Each Friday morning I leave my house at 4:45 a.m. to head to an Ashtanga yoga class in Montrose.  I think it goes without saying that I find this class beneficial to my mind, body, and spirit - there are not many things that could get me out of bed, doing inversions, and chanting for a 5:45 a.m. class otherwise.  This past Friday I left the house at my usual time expecting to be the only one on the road being the day after Thanksgiving; however, to my surprise, highway 65 had more traffic on it than ever! Quickly, it occurred to me that it was Black Friday, a consumerist "holiday" whose namesake comes from the fact that stores historically went into the "black" for the year with this day's maniacal shopping.  Although the news reports that fewer folks are shopping in brick-and-mortar stores than ever on this day, I thought to myself as I made my early morning yoga pilgrimage how amazing it would be if this many people (that were on the road that morning) placed the same importance on their self-care and getting to an early morning exercise or yoga class as they do on finding the best sale on the latest material item.  Still in a tryptophan coma and my belly full from the previous day's dinner, I literally "felt" just how much we have to be grateful for that we could never find at a store.  

Thanksgiving, I think, is my favorite holiday.  But it is a bit strange to me how we pick just this one day of the year to celebrate all that we have to be grateful for.  This afternoon, I had the rare opportunity to walk solo with just my old black lab Auggie.  Although he is nearly 11 years in age, he points his nose in the air proudly and charges up the hill of Surface Creek Road as if marching to the beat of a drum.  He rarely takes breaks to sniff, allowing me to settle into a rhythmic breath that is almost meditative.  Today's walk was impeccably serene.  Skies were clear with just zigzagged contrails up above for the eye to follow, the San Juans stood majestically in the distance, and the sky was beginning to set up what was sure to be a dazzling spectacle of pastels for a sunset.  In solitude we walked at a brisk pace to keep ourselves warm and the sound of silence wrapped itself around us, save for the jingle of Auggie's collar and the sound of my boot hitting the asphalt.  The birdsongs have ended for the season, there were no children outside playing, and the sweet smell of various types of wood were wafting from neighbors' chimneys.  The peace of winter is settling over the landscape and gratitude was oozing from every pore in my body.   Living here in such remarkable beauty, having each other and our animal friends, in a community where we feel like we have everything we need is the gift of this season to us.  We have so very much for which to give thanks that I couldn't possibly take just one day to celebrate it all.

This week, we will be delivering to Ridgway on Friday.  We have limited quantities of salad greens, chard, spinach, and pea shoots available.  Spicy greens and radishes are coming, slowly but surely, in the next few weeks, but for now we are savoring every moment of this serenity that the short wintry days are providing us with.  We will be changing the model of our CSA for the 2020 summer season, and details for this will be coming in the next couple of weeks.

With this, we wish you all a lovely week ahead.  Thank you for your continued support of our farm and local, organic agriculture.  

In gratitude, Melissa & Cale