Honoring the Seasons

Here at Crossroads Farm in Malverne, NY, on the traditional lands of the Rockaway and Munsee Lenape indigenous peoples, we have been blessed with an incredibly beautiful fall. 
 
Sunny days with cool, crisp air; gorgeous red and orange leaves - I really don’t think we could have asked for a better few months. And I have been geeking out - not only over the natural beauty of the season, but also over how humans love to celebrate it. It has brought me true delight to pass by neighboring houses adorned with pumpkins, mums, gourds, and fall foliage-inspired decorations; to feel the excitement at Crossroads’ Fall Festival, where families spent joyful weekend days enjoying apple cider donuts and exploring our orchard. 

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I’m geeking out about all of this because…it is so sweet to see the ways that humans express their love for nature! And we love nature because we are nature. We are not separate-from; we are deeply interconnected with the natural rhythms of the world. I think that’s why we love celebrating the seasons like we do. It is ingrained in us to mark the passage of time in tandem with the changing weather and the seasonal harvest. 

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In our Education programs this fall, we continued our annual tradition of teaching our students about the Three Sisters Garden, and also included broom corn and decorative gourds in our lessons, all in connection to the fall harvest in local indigenous agriculture. At Crossroads, we believe it’s particularly important to learn about and teach the traditions of the Native Americans who first stewarded this land, before the Grossmann family and now Nassau Land Trust. We hope to honor their teachings.

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Now, fall is turning into winter. We just decorated the Crossroads Farm Store for the holidays - with plenty of beautiful evergreens - and I was again reminded of the joy that comes with celebrating the changing seasons. 

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So, as we enter this next season, I encourage you to lean in. Longer nights are here to give you the extra time for rest that you deserve. Spend cozy time at home with loved ones, enjoying soup made from fall crops like butternut squash. Slow down, just like our farm does, as perennials go to sleep for the winter and seeds are nestled in the ground, waiting for spring. Be rooted in the land and the season where you are.

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Your Friends at Crossroads Farm