We ended up with lovely weather for our annual CSA Pot Luck. As usual there was lots of amazing food to share with a relaxed , happy time for all. After our big meal we enjoyed horse drawn wagon rides and for some a walk in the woods. Later in the afternoon the children made a jungle gym out of the straw bales that we had put out for people to sit on and had lots of fun playing on them. It was a nice end of the season party for our apprentices and Michelle Jory, who helped make the day enjoyable for all. It is very special to be able to form a community around the food that we grow and eat.

The coming week will wrap up the main season of our CSA and we are happily anticipating slowing down a bit after that. We hope to plant our 2013 garlic crop this week and mix up potting soil so it will be ready for the winter startup of the greenhouse for next season.

I am happy to report that we have had a major break through with the milking of Mabel. She was not very happy about being milked and was kicking to the extent that it was impossible to milk her. Finally, after much perseverance, she has turned into a dream cow at milking time. Mac is now permanently separated form Mabel and is being bottle fed. We have a small milking machine system to keep me from waking up with numb arms in the night and are now able to start thinking about making yogurt, butter and cheese! Our apprentices, Michelle and (Ken-reluctantly) were a big support to me in this endeavour and I am very grateful. Ken thinks that I am crazy to want to take on more work and perhaps I am, but for some reason I am excited about the prospect of having our own milk and making our own dairy products.