Gentle Reminder to our Friday CSA Members:
CSA pick up will return to its normal day and times this week, Friday from noon until 6:30pm.
Team Effort Wins the Day!
This week summer weather really set in on the farm. We’ve finally reached that point in the season where the heat and humidity of south-central PA are a force to be reckoned with. Irrigation has become a regular daily concern in the produce operation and giving cows and sheep access to shade and fresh water is on the top of the list for the livestock crew. For the humans on the farm, just going about basic tasks results in sweat pouring out our bodies – water bottles and the occasional Popsicle break are crucial to our daily success.
Fortunately the farm’s location in Boiling Springs provides some great ways to beat the heat after work. The Yellow Breeches creek flows cold all summer. Our crew has found a great swimming hole for daily dips, and when time permits we have inner tubes for longer floats down the stream. But the best way to cool off in July is also a great team building activity – the annual Anything Floats boat and tube race on Independence Day at Children’s Lake.
This year we opted to recycle boats we had kept in storage from the previous two races and focused our efforts on creative adornments. Several students and apprentices stayed late after long hot days of work to give the old boats new life with livestock themed characters. We started by building a dancing cow to sit atop the two hulled craft now known as “Deja Moo”. Then we fashioned a giant ewe out of plywood dressed with real woolly hides to go atop the larger boat – this became “Sheep Thrills”. In addition to being quite stinky (the sheep hides were scraped and salted in the fall, but are otherwise uncured), we knew Sheep Thrills would be a top heavy boat at risk of tipping due to the high center of gravity of the over-sized ovine passenger, but this was part of the fun.
Competition was stiff on the lake this year. The College Farm has held the top prize in the 10-person race for several years in a row, and several other teams were gunning for us – in particular our friends from the Carlisle Tool Library. A record number of people braved the cold water to exert themselves in the inner tube race. Just completing the race in frigid water in front of hundreds of spectators is a feat in itself, but to win, one needs to run the course twice. This year out of fifteen racers, farm crew members took all three trophies, with student farmer Paige Baisley winning first place with style!
Things got exciting as the boat races progressed through the 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 person contests, with many other fast and enthusiastic boats in the water. Despite its tipsy nature, Sheep Thrills proved to be a speedy boat, and with a strong paddling crew she took first place in all but the two-person race. Deja Moo was a bit harder to “steer” but still performed well and brought home several trophies, including 2nd place in the 10-person race. With six boats competing in the final race, the announcer reminded us that there were sixty people on the starting line floating on home-made boats – twenty of them from the Dickinson Farm teams. It proved to be a fun day for the whole crew and we’re proud of our team for bringing their muscle, creativity and good spirit to this summer highlight. Special thanks to Elizabeth Gallo, Matan Spector and Vlada Watkins for staying late to build the cow and sheep for this year’s entries, and to Vanessa Ryan and Maia Binhammer for captaining the boats!
The hot weather also makes your veggies grow… we are picking zucchini and cucumbers daily and the other hot season crops are really coming along. We hope you enjoy them all. Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Matt, Special Projects Manager
Calling On Our CSA Canners: Bulk Cucumbers, Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Dill For Sale!
'Tis time for making pickles! We have cucurbits in abundant supply at the College Farm. Whether you are a seasoned canner or just starting out, NOW is the time to make pickles! Be sure to locate the tab in Harvie to place an order for bulk items when you customize your CSA box this week or contact Jenn for more information at halpinj@dickinson.edu.
Pick-Your-Own Flowers Now In Season!
We invite you to peruse our cut flower garden located adjacent to the main parking area at the farm. Enjoy!
