Whitney Paltauf
Owner
Henny Penny Farms
It takes a 75-foot maple tree, awash in orange and gold, to draw the attention of a livestock farmer away from observing her pasture in October. In New England, nature has a way of celebrating the end of the growing season with great fanfare. While the climax may come around the third week of October, those final throes of color between then and Thanksgiving are the ones that really stop me in my tracks.
This is the time of year when I find myself slowing down enough to really see and appreciate this beautiful place we call home. And perhaps it is no coincidence that our calendars fill with traditions, celebrations, and gatherings at the very same time. Just as that maple tree reminds me to look up and notice what surrounds me, the holidays remind us to look around at the people who fill our lives, not only our families and friends, but the communities we return to again and again.
For me, one of those communities is found at the farmers’ markets I’m fortunate enough to participate in. Of course, I love having the opportunity to provide food for our neighbors, but over the years I’ve come to value the conversations just as much. The familiar faces, weekly exchanges, and relationships that grow across a market table are their own kind of harvest. As we head into the final months of the year, I hope this issue of 068 Magazine offers a similar reason to pause, look around, and appreciate the people, places, and communities that make Fairfield County feel like home.
