Thank you all who have signed up for a winter share. I’ll have more information about the pick-ups soon.

The last main season csa pick-ups will be: Friday October 17 and Tuesday October 21. The Winter CSA will start Friday November 7.

I wanted to share a harvesting strategy I’ve been using, which you may or may not have noticed. Some crops need to be harvested at least twice a week since the window between them being ready and being over-mature is narrow (tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, lettuce etc.) Zucchini needing to be harvested 4 times a week. Some crops can hold in the field longer so I can choose to harvest or wait (carrots, celery, fennel, cabbage etc.). For many years I would harvest these crops every other week to spread out the distribution. That had to change when I added bi-weekly shares as an option. The first year I offered them it took me most of the season before I realized some bi-weekly members were not getting certain crops. I was harvesting carrots every other week and certain members ended up not getting any summer carrots… It was a tragedy. I switched to giving these types of crops out for two weeks then taking a two week break to make sure everyone got them. All the fall crops are like this, so for the remaining weeks you will see many crops for two weeks and then a break…

Just thought I’d let you know 🙂

First: there was a scheduled workshop on seed saving tomorrow September 13 that has been cancelled. Sorry but when I imagined doing this back in the winter I thought the season would have slowed down enough, but turns out I was overly optimistic 🙂

But stay tuned for information on upcoming events: In October we will hold our moving like planets that got rained out in July; and in November there will be a workshop “The Miracle of the Human Body: finding meaning in physical work”

More details to come!

From now until the end of September I will be signing up RETURN Winter share members. If you have (ever) been a winter share member in the past, sign up before the end of September. I’ve already started a waiting list for new winter members, so don’t lose your spot if you are interested. The share price will remain the same: $400 for a large share and $250 for a small. Payment by e-transfer to saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com cheque or cash is possible. Potatoes will be available for bulk purchase as before. I’ll be asking for your potato order in October. If you have any questions let me know.

What’s a bit of rain? Some of us got drenched as we began our planet walk and had to rush inside. Luckily we had decided to hold Ansley’s show in our back room. It was a little tight, but a lovely evening. Thank you all for going with the flow! I have a stock of her CD’s in the CSA store that are available by donation.

Starting at 6pm we will do a welcoming planet walk. You can walk the paths of the planets (from a Geo-centric perspective) to experience how plants express the connection between the heavens and the Earth.
At 7 Ansley Simpson will play songs and tell stories from her album “She Fell From the Sky” exploring the Anishinaabe creation story of Sky Woman. She will also be debuting some new material.
You can find her music at: https://ansleysimpson.bandcamp.com/ “Ansley Simpson is an award-winning Anishinaabe singer-songwriter from Toronto, and a member of Alderville FN. A weaver of haunting vocals and poetics, their songs unfold as stories, immersing the listener in vibrant imagery, journeying us through themes of vulnerably, love, and heartbreak.” 
She’ll be playing from our back porch with seating around our yard and camp fire. We’ll have marshmallows for roasting, cold herbal teas and Georgia will be selling her cookies.
We are limiting the numbers because of parking and the space in our backyard, so please let me know if you want to come by emailing saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com Suggested donation of $30 for the concert also gets you a copy of Ansley’s CD. Bring your own chair or blanket.

A few people were asking, and it’s a stormy afternoon, so I thought I’d share how the capital contributions are working this year. A capital expense is something (usually over $500) that provides a new direction (even in a small way) for how the farm operates. A couple of years ago this was the building of our movable chicken wagon that allows the chickens to move through the garden’s rest areas during the growing season.
This year the capital contributions are going towards mini hoop greenhouses for peppers and eggplant in the garden. I used to grow them as greenhouse crops. But after two years of late blight affecting the outside tomato crops, I realized I needed to grow more of the tomatoes under cover. Since tomatoes need height it made sense to move them all into the existing greenhouse space and put the eggplant and peppers (shorter plants) outside in mini hoops. Below is Simon and I setting them up early June. I don’t have an updated shot, but the plants are liking the extra protection.

