Dear friends of PTB Farm,
The hard freeze last night left a heavy frost on the pasture grass. By 8am, when Worth and I went out on morning chores, the crunchy grass and frozen leaves were surrendering to the morning sun, drying in the cold winter light. As we walked around checking in on all the animals, I watched the birds busy at their morning tasks. There were phoebes on the fence line, a big bright woodpecker with his staccato jumps, worked his way around an old sassafras tree on the edge of the pasture, and a varied group of sparrows and juncos were busy on ground, happily chatting and working on the sun-warmed earth.
I wonder do they know it's the solstice? Can the birds and the cows and sheep and pigs feel this is the shortest day of the year? Will they celebrate the return of the light as much as I will?
On this winter solstice morning, we found our first lamb of the season. And so it begins anew. The cycles of the seasons are hardly ever so precise on the farm. Rarely are the first piglets born on the equinox or the first lambs on the solstice. But I find a minute of pleasure when the cycles are so aligned, reminded that on our small farm and in our daily toiling, we are working with nature not against it.
Farming is, and always will be, a dawn to dusk profession. And at this time of year when dawn comes later and dusk comes earlier, we have more time to contemplate the days' work, the complicated puzzle of four season farming with complex and dynamic natural systems, and the seasons' ahead.
We hope you are enjoying some quiet and rest in these darkest days. Here is a short poem by one of my favorite poets, William S Merwin to celebrate the return of light.
The Solstice
They say the sun will come back
at midnight
after all
my one love
but we know how the minutes
fly out into
the dark trees
and vanish
like the great ohias and honey creepers
and we know how the weeks
walk into the
shadows at midday
at the thought of the months I reach for your hand
it is not something
one is supposed
to say
we watch the bright birds in the morning
we hope for the quiet
daytime together
the year turns into air
but we are together in the whole night
with the sun still going away
and the year
coming back
— W.S. Merwin, from The Rain in the Trees, 1988
A quick reminder that we will be at the Greensboro Curb Farmers Market this Saturday, December 24 -- so come by to stock up for your holiday feasts and fetes! Additionally, if you are interested in joining the PTB Farm Coop program, we will accepting new members starting in January. For more information about where to find us this winter (every Saturday at the curb market and at select triad restaurants!) and to learn more about the coop program, be sure to check out www.ptbfarm.com
Happy Holidays from all us on the farm!
With love from your farmers
Hillary and Worth
with Bea, Yuli, Tazi, and Cassius the dogs
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