Our journey north yesterday was so much fun! Visiting River Brook Farm in Cochecton really got me excited about the arrival of the new season—though in the wake of gale force winds and freezing rain that still seems a ways off up here. Still, nothing says spring like cuddling with a baby goat. They are so silky and sweet-smelling, so lovable and mischievous, nibbling on your hair and your fingers and your collar. As you can see, I was in ecstasy. It was also great to see the farmers, Alice and Neil, whom we hadn't visited in a couple of months. They're all revved up for planting season, super-organized and already cutting bags of salad greens—spinach, mache, miner's lettuce, etc—from their greenhouse. And they've still got several kinds of potatoes, jars upon jars of rare heirloom beans, and hardy vegetables like squash and celery root.

After a prolonged stop at the farm, we made our way up to Delaware Delicacies, Ray Turner's smokehouse in a remote corner of Hancock, New York.
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