It is a time of national movement, as people across the country protest the deaths of black Americans at the hands of white police officers. The hour has arrived, indeed is long overdue, for the white community to stand up and educate ourselves on the systemic and systematic racism and violence that has existed in the United States for generations. Read, learn, listen, take action. There are many ways to support the anti-racism movement: attend protests, donate to organizations committed to ending racial injustice and discrimination (NAACP, the ACLU, local bail funds, Black Visions Collective), demand change from our representatives, support business that are BIPOC-owned, speak out against racist comments. And, perhaps most important of all, we must listen to the voices of people of color and amplify their stories.

We have a collection of books about racism and books by BIPOC authors available to borrow (and return) on the Slip Away farm stand. Our collection is far too small. If you have books to contribute, please email me at slipawayfarm@gmail.com. Only BIPOC-authored books or books about racism at this time, please. You can come borrow one of these books any day of the week from our farm stand porch.

It is a beautiful Chappy summer morning outside my window. June has arrived with a burst of warmth and color. Our rooster is crowing (he usually starts around 3 a.m. and continues well into mid-morning and sporadically throughout the day) and the songbirds fill the silences in between his calls. After a heavy rainfall over the weekend, the trees are a vibrant green, a shade that only exists in the early months of summer. The rhododendron outside our front door is neon pink and other blooms — the bleeding heart, the columbine — are showing their colors as well.

If you would like to capture some of the seasonal beauty, stop by for a visit at Mytoi Garden where the rhododendrons, the iris, the viburnum and the primrose are in bloom all at once. My family has been making regular trips to visit the two snapping turtles that live in the Mytoi pond. My daughter loves to lean over the bridges’ wooden railing and drop torn pieces of bread down to them as they stretch their necks and open their mouths wide, swallowing each piece in a single gulp.

I am writing this week from the Chappy Community Center porch, which is open and available to those seeking a wifi connection. The CCC is now offering one-on-one lessons with a tennis-pro (a Chappy resident), private sailing instruction, and pickle ball. The CCC board is brainstorming creative ways to plan for a summer of healthy and safe fun for the Chappy community. Have an idea? Let them know.

The Slip Away farm stand is now open Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Kindly wear a mask when you visit and practice social distancing by only having one customer group on the stand at once. It is best if you are able to pay with exact change or check. We are also trying a new system of online pre-ordering on our website, slipawayfarm.com, for a few items each week. We update our inventory early in the week and ask that orders be placed by 9 p.m. Thursday evening and picked up anytime after 10 a.m. on Friday.