Thoughts on the Solstice and Farm Updates

June 21, 2021

Happy Summer Solstice!

​Our online shop is open! This week we are super excited to offer a Seasonal Salad Box. The box includes everything you need to make a delicious summer salad (and you get everything at a discount!) It also includes a bundle of garlic scapes and a recipe card for garlic scape tahini dressing. yum! See our online shop to see what's included in the box. And see the picture below to see what you get! These are for online orders only.

Read on for some thoughts on the Summer Solstice and important new updates about where you can find our food!

​ The season of abundance is upon us! I've been humming that little mantra to myself all morning as I trellised tomatoes and picked sugar snap peas. I've been humming little solstice related thoughts to myself for the past 24 hours actually...thinking about cycles and what it really feels like to give into the rhythms of life. Starting way back on January 1st, I began to keep track of the hours of daylight each day in my planner. Every day I would write the number of minutes of daylight gained next to the time that the sun rose and set. I was desperately hungry for the sun, and exalted in every single minute of daylight we gained. Around the equinox in mid March it seems that I stopped my daily tracking. I partially think that I ran out of time, but I also think that it stopped mattering so much to me. I could safely and surely say that the sunlight was returning. There was more light than darkness and I didn't need to give myself the daily reassurance that, like every year, the sun would shine high in the sky and that summer would come.

Well, without fail summer is here! With the Summer Solstice comes an almost manic level of energy for me. I feel myself quite literally buzzing inside and I'll find myself running from one farm task to the next. I don't feel behind or rushed, I feel ebullient. I've been using words like glorious and beautiful and robust and vibrant on a daily basis.

​ I feel almost annoyingly positive and sometimes I think I'm talking so much that Andy has stopped listening entirely. When Andy has slinked off to find a quiet corner to read in, I'll bust in and say, "I know it seems that you are having quiet alone time and I've been talking your ear off all day, but can I just share one more idea with you?!" He always listens and I am so grateful that he is here doing this with me.

When I reread my email from last year's Summer Solstice I found that I felt so sad. I was lamenting the fact that the daylight had peaked and that dark days were returning. This year I feel so much more comfortable with leaning into the seasons. I am going to ride this energetic summer wave until the ebb of daylight wraps me up in its darkness and tells me to rest.

For now, I want to share the fruits of this work with you! It is my favorite thing about farming. To think of the people around Port Angeles eating salads that began as seeds that I sowed brings me immense joy and I thank you for giving my the opportunity to live my dream.

Updates:

We are now officially opening the farmstand every week from Saturday at 4PM - Wednesday night. Please come gather veggies by stopping by 43 Black Diamond Rd. It is run on the honor system and we take cash, check, venmo, and paypal.

We are now officially opening our online store every Monday. Orders will close on Friday afternoon at 2:30. You can choose to pick up your veggies at the farmstand on Friday from 4-6, at the Saturday Port Angeles Farmers Market, or to be delivered Friday evening.

We will continue to be at the Port Angeles Farmers Market on Saturdays.

We will be sending out one harvest email a week. We are still working out which day is best, early week to remind people to order online, or our regular Thursday email to tell people we'll be at the farmers market. I am sure that this is one of those things that I am totally overthinking, but if you have any feedback about when you prefer or find the weekly email most helpful I would love to hear your thoughts! (I love farming, but I'm not too keen on marketing so I need all the help I can get. :)

And finally! This week's harvest:

• SUGAR SNAP PEAS!
• head lettuce (5 varieties to choose from)
• salad mix
• spinach
• tatsoi
• cherry bell radishes
• garlic scapes
• collards
• kale
• parsley
• dill
• sprouting broccoli Where you can find HPF produce:

Farmstand Saturday - Wednesday

Farmers Market Saturday 10-2 Downtown Transit Center

Our online shop: https://openfoodnetwork.net/hidden-penny-farm/shop#/shop​

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Thank you, as always, for supporting local farms and local farmers.

all the best from Hidden Penny Farm,

Melissa