Gratefulness and Other Seasonal Thoughts

Kristi Hanson
2025-12-16T18:53:00-05:00

Thanksgiving 2025. As the sun rises on another Thanksgiving and the turkey sits waiting to go into the oven, I am thankful for so many things.

First, sense of place. Our beautiful farm which gives us so much. The food we eat and the connection to the earth that comes from seeing it change through the seasons. The joy of the growing season and the quiet calm as we move into winter.

We moved here from another place we loved, unsure if anything could replace the feeling that generations of family imbued in the place where I was raised, and my children following. Yet today, as I write this, I realize that sense of place is what you take with you. It’s not permanently rooted anywhere. Sense of place is the spirit of home. It's where we put down roots and create memories. It’s transplantable, like a plant. Potted, uprooted and replanted.

This summer, we joined in celebration at our barns with friends, old and new, filled with joy as we sat at our long table with the gifts of food, a summer breeze and the soft light of a Hudson River evening. We ate food grown and harvested from our fields, all of us so fortunate to be able to enjoy the company of friends and neighbors in a setting unlike no other.

I felt so filled up. What was once a dream, of creating a place for friends and family to gather, was made real that evening, and as these things do, the memory of our guests that evening, their smiles and laughter, now imbue our home with spirit and joy,

I am so thankful for our team, whose talent is unbounded, and are at the heart of Farmstead Hudson Valley. This year has seen vision and ideas become reality as we have collectively brought our energy to optimizing our growing practices, caring for our soils, and creating beauty from what comes from the land.

Alfredo has been at my side since 2020, when we decided to plant a small garden plot at our little farmhouse in Stuyvesant. Since then, I have watched and learned from him, as he has brought his significant talent and experience to our farm. There is no greater joy in my life than working with him. And as the years go by, as his talent and experience have unfolded, he has taught me more than I could have imagined, about gratitude, life and the beauty of connection through hard work.

Nicole brings a practiced creative and artistic eye to our beautiful expanded seasonal offerings. She has boundless enthusiasm for our mission and is a bright light in all that we do. Her one of a kind dried flower wreaths were a hit at Hudson's Basilica Farm and Flea holiday market this past weekend. They're a beautiful expression of what we grow, their fragility conveying the quiet beauty of the decay that is the end of the season.

Today as I write this, the first snow of the season is falling outside my window. The incessant cacophony of the natural world has been stilled by a white blanket of winter. We are all enjoying this first snow, and the moment it provides for a long-overdue quieting of the mind and body.

There are beautiful moments ahead this winter. The joy of the holidays, the chaos of gift giving and the raising of glasses in good cheer. Through all of it, I reflect on those in need, whose tables are not as abundant as ours, and those whose families and friends are enduring hardships this season. We are blessed with the abundance that comes from growing food - a barn full of winter squash, rutabaga waiting in field beds to be picked through the winter. To share this is my mission these next weeks.

We wish you a happy holiday season and a joyful New Year. Let's not let a minute of it all go to waste and let's come together to make the world a better place in 2026.