October 2026 CSA Newsletter

Spring flourishes, Summer toils steadily, Fall ebbs. The four of us have lived a very full nine months. Never quite enough hours in a day, week, or growing season to conquer the list of youthful optimism of spring, though this summer was a treat. Plenty of rain meant our hours of hauling water to the various grazing paddocks and animal groups was nearly nonexistent, it also meant that every time we mowed hay, it was rained on. Tis the balance of things.

I'm in the midst of romanticizing fall days, even when it is gritty. The dirt and grime that naturally builds from making pickles & sauerkraut, freezing fruit, and trying to keep a garden more flowers and less weeds...well, it has bested my usual good humor with one too many sticky messes. Something jogged my memory of cleaning grubby little hands, something that felt like a never ending job that has somehow quite disappeared. Those small hands have become calloused and are more often than not, helping open a jar for me. To assist in the romanticizing... I'm lighting a candle, mopping the floors, brewing a cup of coffee, and remembering that the grit won't last forever.

Here is the upcoming shipping schedule;

October Shares Shipping; Oct. 5th ( or any other week)
November Shares Shipping; Nov. 2nd ( or any other week)
December Shares Shipping; Dec. 7th( or any other week)

Share options for this month. Below is an example Small Beef, Pork & Chicken* Share, your share may be different and we are open to customizing your share - just ask! The Highlighted cuts are New & Limited in quantity. Please let us know if you would like to try them!

Beef Roast ( Chuck, Brisket, Bottom, Rump, London Broil) or Whole Chicken (3-5#)
Ground Beef (1-2) AND/OR Patties or Sweet Italian Links
Ground Pork or Sausages ( Breakfast, Sweet Italian, Hot Italian, Chorizo, Bratwurst, Smoked Kielbasa or Smoked Andouille)
Country Style Ribs, OR Fresh Pork Chops ( bone-in or boneless)
Chicken Breast, Leg/Thighs, Drumsticks, Wings or Thighs( Limit ONE BL/BI Thighs)
Smoked Bacon, *Smoked Canadian Bacon, Smoked Pork Chops (thin cut)* OR Stew/Kabob
OR Cut of Your choice or swap out above cuts for; extra Ground Beef or Pork, Sausages, Bacon, Snack Sticks, Jerky, Summer Sausage, Huntley's Maple Syrup, MacCue's Honey/Creams, Raquette River Coffee, or All Chicken or All Beef Pet Blends, Tallow or any of the Tallow Balms.

TANGY SLOW-COOKER POTROAST

INGREDIENTS

3-4lbs boneless chuck (or similar) roast, fully thawed
2 tsp. of Hungarian Paprika
salt & pepper
2 TB. Olive Oil
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup red wine like cabernet or pinot noir (or for a slightly different but delicious variation, use grape juice!)
3 Tb. balsamic vinegar
1 TB. honey or brown sugar
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce (or you can use a small can of tomato puree or chopped tomatoes)
1 large onion, quartered
1-2 large carrots, sliced in small chunks
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced.

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat your olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Generously rub the roast with salt & pepper and rub in paprika.
Sear on both sides for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine broth, wine, tomato sauce or tomatoes, vinegar and honey and set aside.
Put quartered onions, carrots and garlic in slow cooker. Place meat on veggies and scrape all those flavorful bits from the pan in as well.
Pour tomato-wine mixture over meat. Cook on High for 1 hour and then on Low for 6-8 hours more.

Between packing orders, apples have been harvested ( those that the cows didn't hoover up first!) We have our suspicions that the older females are hitting the trees to jostle loose apples so they can grab them, but haven't seen them in action to prove it. Lost track of how many apple trees we have found on the ranch, over the 150 mark, and have been slowly pruning and improving them. Though we only harvested a portion of the apples, the guys did get over 1700 lbs. of them and with some help from friends pressed 112 gallons of apple cider!! If I could figure a way to share with you all, we would. It is crisp, not overly sweet, and refreshing. It is frozen in 3 gallon jugs and will be shared with friends over the winter. Some will be turned into Apple Cider vinegar, too.

My nephew & his new wife delivered 122 huge bales of hay to the ranch today. This is just a fraction of the hay we will need for winter, but it feels lovely to have this pile ready and waiting once the beef herd comes off of their summer grazing.

Warmly,

John, Kassandra, Eathon & Cole

October 2026 CSA Newsletter