We are enjoying dry, mild weather with only light winds and wonderful crisp cold nights and warm days. A walk around the farm still reveals signs of all the wind we experienced last week, with twigs and trash needing to be cleaned up. The lovely Fall weather we experienced this week is very much appreciated.
Many seasonal crew members have left the farm, returning to lives in Mexico, about which I know very little. Despite our best intentions of rounding out the work cycle, we still love to grow those tomatoes, melons and summer crops, all of which require that we increase the number of people working here during the 6-month busy season. Our year-round, permanent crew knows that the work days are getting shorter — a mixed blessing for them with more family and personal time, but lower take-home wages.
On Sunday (11/3) we celebrated the Capay Valley with an annual fundraiser for Capay Valley Vision. This Valley is special because of its diverse wildlife, abundant hiking and recreational opportunities, and fertile soil. Agriculture has been established here for decades and several dozen organic fruit and vegetable farms like Full Belly thrive, in part thanks to various community efforts like those of Capay Valley Vision that have supported their growth.
We are still harvesting a bumper crop of olives, all of which get made into oil within hours of coming off of the trees (you can order some from us!) Our barns and coolers are full to the rafters with pomegranates and winter squash, so there is much to be very thankful for. We hope that the same is true of all of our friends and CSA members and we wish you many blessings on your meals.
—Judith Redmond
