One thing that 2011 will certainly be remembered for is the weather; from hurricanes, to tornadoes (by the way the Storm-Chasers IMAX movie at the Smithsonian is amazing), to rain, to this crazy warm/cold/warm/rain/cold we are getting right now. Wow. What a year.
The extreme weather fluctuations are particularly hard on winter greens- it shocks them and they’re not sure whether to hibernate or start growing like crazy!! Let’s hope 2012 is maybe just a little less zany.
Wednesday night we had our annual Christmas party. (That’s the crew, both summer and winter, at the top.) Check out the pictures of our gingerbread bonanza below!!! We made fields, greenhouses, tractors, vegetables- and got thoroughly sick of candy in the process. We finished up the night playing the game Signs- it was a blast.
Even though it’s December, things are still happening around the farm. We’re removing plastic from the haygrove this week, doing some last minute field cleanup, getting the tractors and other equipment ready for snow removal and weeding in the greenhouses. Yes. Weeding. Because the greenhouses stay in an active state all winter, the chickweed grows like crazy all winter. And no, I don’t have any idea why it’s called chickweed but yes the chickens do eat it.
As the winter descends we spend a lot of time evaluating the season, figuring out what worked and what didn’t, and trying to adjust for next year. What would you like to see changed about the newsletter? Do you want more pictures? Or maybe different types of recipes (gluten free, vegan, etc.)? Or maybe another author? 
Let us know what you think.
Prepared Food Items: You may already have enjoyed some of our tasty new prepared items at the market, but if not, be sure to check them out. We have sweet potato biscuits and homemade salsa. Last week I mentioned the tomato paste in the salsa wasn’t ours but I forgot that Elizabeth and Brynn worked many hours actually making paste from our tomatoes this summer. All the ingredients in the salsa are right from the farm! Stay tuned for more prepared items to come as well.
I’ll be on a working vacation for the next two weeks so expect a shortened newsletter from Keith and Erika during that time. Don’t worry, they’ll do a great job!!
Until next week,
Michael
Michael@kilpatrickfamilyfarm.com
Bless you for the tips, and your web site definitely looks awesome. What wp theme are you using?
Hi Jeffrey,
We’re using a modified version of the Twenty Eleven theme.