It is late winter of 2018 here at Mooseview Farm.
As a lot of you know we lost one of our farmers, our beloved Pam, to cancer in late 2016. She had lived 18 years here at the farm and she often remarked that she had lived in this house and this place longer than any other in her life.
2017 was spent figuring out what to do without her. We did not go to the farmers markets nor did we put the farm stand out at the head of the driveway. But we did grow some stuff and donated a lot of produce to the Wakefield Food Pantry in Pam’s memory. In the fall we planted 6 fairly mature fruit trees on the hillside terrace. 2 pears – 2 plums – 2 peaches A shift away from row crops to more permaculture. We also spent time considering selling and moving on – something smaller – somewhere different. But we (Willy and me) are now headed into our 20th year on this peace of ground. We have planted a lot of growing things and memories here. We have hauled a lot of rocks out of farm beds and built our share of new stone walls to join the ones from the 18th and 19th centuries. Why start over when you are just starting to discover the joys of where you are?
So 2018 will hopefully see many changes. 22 more new bare fruit trees have been ordered along with more high bush blueberries. The main farm beds will be about 1/2 of what they once were and closer to 1/4 acre. But we have big plans for a diverse set of crops and will be trying new things. We probably will put the farm stand out this year. We also asked a forester to come out and help with a plan for better ecology and habitat in the “five acre woods” – that part of the farm that is mostly trees.
Lastly we hope to be far more active here on this website and on the Mooseview Farm facebook page with updates on this on-going “experiment” of farming when you are well past 60.
