We Bought the Farm

Well, we didn't buy the whole farm, just a share in the farm. We bought into a CSA this year, Community Supported Agriculture. What that means is that they do all of the work, and we get all the goods. Kat and Tony are the owners and operators of Stoney Acres Farm in Athens, WI (about 20ish miles away). They have a program where you can purchase a share in their farm and then each week from June 4-Oct.15 we get a box full of that week's harvest. I don't have to plant a garden, I don't have to weed or water, and I get organic, locally grown produce! Can you think of anything better? To top it all off, Kat and Tony are wonderful people who are excited about teaching the kids what it is to farm. We are invited to visit whenever we want and we can choose to help or just hang out. This is homeschooling at its best and I can't wait to spend the summer at the farm. Today we helped them out by planting squash--10 rows each about 100feet long. That's allotta squash! We broke up into teams to do the planting. One person put the seeds in the hole and then the other poked them into the soil and covered them up.


Thomas and Isabelle worked great together and planted two whole rows themselves! Thomas was the first to bring to my attention that they planted 20% of the field. Math and farming--YES!


Hattie and her new friend Marcus also worked as a team. They had a good time together. Marcus was a trooper. He left his own farm chores behind to spend time planting with us just so he could spend the day with Hattie. That's gotta be worth something.


Michael spent most of his time with Tony who showed him the ins and outs of the tractor. Michael even got to ride along as they plowed the field for the sweet corn.


Everyone was so busy! Who was keeping an eye on Teresa? We found her happy as could be taking care of the baby chicks. I don't have the heart to tell her that we'll be eating her little friend in a few months.


Teresa did make it back to the field to help me with the planting for awhile.


She was an excellent 'poker'.

What about Jesse? He just hung out in the field with me. He ate some dirt and crawled up and down the rows. Every once in a while he would stop and wonder what the scratchy yellow stuff was.


But I think he had a good time.



Photos courtesy of Tom Hogan of 'Phantom Photography'