Crisp Mornings

Last week I found myself marveling at the swift change to fall, and, as if to rub it in, the maples, birches and the rest burst into color this week. Like so many aspects of my life, when I stop to notice, the signs have been there all along. We have a maple tree we call “Grandpa French’s Maple” that is the centerpiece of our western view. She is named for our neighbor and good friend, who told us how he remembers the tree as a young kid growing right next to the old farm shop. That shop is now long gone and the old cement pad is cracked and heaved from the massive roots of this now majestic tree.

Every year our first sign of fall is when the southern tippy top of the tree’s leaves tinge red like an errant strawberry in a spring kale salad. Every year Grandpa French’s Maple sings a silent beginning of change for all those listening. You can see this maple in the first picture, and gap in the top left where the first leaves have already fallen. This year she donned a fall shawl of orange and red while still hinting at summer hues with green leaves on the lower branches. I tried a few times to capture this using my camera, but I still don’t have the knack for lighting and colors. Just imagine how she glows when back lit by the sunrise:)

Saturday morning Lewis and Lovett spend the night with Grandma at her house in the next town over (Lewis, NY!). Our house was an eire version of quiet as we prepared for the morning and drank our tea. Then we set out to do chores together. Walking side by side in the crisp morning air, our boots swishing through frosted grass, I felt the toggle of past and future. Racey and I wandering in the memory of farm early days, when ideas and possibilities were endless, and then a sort of foreshadowing when someday we might be alone on the farm again when or if Lewis and Lovett find their own way in the world. The space of no children brings a mix of feelings.

With chores complete we grabbed a few folding tables and some Ndara products to bring up to the farm store in preparation for about 200 cyclists that were due to arrive in less than an hour. Reber Rock Farm was the first stop on an Adirondack bike ride called Bike the Barns. Since covid most of our marketing and customer interactions are online and digital. It was exciting and refreshing to meet and talk to people in person. It was a perfect day for a bike ride in the Adirondacks, cold and brisk to start, with plenty of riders arriving with hats and gloves, and a warming sun that highlighted the stunning color in the mountains.

Thank you to all the folks and cyclists who stopped in with interest and curiosity. I felt energized and inspired to share the what and the why of our farm.

Lewis has started a new business on the farm. We have a local redemption business that has started up here in Reber, and so Lewis painted a trash can and set it by our dumpster and he is collecting, counting, storing and redeeming cans!