Two more shares after this week.
Last share dates—Oct.29, and Nov.2

It’s a mighty wild world out here in the city of Tumwater. You remember the Cougar sighting, the bald eagles, the red tail hawks and the deer. Lately we’ve been seeing quite a bit of a certain mangy coyote character. His howl is bigger than he is, sounds healthy, too, but his appearance is raggedy, scrawny, and grey. We see him as we come and go from field three, where we harvest squash and corn, and plant garlic. We come and go twice a day sometimes, and we see this fellow in what seems to be his favorite spot at the edge of Bill’s garden, near the house. The first time I saw him, he was sort of cockeyed up on three legs scratching away at what little tufts of fur he did have. The next time I had to look so close to make out the slight difference between his grey brittle tuft of coyote and the grayish brown piles of grass clippings he was nestled among.

I’ve been thinking, and I have an idea that might be good. I think that we can make seven more weeks of nice CSA shares for 12 lucky members. Sort of a pilot program. We never have done a “winter share” but we always think about it, and several of you have asked us about it. As the season winds down, it becomes more difficult to harvest 160 fresh bunches of pretty much anything, but I think we could scare up 12 bunches of lots of things. The winter share pilot program will run from Nov. 9- Dec. 21, Sunday pick up only. Shares will surely contain potatoes, squash, carrots, garlic and onions, and then, in rotation, different types of kale, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. The cost will be 105.00 for seven weeks of winter shares. Call the farm if you would like to participate. Don’t forget, everyone gets two more regular season CSA shares. The farm will continue to sell at Olympia Farmers Market Sat and Sun until Christmas, so even if you are not interested in regular boxes, you can come see us there and buy exactly the winter produce you prefer.

Acorn squash (Cucurbita pepo) is a winter squash with distinctive longitudinal ridges and sweet, yellow-orange flesh. Although considered a winter squash, acorn squash belongs to the same species as all summer squashes, including zucchini and yellow crookneck squash. As its name suggests, its shape resembles that of an acorn. Acorn squash is traditionally baked, cut in half, seeds scooped out, face down on the baking sheet for half an hour or so at 350. It is often served with butter and maple syrup, or brown sugar. If you are feeling adventurous, you may want to go in a spicy, savory sauté direction with your acorn squash. The rind is too hard to eat on this one, so keep that in mind when choosing how to prepare it.