Fall on the Farm

It’s fall on the farm, which means the sheep are regrowing their wooly coats after their summer shearing, the chickens are fluffing up, and leaves are falling. Farmer Steve calibrated his muzzle-loader musket yesterday in preparation for deer hunting season — ka-boom! He’s very old-timey that way. He loves November, that month that otherwise can seem dreary, because the gardens are tucked in for the winter, and he can spend early morning hours in the woods. (This splendid photo of the sheep with Mount Israel in the background is courtesy of Booty Family Farm.)

The greenhouses are in slumber mode now, though the candy-sweet cherry tomatoes appeared like magic in the farm stand well into October. That’s the cucumber greenhouse at the end of the season before Steve neatly cleared it out. He parked the little Boston Whaler “Sparkles” in there last winter. There are still beautiful onions, garlic and potatoes in the farm stand, but the maple syrup is sold out. No worries, it will be February and March in the blink of an eye and sap will be running again. You can see the sap buckets and collecting buckets standing sentry behind the potatoes (along with some of Rachel’s lovely pottery), and the sugaring wood is stacked outside, ready to be fed into the firebox that heats the evaporator.

The fall colors were a bit muted this year, probably due to our extraordinary soggy summer, but when the sun hit the foliage just right (at sunrise for us), it was magical. The colors also built slowly, stretching peak foliage season deep into October. Tis the season for Rosie to wear her orange hunting vest for perambulations, so she’s not mistaken for…. a bear?

For three days in October, the Sandwich Fair explodes into a kaleidoscope of activity, bringing tens of thousands of visitors to our little village along with all manner of activities, our favorites being those highlighting farm animals. Todd took the photo of the Ox Pull competition. There were categories for all ages and sizes of oxen, culminating in the big boys who pulled over nine thousand pounds. And of course there were all manner of other competitions, from the ladies’ skillet toss to flower arranging, canned goods, and baking. Jane’s key lime bars did well (wink, wink).

For those craving adventure, the fair offered death-defying (and stomach churning) carnival rides on the midway and food trucks dispensing such delights as bloomin’ onions, cotton candy, and fried dough. (The fair is an official “no judgement” zone when it comes to eating.) We enjoy the parade the most, with local high school marching bands, horses, fire trucks from neighboring towns, and homemade floats. There’s no Santa Claus at the end of this parade but a stream of oxen, yoked in pairs, some handled by elementary school-aged boys and girls. Now that’s country!

The fair is over now, and we’re back to our sleepy bliss (with the exception of a loose bear dog that has been haunting the farm in the middle of the night causing quite a ruckus). We’re going to have a hard freeze this week, but we’re ready for the change. So, from the sheep cozied up in their hay laden barn, we wish you a peaceful fall amidst this roiling world.