Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The cedar waxwings have returned.

There is a spot on the farm, just across the drive from one of the greenhouses, where Michael planted a few American cranberry bushes. Their fruit is not good for much other than attracting these lovely small, swift birds. When I walked past, the bushes were full of birds, and they were flying back and forth between the bushes and the greater shelter of the woods behind the greenhouse.

One of my field guides reads, “it is not unusual to see a row of them perched on a branch, passing a berry down the line and back again, bill to bill, in a ceremony that ends when one swallows the food.” It also claims that “the birds wander in flocks whose arrivals and departures are unpredictable,” though on the farm their coming is one more sign that the winter is truly ending.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Welcome to Spring!

I know that the weather forecast is calling for colder temperatures by the end of this week, but I think we have turned a corner on the season nonetheless. At the farm, even the largest of the snowdrifts melted away long ago. The garlic we planted in the fall is now pushing its green fingers through the thawing soil. A few days ago, I saw a red-winged blackbird, and today I saw a robin. Last month the farm slumbered. Now, I can feel it waking.

In the greenhouses, there is no question that spring is here. In the past month since we cleaned them out and switched on the heaters, we have seeded all the farm's leeks, shallots, and onions, as well as the celery and celeriac. This week's agenda includes parsley, kale, and the first round of frisee and radicchio. And before we know it, we will be out in the fields.