tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909663625519332762024-02-19T18:12:51.877-05:00 V I L L A G E S I D E F A R MA family owned, organic farm in Freedom, Maine.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-49347428829460983292016-05-08T21:02:00.003-04:002016-05-08T21:02:43.649-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had an absolutely fantastic time on Saturday May 7th for our first Saturday Seedling Sale of 2016. We are busy filling wholesale orders all week and will be hoping to see you and yours out here Saturday for the May 14th Sale. 8am-12 noon-- the morning!<br />
<br />
The whole first planting of brassicas and spinach, lettuces and parsley are in the farm fields. Planted, watered and already sending roots down down down.<br />
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Prentice and I are counting our lucky stars as the work crew continues to gel. Chris and Laura have returned for a second year and this is amazing in so many ways. It is always a pleasure to have people return for a second year of learning and doing here. It ups our responsibilities as mentors to a next generation of farmers and it has obvious benefits of having people who already know our systems.<br />
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Sydney and Rose round out the 'regular' crew and both of the, though new to farming are getting right into the act. Sydney loves carpentry and has built many a bench in her few short weeks here. Rose is a wealth of information for all of us as she has lots of forestry and animal research under her belt. <br />
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2016 will also include some stellar volunteers who dash in for a day or afternoon each week and buoy the whole of us with their stories from other times and places and of course contribute beyond measure to the work of the place. In short, we are very very grateful and so lucky to look forward to
months ahead of a fine group of collaborators on this Villageside Farm
thing we do.<br />
<br />
We still have CSA shares available and a host of fantastic add-on shares: Cheeses from Appleton Creamery, Bread from back40 Bakehouse and Apples in the fall from Out on a Limb. Info for all of these locally produced and delicious options are available on our<a href="http://www.villagesidefarm.com/new-page-2-1/" target="_blank"> CSA page. </a><br />
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Be in touch, friends, with any questions about any of it. We are here and we would love to see you and feed you in the growing season ahead.<br />
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With Love,<br />
Polly and co.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-61359153630159996722016-04-28T08:41:00.000-04:002016-04-28T08:41:24.266-04:00Robo-bees and the Wrong End of the Problem<br />
<br />
So there I was in my kitchen having a perfectly wonderful conversation with a dear friend when she tells me that over April vacation she and her son were in Boston and saw an exhibit about <a href="http://robobees.seas.harvard.edu/" target="_blank">robo-bees</a> (but don't click on that rabbit hole now, okay?).<br />
<br />
It was like she hit me over the head with the reality bat. You probably all know about them? <br />
<br />
Well, they were all new to me but they shook something clear in me. <br />
<br />
The robo-bees are yet another example of our human propensity to invent something new and yes, totally COOL, to <i>attempt</i> to solve a problem that we created. These bees might someday pollinate our food crops. On one level that is cool, but deeply, deeply disturbing on another.<br />
<br />
We so often apply our intelligence to the wrong end of the problem. Bee die off. Cancer. Pollution. Global Warming. You name it. We innovate like hell to build something NEW. To discover something NEW.<br />
<br />
We could focus (our minds and dollars) on the other end of the problem, its beginning, its cause, its root.<br />
Why don't we do this more?<br />
Instead we choose to see, and <i>fund</i>, the benefits to introducing the new gene, the new nano-bee, the new chemo drug.<br />
<br />
<br />
Is it because the problems are too big? <i>Seem</i> too big? Too many 'factors'? Too many complications?<br />
"Too much" interconnection (which is the very definition of the ecological worldview)?<br />
<br />
Is it because we want the new, not the old? We want to shop, not sort through the trash. <br />
<br />
Is it because we are hog-tied by our dependence on pharmo-chemical companies?<br />
<br />
I say, let's INNOVATE on our noticing.<br />
Let's INNOVATE on the connections.<br />
Let's INNOVATE on the cleanup.<br />
Let's INNOVATE on the prevention.<br />
Let's get to 'enough is enough'. <br />
<br />
