request.

If you would like to help with food access in the Monadnock Region but are not able to buy a full or half share, our share care fund is also available. The share care fund is an optional add-on during share signup that goes towards subsidizing the cost of CSA shares through the Monadnock Farmshare Program. Through this program set up by local farmers and administered by the Cheshire County Conservation District, CSA members are able to get 50% off of the cost of their share. The CCCD reimburses the farm 35% of the cost of the share and the farm covers the remaining 15%. Last year we were able to contribute 10 shares to the farmshare program, this year we are offering 15.

The share care fund is also used when CSA members experience unexpected financial hardship and are not able to pay the remainder of their share balance. This is an option for all members, no questions asked. Hardship can fall upon any of us, so if you ever need a hand, please reach out and we will make sure you continue to receive your weekly produce.

We keep chugging away on the farm. The big greenhouse is seeded with spring greens and has covers over the beds until they germinate, and we received our potting soil delivery today, which means that the first trays of seedlings are only a few weeks away!

2025 CSA Shares!

Shares are open and we're already over a third of the way full for 2025!

CSA shares are slightly different this year as I have outlined in previous newsletters. We will not be doing a fall CSA share and instead have extended the summer CSA to 20 weeks starting in July and ending in November.

Key Things About Shares:

▪Season begins July 2nd and ends November 12th

▪Market Style Pickup in the barn on Wednesdays from 1pm - 7pm

▪Home Delivery on Wednesday Evenings by 7pm

▪FLEX 10-week shares available to pick up on your schedule. (any 10 weeks out of the 20 week season)

▪PYO Flowers and Herbs for CSA members

It's gonna be a great CSA season this year and we have a few things planned that should make it an even better experience for our members. PYO will be expanded to include flowers, herbs, and hopefully some veggies like peas and beans. We're trying out sweet corn for the first time this year, expanding our melon patch, and honing our mushroom production. There's a lot to look forward to and I hope you will join us!

Click Here to Sign Up For CSA!

Market Thursday 2/20!

We will be at the Cheshire Medical Center Cafeteria this Thursday, 2/20, from 10am-2pm. Veggies available are: spinach, kale, chard, carrots, beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. We will also have eggs from the neighbor farm and Orchard Hill bread and cookies!

Our next market will be Thursday, March 6th.

We're Hiring!

We are looking to fill two part time positions on the farm for this summer. Part time is Monday through Wednesday and primarily consists of harvest, washing, and distributing produce, seeding, planting, weeding, and other general farm maintenance. The hours are from 6:00am to 3:30pm starting at the end of May. Pay is $13/hr.

If you are interested or know someone that may be interested, please reach out to jack@dogdaysnh.com

Workshares Wanted

We are also looking for workshares on either Monday, Wednesday or Friday this year. Workshares receive a full CSA share with bread and eggs in exchange for 6hrs/week on the farm. Start times are a little more flexible for the workshare position, but we do ask that workshares come in the same day each week throughout the CSA season. If you would like to know more about workshare positions, pleas email jack@dogdaysnh.com