First Signs of Life

As days lengthen and the soil begins to warm, the farm shifts from dormancy to movement. Early signs of the season’s return are visible across the farm, from new births in the pasture to swelling orchard buds and the first honeybees venturing out from their winter rest.

While the landscape still looks restrained, life is actively emerging across the farm. Early March marks the start of our very first lambing season at Bloom. Just a little over a week ago, Smarty, a sheep who joined the farm in a small-town trade (one swan for one sheep), gave birth to two healthy lambs. We monitor closely in these early days, making sure both mother and lambs are steady through fluctuating temperatures and wet ground conditions.

Smarty’s two one-year-old daughters are also expecting, and together they’ll form the beginning of our silvopasture program, living among the chestnut orchards and helping us care for the land in a more thoughtful way. New life arrives regardless of the weather, and these first births mark another step in the farm’s next phase.

In the kitchen, we’re celebrating one of our favorite early spring collaborations: Oley Valley chestnuts paired with fresh cheese from our neighbors at Valley Milkhouse. The first wheels were made by layering chestnut paste directly into the curds before brining and aging them for several weeks in Stefanie’s cheese cave. The result is a rich, nutty cheese that transforms last year’s harvest into something entirely new. For now, you can find the cheese making its debut at the farmhouse on guest arrival boards.