Of course, of course, so much is happening on all of these fronts. We need innovation, invention. I am not all 18th Century Woman here. There are so many good people and organizations of good people working toward the root cause <i>and </i>new solutions to the problems we face. And I am grateful to those people.<br />
<br />
But wait.<br />
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<i> (Time-elapsed photo of bees. I am sorry I don't know the photographer. It is from the internet.) </i></div>
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I am also so grateful for the bees. The real bees. The whole marvelous mystery of them. All of the everything we don't even know about them! The ten thousand connections that they have in our glorious world that we don't understand. It is this web that is also in peril as pollinators die off.<br />
<br />
No robo-bee can step into the web of life. They can perform a function. Maybe.<br />
<br />
But bees...they are the real deal. The genuine articles. The originals.<br />
<br />
We cannot afford to lose them. We should not dare lose them.<br />
'Lose' is actually quite the wrong word. A candy-coated euphemism that is easier to swallow and say. 'Lose' connotes forgetfulness and somehow that they might be 'found.' There is only a twinge of death in the word 'lose'.<br />
<br />
What we are doing is not losing bees but <i>killing</i> bees. And when we kill a life form that has evolved <i>in situ, within the web of life here on Earth, </i>we exterminate far more than one single life form but we make impossible, we kill now, a whole line of potential life processes <i>in the future. </i><br />
<br />
So I will bring this back to the here and now. It is Spring and you might be fixin' to garden. Don't buy that Walmart seedling that has been doused a few times with various insecticides. Just don't. That OrthoWhatever product on the hardware store shelves that promises to rid your beloved plants of whatever insect-shaped ill it's got...don't buy it.<br />
<br />
Let us all garden with the bees and for the bees. <br />
May we all grow a bit each day.<br />
With love, Polly and co. <br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-44563451454079150122016-02-24T15:29:00.002-05:002016-02-24T15:30:14.785-05:00Marching toward Spring!With March just around the corner, we farmers are tidying up the last of
our necessary winter work. Farm planning (aka building spread sheets), seed ordering, firewood,
home improvements and vehicle maintenance are a few of the things we
have been up to lately. On the family front, lots of game playing and
then outdoor bike riding some days, sledding the next!<br />
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It is a huge relief to all of us that Prentice's knee surgery back in
December went so well. His rehab has also gone well and he is feeling on
track for everything but high impact sports in 2016. Soccer, skiing and
ice hockey will have to wait until 2017, folks! The boys and I are also
well, very much enjoying the warmth of hearth and home, times with
family and farm critters and books, books, books!<br />
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Next week we will cross the seasonal threshold into seedling care. We
will sow the first seeds of 2016 with our best blessings and hopes for a
bountiful growing season. This is always a joyous moment when we take
pause, wonder at the life held dormant in the incredible, wee beings
called seeds and then drop first one then thousands into good, rich
potting soil.<br />
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As you can imagine, we are teeing up our markets, as well. We have met
with all the caterers, coops, restaurateurs and distributors who
purchase the good food grown here at Villageside. Our CSA is of course,
another market for us. Spring. . . er. . .<i> late winter</i> sign ups help us plan for how much advertising we need to do in
order to fill our membership goal. If you intend to sign up, use the s<a href="http://villagesidefarm.csasignup.com/members/types">ign up link here. </a><br />
Pay it all at once or pay as you can. We will remind you monthly until you are paid off. <br />
Checks by mail are best.<br />
Shares are $475 for 21 weeks this year. June 21-Nov 1. <br />
<br />
Spread the word, if you can, and care to! <br />
<b><i>You know what we offer, who we are, what we are trying for. </i></b><br />
<br />
If you have a friend, co-worker, neighbor or family member who is
curious about food and local farming, please do hand them an info card
(posted around town in Belfast, or call us and we can send you some!),
post a happy recommendation to facebook or other social media, or pen them a letter, with real ink!<br />
<br />
Our website is <a href="http://www.villagesidefarm.com/">www.villagesidefarm.com.</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.villagesidefarm.com/"></a><br />
<br />
