The Quickening of Spring and the State of Things

It’s very nearly March. The days are getting longer, and The Quickening is upon us. I remember when I was pregnant with Della and I felt that first flutter of a tiny being in my belly… it was magical, that first comprehension that there was a new life becoming. I learned later that this is called “The Quickening”, that first sense of new life. My farmer friend and mentor, Michaele, refers to the beginning of natural spring as The Quickening, and it completely makes sense to me. Every year I notice it, and maybe you do, too; the angle of light shifts and the sun rises earlier and sets later. The birds sing louder and sweeter, frogs start to call, and there’s a green tinge at the end of branches as the new buds start to swell. Welcome to The Quickening of Spring!

These are also the signals to get ready to start planting, so I’ve been getting the prop-house tidied up. New planting trays have arrived, I’m getting supplies in order, making changes to equipment inventory, and refining the planting schedule again, as I do every year. Now that the big freeze has passed, I’ll be getting the first seeds planted on heat mats, and by the end of March, I’ll be planting crops in hoophouses for May harvest.

I don’t really like to talk about politics, but this new administration has made it impossible not to, because there will be implications that reach us all, if they haven’t already. Changes to how agriculture is researched, funded, and marketed, how farm labor is made available (or not), and how food is grown and distributed nationally and globally… The pandemic made clear that these kinds of changes will trickle down to each of us at some level. I am not fear-mongering, but I believe that these cuts and new priorities will likely bring changes to local food security for all of us.

Like most people I know and interact with daily, as we watch friends be cut from their jobs and program lifelines, I have been searching for what I can do to help. I want to do something meaningful. I believe that what we really need now is more community: there is strength in numbers. We need each other to support and be supported by. CSA is entirely about Community, as well as food. Even though my farm and CSA isn’t going to be able to feed the masses, it can bring together a group of people who value both food and togetherness, as well as clean air and water, and birdwatching, and getting outside, and connecting their kids to the source of their food.

I have decided to increase Whistling Train Farm’s CSA capacity, so that I can welcome more families into this fold of inclusivity. I have always welcomed all to the farm, and to the farmily, so to speak. (Not my term, but it’s warm and welcoming, I think.) I’m opening up 50 more CSA shares. I will likely be working the farm full-time this growing season, and we will have regular farm gatherings for anyone who can make it. My hope is that we will find strength and solidarity, and gather to support each other.

I hope that you will be joining us for a delicious and beautiful 2025 farm season. Link to purchase 2025 CSA share. 

I wish health and wellness for you and your family in the coming year. And I hope to see you soon.

Shelley