This past Sunday there was a community memorial/celebration of life for Barney and Liz Barningham, hosted by Dyan Jones and Randy Martin. It was a beautiful event bringing together so many within the community who were part of these amazing people’s lives. I wanted to share with the broader Saugeen River CSA community my gratitude for what they brought to the farm and our lives. To say I don’t know if I would still be farming without their contributions is one of those “what if” questions that’s impossible to answer.
The picture above was taken at the farm’s 20th year celebration. We couldn’t remember if Liz and Barney had joined the first year in 1997 but for sure by ’98. They were part of the first CSA core group, and again when I formed one in 2010. As you’ll see in a bit they had a big role in the current core group’s formation. For many years they would purchase a CSA share for themselves, but also purchase one for someone in the community in need. They did this anonymously, but I’m sharing it now to honour what that meant to me and to many people in the community.
Before we renovated the current CSA space, the pick-up used to be in the upstairs of the barn. Barney and Liz saw the state of repair the barn was in, and being on the core group were aware of the financial position of the farm. They donated enough money to replace half the roof and half the siding of the barn. This gift was humbling to say the least. It lives in me still when I think about community supporting agriculture and agriculture supporting community. I continue to funnel that gift back to the community in honour of them, knowing the work I do is an important part of the community.
A funny story related to this… one year we had a load of firewood delivered and dumped at the entrance to the barn where the CSA pick-up was. It was intended to be moved just inside the door. But as the season gets so busy moving it was low on the priority list. Members walked by it each time they would get their veggies. When Barney walked by, he would always pick up one piece, and only one piece, and carry it in and toss it where it was supposed to go. If anyone was coming behind him, they would do the same. He never said everyone should do it, never said anything, just knew in his heart that he couldn’t walk by without doing his part.
When the micro-fit energy program was active in Ontario, Barney and Liz wanted to join a solar co-op. They wanted to have a solar array installed at their house just outside Durham, but they had too many trees. They asked us if they could rent a small section of pasture for the array. That is how the solar panel near the barn came to be there. Once they had been paid back for their initial investment, and before Liz’s passing in 2020, they transferred the membership in the co-op to the farm. This was yet again another gift that helps the farm sustain itself, and which I try to honour by giving back to the community.
And now I want to share a more personal story. 2025 marks 20 years since Holly, who I started the Saugeen River CSA with, left the farm. Carrying the management on my own for that long has been filled with joys on many levels, and challenges on many levels. Something that inspires me to keep going and to continue to wonder is working with the animals, plants, soil, weather, seasons… and community, and knowing that what I experience of the physical in nature isn’t all there is. There is spirit too. Of that I’m certain, but the depth of what that is, is an on-going learning.
In exploring the spirit in nature for many year, it has seemed to me a connection exists between those who have passed away and the spiritual side of animals, plants, soil, weather. It has seemed to me that as we, in our lives in a body interact with the physical side of nature, those who pass away, get to experience nature from the other side. The spirit in animals, plants, soil, weather, the seasons is a bridge between the world we know and the one experienced after death. This is something I’ve been wrestling with and don’t mean to convince anyone of anything… just wanted to share an experience.
Having lived with these ideas for so long, when I received Barney’s email, announcing his passing (he was a firm supporter of ‘Dying with Dignity’), I read his final words: “You’ll have to manage the world without me,” and said aloud to the computer, “I’m sorry Barney, but I’m not sure it works that way.” Many times I’ve felt the presence of those who have passed in the blossoming tree, in the whispering wind, in the tilted expression of an animal. For me no one is gone, but simply experiencing another aspect of what it means to be human, and what the meaning of the Earth is all about.
At the time of Barney’s passing, in late 2023, I was at a particularly low point of trying to keep the farm going on my own. A couple weeks after Barney’s email I was in the barn doing winter chores, pushing hay down the trap door, when I heard, very distinctively, Barney’s voice say, “Well it is ‘Community’ supported agriculture isn’t it?”
This inspired me to re-form the CSA core group again and try to engage the community where I can. This is ongoing and evolving.
Barney and Liz have always inspired in me a love and trust in community. This spirit will continue!

Thank you, Barney and Liz!

Cory

I would like to thank everyone who got behind resolving the raven egg negotiation. Several of you replied with suggestions. Dorle gave me the original idea about the mirrors, Paul had a big one he could give me, Tara and Tsvete gave me auto mirrors, Christine gave me a bunch of cd’s to hang… Ansley took the pictures. The community responded to the raven to kindly keep away from the chickens!
Thank you!

Does anyone have a mirror that’s not made of glass that they could donate/loan for an experiment?
Since the chickens have gone outside in their summer wagon home, I’ve had to contend with ravens stealing eggs (this picture is off the internet). If I do nothing they will steal every single egg the chickens lay. If I’m able to chase them off I get all the eggs, but if I’m busy doing other things they keep coming back no matter what obstacle I place. They are very smart. So I’m a bit short on eggs for the spring shares today.
It was suggested to place mirrors around to deter them…