Gratitude, Easter Eggs & Watercress
Hello Friends,
On this Maundy Thursday I'd like to take a moment to express our gratitude for the many orders we received this week for Easter Cookies, Tulips and Veggies. As the season progresses, my plan is to update you weekly with what is new and fresh in our offerings from the farm. I received a few questions about how to order and pick up from the farm, so please see below for more details.
Our business model is an on-line store, but we do have some items for sale in our physical location. You can order any time you like, but our normal pickup day/time is Wednesday from 2:30-5:30pm at our 75 Willow Avenue farm store in Peapack. The deadline for Wednesday pick-up is Sunday at 5pm so that we have time to do our baking prior to Wednesday's pickup. We want to provide the freshest baked goods possible.
You drive over the stone bridge, and up the farm lane. The farm store (photo below) is on the left as you drive up the hill along the tree line in the hayfield. If that time is not convenient for you, we can arrange to leave your order in a special spot. Just include a note with your order and we will reach out. Alternatively, we can also deliver your order for a $10 additional charge within 15 miles of the store on Wednesdays. We kindly ask that you place a minimum order amount of $30.00.
This is Rose. She is one of our two Cayuga ducks. She has quite a sense of humor, and likes to lay eggs outside in nests by trees in the farmyard. I swear she laughs in my face when she gets busted and I find them (can you spot them below?). Anyway, this week Rose decided to give us an early Easter egg. You see, in the Spring Cayuga ducks sometimes lay graphite gray colored eggs, and today we got one!
The very first restoration project we did on the farm was to our Spring House. It was built about 100 years ago, and when we arrived in 2015, the roof was caving in and the spring itself has stopped running completely. Part of the issue was that someone had boarded up an old well along the stream. I am happy to say that it is back to its original glory, and the pools we created have enough running water to grow the most glorious watercress, which is now at its tender best. It's available in limited quantities right now, but it will continue to grow for the next two months, so we should have more as time goes on.
For all of you cat lovers, we have also just added our new regeneratively grown catmint-oat fish toy. Farmer Tanner's cat is in love.
Lastly, for those of you who celebrate Easter, it is our prayer that the hope of Easter inspires you all year round. As a mother myself, every Good Friday my mind can't help but wander to Mother Mary, and what she must have felt that day. She is surely an inspiration. Here is a photo from the Grotto that sits below our farmyard. May God bless you and your families today and always.
Thank you again for your support. It means so much to our growing farm.
Sincerely,
Michele and the Maranatha Farm Team