Recently on a trip to the New York Botanical Gardens in
the Bronx, I picked up a book. They may say “don’t
judge a book by it’s cover,” but the title was enough for
me, “Future Steading: Live Like Tomorrow Matters” by
Jade Miles of Black Barn Farm.

As part of the Education team at Crossroads Farm since
2020, I have found that my choice of books on my
bedside table has shifted. I may not have picked up
“Future Steading” a decade ago. I may have shrugged off
the notion of farming and a simpler life here in the
middle of suburbia. However, the last four years at
Crossroads Farm has shifted my perspective.
Experiencing food — organic no less — from seed to
harvest at exit 17S on the Southern State is a bit of a
miracle. Not only do I participate in this miracle, I get to
teach it as well. I am blessed to see the wonder and
delight in children’s eyes when they discover how small
a lettuce seed is, when they pull a carrot out of the
ground, or when they eat the sweet tomatoes they
planted themselves.

 

After a year or so on the farm, I re-read Barbara
Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” with a whole
new set of eyes, respect and understanding. Eating
locally and seasonally is now a part of my vocabulary
and daily choices. I am comfortable talking about
farming and gardening terms like crop rotation,
composting, native plants, cover cropping and seed
saving. I marvel at how simple, hands-on, experiential

opportunities — even for our college age students —
create the AHA moment that connects them to their
food. Thinking about realigning your life with the local
food chain? Read this book.

I discovered Peter Larson’s “A Year and a Day on Just a
Few Acres” at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market while visiting
my daughter at Cornell a few years back. I was drawn in
to Larson’s small market stall and his confident yet
modest demeanor. After a long conversation, I bought
his book. In it, Larson takes us on his journey after a life
altering decision to leave his job as a principal in an
architectural firm to revive his family’s seventh-
generation farm. I loved his stories of farming,
homesteading and rebuilding the family home.

 

My new favorite author is Kristen Kimball. I was
visiting my sister in Vermont when I first spied her
book “The Dirty Life” at Bear Pond Books in
Montepelier. Again, the picture and title did it for me.
This book chronicles the first year on Essex Farm where
Kimball and her husband Mark created the first whole
diet CSA — beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, maple syrup,
grains, flours, dried beans, herbs, fruits, and forty
different vegetables. I loved how her life unfolded from
NYC urbanite to farmer, and the incredible hard work
and commitment to the land and to feeding their
community. Kimball’s 2 nd book, “Good Husbandry” is
equally captivating and her monthly newsletters inspire
me. I often see parallels between Essex and Crossroads

Farms. While very different, common themes of
farming run throughout, particularly the positive
impact on the local community.

 

I am reading “Pig Years” now by Ellyn Gaydos. My
colleague recommended this book and it came with a
well-worn exterior, no cover. Pigs are at the center of
this lyrical memoir. Gaydos is a poet and realist, and as
a bacon and sausage lover, I am surprisingly
appreciative of the most descriptive scenes of
slaughtering. While we don’t raise animals at
Crossroads, I can’t help but connect with her seasonal
journey through a life of farming — sowing, harvesting
and nurturing — subjects and experiences close to our
hearts at Crossroads.

 

My next book has been sitting on the “to read” pile for a
while now. I have both a paperback and a hard cover
copy. A fellow educator at Crossroads Farm first
recommended it, but I have heard its title in many of my
circles: “Braiding Sweetgrass - Indigenous Wisdom,
Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” by
Robin Wall Kimmerer. I look forward to reading it, book
club anyone?

 

Your Friends At Crossroads Farm