Happy Friday Y’all!

Seasonally appropriate weather is back since I last wrote during a late November heat wave. We’re now a bit wet and cold out here, but getting some good stuff done after the holiday break.

Our new technological installation allowed us to visit my family out in Truckee, CA for a Thanksgiving celebration instead of being stuck on the farm this year. In years past, when we had tickets to fly out west for the holidays, we’d have to cancel if cold approached. Always a heartbreaking situation. I miss my family.

This year, every night we planned to be gone was a sub-freezing night that could ruin most of our spring flowers if tunnels weren’t closed with heaters going. I finished the last installation of internet communication devices for our automated roll-up sides on the tunnels literally one hour before we drove to the airport. I ran all the tests I could without having actual cold temps to truly make sure it would work.

We crossed our fingers and went.  A few glitches and learning curves here and there, but on a whole, it was a major success!  We got some great quality time in with my fam and took a few nice hikes next to Lake Tahoe.  Got to play with my niece and nephew in the forest, making art along the trail with rocks, pine cones, sticks, and lichen.  Got hit with the occasional snowball whenever they could find a patch of snow.  Mandy and our niece Eliana, collected all sorts of nature bits to decorate the Thanksgiving table.  Ellie was taken with the process of turning findings from the forest floor into art for the table.  It's such a fun gift Mandy brings to these events, and it's always great to see how it impacts the young ones’ understanding of what is possible in terms of creativity.  Speaking of which, this same ethos is what drove our old wreath making business and is what Mandy taught in our wreath making instructional video, which is always a great daytime party event.  Watch it with loved ones and then go collect materials to make wreaths together with some holiday music to set the tone.

We enjoyed some spiked hot cocoa beverages and chilly walks to the ice skating rink with the fam, and I even went on a hot streak at the pool table and finally beat my dad after losing to him at everything for 49 years. Not to give any ideas. He’s a great sport about winning or losing, he’s just insanely talented at pretty much any sport he’s ever dabbled in. The man held the record for most points scored in a basketball game in all of San Francisco, for 26 years. He was only a junior at 5’7” and 130 lbs and scored 50 points in 3 quarters. They took him out of the game for the last quarter out of consideration for the other team’s feelings. And the kicker is, there wasn’t even 3 pointers back then. He’s humble to a fault and never brings it up, but even though that was 60 years ago and he lives an hour away from SF, people still come up to him randomly to ask him about it if they hear his name. I rode the bench the one year I played ball in high school, with a high of 9 points in a game, so I’ll take my billiards win.

We took a red-eye back and arrived in time to exhaustedly inspect the farm, plant some ranunculus, and water some plants that the irrigation controller failed to water (a solenoid wire had been snapped somehow). Next morning Mandy had surgery super early, which went great and she’s recovering well, and of course the next day she’s in the fields. I’ve said it before, but she is the absolute driving force behind this farm. She’s the motor that powers everything.

We’re gearing up for hellebore and mum season.  Mum cuttings are available now.  Hellebores will be listed in January.  For first dibs, join our Hellebore waitlist.

The mum moms are getting cleaned up, more ranunculus was planted, pecans were harvested, inventory is being done, irrigation and equipment repairs are happening, and we managed to dig up a decent chunk of our dahlia tubers yesterday.  We’ll be listing dahlia tubers to our wait list sooner than later, so if you want first dibs, you should sign up for that too.  All of these things sell out, so the wait list gives you an edge.

The Farm Store is open for only 3 more weeks!  Get your holiday shopping done.  Taper candles are on sale because ambience is important.

Mandy’s excited to go by the pecan sheller today. It carries a country cozy feeling for her. It is our first good harvest in many years, so she’s jazzed.

Oh…we’re gonna put together an overview video of all the steps to install an automated roll up side for all you farmers who may be interested. I’m a visual learner and lamented the absence of one while figuring out how to do it myself, so Mandy talked me into filming the steps for the benefit of others. I just have to finish the editing, but I think our team will post it to YouTube if you have interest.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Steve