Robin wanted to celebrate the end of the first year of our ownership of White Tree Farm. Taking a cue from the Francis Mallman episode of the Netflix series “Chef’s Table”, she wanted us to share an outdoor meal on the farm. A true-Mallman meal would have been prepared on site, but we decided to make the bulk of the food at home and to simply enjoy it beside a roaring campfire.
We were fortunate with the weather as the unseasonably warm weather held until New Year’s Day. The temperature held just above zero for the evening and we found when we located the firepit just on the east side of our north-south windbreak, it was quite comfortable. Robin decorated the trees at the edge of the windbreak with a set of candle-lit lanterns she bought from Ikea which made for a magical setting. A dinner of pulled pork, potato salad, coleslaw and S’mores for dessert proved rather tasty.
Unfortunately, it was a little unsettling for our one-year-old granddaughter to be outside in such a dark place, so she and her mother stayed only about an hour. Robin, I and our son-in-law stayed longer, watching the fire and sharing stories and hopes for the future.
All in all, a fitting way to celebrate the end of our first year on White Tree Farm.