DEAREST FARMKETEERS:  The burden of the firstborn is not inconsiderable.  Everybody knows it’s hard to be the trailblazer… groundbreaker… trendsetter.  But do we always remember that the first in line is also the first mistake maker and first failer?  Do we afford them the space they need to blunder and grow?  Do we let them out from under the microscope?  Allow them their mysteries?

Where do the strawberries go?  First crop of the year.  They appear suddenly and then they are gone.  In July they pull up stakes and head for the ferry, trumpeting the end of spring’s labor and the dawn of lazy days.

Sweet cherries always give the strawberries a lift down to the boatdocks. They bid “fair winds and following seas” to dear old friends.

When the Pepper Fitzgerald shoves off, you hear an exuberant rendition of “Anchors Aweigh.”  No dry eyes on land or sea.

The green peppers were never known for their boatbuilding; this vessel sits a little low in the water.  But the Pepper Fitz is stalwart and seaworthy.

No one knows where the strawberries go.  Some folks have guessed the verdant highlands of Strawbistan; others surmise snowy Strawbania.

We are sad to see them leave — but the raspberries aren’t.  Before the Pepper is out of earshot, they blast “Raspberry Beret” and launch their own party barge.

It is their time to shine after a long spring of hearing, “When are the strawberries ready?”  “The strawberries are so good, Mommy!”  And a lot more besides.

Yes, the passing of Independence Day means freedom from the incidental tyranny of the “in” crowd.  Once Dad hooks his first trophy bass, everyone can giggle at ease.

The youngsters know not to swim past the buoy, but the chance to steal a first kiss draws these two teens into risky business.

It is worth knowing that raspberries are marvelous swimmers.  We try to make each Fresh Crop Alert educational, and there’s your fact of the week.

They can freedive for 22 minutes at a time.  The Sunny Goldens, in particular, have an otherwordly quality, an aquatic insouciance as they gambol undersea.

In their luminous, effortless pulsations, you can see their evolutionary cousins, the Jellyfish and Jamfish.

Meanwhile the blueberries sit on the shore.  They are a more serious lot.  Too much revelry undermines their equipoise.  A quiet dip at dusk will do.

AND NOW THE ACTUAL NEWS…

Donuts are still rolling.  There is just enough apple cider left to keep the cider donuts in action every Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 5:00.  There is NOT enough cider left to sell jugs – til the first apples of 2019 are ready in a few weeks.  We’ll holler when the juice is flowing into gallon and half-gallon jugs.

Pick the final 2 rows of strawberries – still 40% off!  Strawberry season is usually over by now, but Farmer Greg planted 2 rows of late varieties and there has been enough rain – not always guaranteed – to keep the patch producing.  Pick your own peck for 40% off.  By now you know that a peck is 8 quarts and a quart is $7.  That would make a peck $56 for average people.  But for anybody named Megan Rapinoe, plus all Farmketeers and ‘Creekniks (and nobody else in the worllllllddd), your peck will only be $34.  Strawboom!  Thus you will save $22 simply by being yourself.  Have you EVER done that before?  Works out to about $4.25 a quart.  The discount kicks in at a peck, so you’ve got to come ready to pick.  Thanks to farm fan @small_graces_bnb for this photo, the next one, and the last one.  Good picking!

Pick your own raspberries.  You will find multiple raspberry patches on the farm.  Well you might not FIND them, but they are here.  One in the “Central Plains” and one out past the Mutsu Orchard and one along the fenceline.  Try the map in our new 2019 brochure.  It’s a great map that works like the 80-20 Rule, but tweaked to 20-60-20 and applied to small fruit farms.  Thus:  20% of customers need it bad but won’t use it, 20% know the farm inside out and don’t need it, and 59% swing with the prevailing winds.  That leaves 1%.  They own the Grand Cayman shell corp that owns the bank that owns the farm.  “Maps are for suckers,” you’d hear them chortle, snickering over stogies at the Risk board.  (“Kamchatka is mine!” barks one at the stroke of midnight.  Bing bonggg.)

You can use your Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) coupons here.  We are set up to accept checks through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the similar program for seniors.  The federal program, administered through state agencies, was created to provide fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables to participants and to expand the awareness of farmers’ markets.  We are also working on getting approved to accept SNAP electronic benefits.  Stay tuned.

Love to y’all.  Hope to see you at The ‘Creek.