LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk | Sustainable Essex Farm. They either know someone who works or is a member there," she explains when asked how she learned about the CSA. Richard, a professor from SUNY Plattsburgh, has been a member for three years and first visited the farm with a group of students who were studying the anthropology of food. He expresses how impressed he was by what the Kimball's were doing and became a member right away. "It's great," he says. "Essex Farm is a model for the future." Even during the long winter months of the North Country, Essex Farm manages to provide a full diet to its members. "In the winter, we have our regular eggs, meat, dairy and grain," says Mark. "Our vegetables include carrots, beets, onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, turnips, rutabaga, radishes, kohlrabi, winter squashes, pumpkins, potatoes, and kale." And prospective members are more than welcome to stop by on a Friday between three and seven PM to see how it all works. "We highly encourage new members to try out one week to make sure it is a good fit," Mark adds. There's an old saying that goes "you can give a man a fish, or teach a man to fish." The Kimball's are doing both, feeding a community locally grown food and teaching the next generation of farmers the practices of sustainable agriculture. and hophornbeam. A line of solar panels glisten in the remaining light with a blue skyline of Vermont's tallest peaks in the distance. A new born calf bellows for it's mother. The fields are darkening as Jenny picks raspberries. Her flannel shirt and pixie hair cut bob up and down the row as she fills her quart. Some are so ripe they fall off the bush when knocked or disintegrate between your fingers. I pick a few and plop them into my mouth. I close my eyes and taste the sun. It's hard not to get caught up in the romanticism of farming—of going back to the earth and living organically. Especially in a world of global climate change, iPhone upgrades and social media. However, there is something that happens when you visit Essex Farm. It grabs your hand and pulls you forward. It's something you want to be a part of. Jenny explains it the best in her soft voice, "There's an energy here that brings out the best in all of us." It's a community. It's the bigger picture. And it's hard work. Twelve hours a day, 365 days a year, through an unrelenting North Country medley of weather conditions and farm mishaps. You won't find it on Facebook or Twitter. It's in the soil. photo ©Michele Buck SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES earthrootslandscaping.com Lake Placid, NY 518.946.7759 The September sun is beginning to set behind the hardwood forests of maple, oak RESTAURANT & BAR fine cuisine in a relaxed open atmosphere Wednesday - Sunday Nightly Entertainment 518 - 302 - 5005 2166 Saranac Ave, Lake Placid PanDolceLakePlacid.com 44 LOCALadk Magazine Fall into Winter 2013

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