With all warm greetings to each of you, <br />
gratitude for your support last year and over many years, <br />
and hugs from your farmers in Freedom,<br />
<br />
Polly and co.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-71308325954006759432016-01-25T11:34:00.001-05:002016-01-25T14:57:23.464-05:00Checking in, 2016As 2015 was closing its doors forever, the boys and Prentice and I got to talking, over the course of many days, about highlights of the year. Joseph and Ben saw three otters and three water snakes in the same summer day. While hiking in Acadia, we came upon a convention of ravens. <br />
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We had wonderful times with family and friends. Our farming season was both successful and really fun. Prentice got a new guitar and played it almost daily. I danced a lot.<br />
<br />
We did get sued. Prentice did blow out his knee. A family of foxes made off with many a chicken. There were family health events.<br />
Those were the lowlights.<br />
<br />
We didn't take many pictures. I notice that as I review the photo files. Actually, Prentice and I didn't take many photos. Ben took a LOT of photos. There are Lego scenes, slow-motion domino detonations, marble runs and lots of cats sleeping photos. This one cracked me up. We are a game playing bunch, so it shouldn't be surprising that someone felt the need to document the vintage Master Mind box. But still.<br />
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The major highlight of 2015 for all five of us was the chance to spend 6 months with our farm crew. Laura, Chris, Rose and Sam were here April-November. This picture was snapped on the last day of work. We look pretty happy. I felt very happy . . .and very grateful. </div>
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<br />
Since Prentice's knee surgery in December, I have been doing all the animal chores. Winters often find me out there as Prentice and I split up the rounds. But during the growing season, with the crew living on site, I seldom feed or water any animals but my own kin. So it has been a special treat to be the sole provider for all of our creatures all winter long. I do so love feeding other beings. <br />
<br />
Each morning now, as I choose the haybales from the hayloft to drop down to the barn floor, I am washed with memories of stacking those bales back in July. Somehow the body's memory of stacking, the heat, the CLANG!CLANG! clatter of the hay elevator, really is triggered by handling the bales again. I wonder who stacked this one. I know that Laura probably dropped it from the wagon and that Joseph probably loaded it on the elevator. There were favorite stations for some of us. There is half a mountain of hay now. We have worked through a lot. I am halfway through the remembering, I guess.<br />
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The chickens are in their winter digs = one of the hoophouses. They line up against the north wall in the morning, waiting for the very southerly sun to rise. They know where it hits ground first. They wait there for it.<br />
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Up until last week, I had been picking spinach weekly for the Coop and The Lost Kitchen. This week looks warmer, so perhaps I will get out in that hoophouse again and make another harvest.<br />
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Prentice's father built these wood storage bins in November. They are filled with firewood/fodder for our wood boiler in the big heated greenhouse. Kind of like canning tomatoes for winter, these honies are capped and ready for spring.<br />
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Salvatore and Pepe are having a winter holiday, or more like working visit, to a friend's in Unity. With Prentice's knee mending this winter, there was no hope for getting them yoked up (they are waaaaay too strong and frisky for me!) and in the woodlot so we trailered them over the hill with the idea that they might come back better trained and that our friend would enjoy the time with them. <br />
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So many of you friends of our farm loved the ginger in CSA shares or at the Belfast Coop. We sold a large portion of the harvest to Crown o' Maine this fall. We haven't seen the final product but we hear they froze a huge amount and are selling it to restaurants and institutions. <br />
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Our friend Joanna took this picture of me as I gathered some fall kale. My face doesn't really show how happy I am to be knee deep in that bounty. <br />
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Ah yes, the new name. I won't write much about the<a href="http://bangordailynews.com/2015/06/16/news/midcoast/multinational-firm-takes-aim-at-maine-farm-over-trademark-dispute/" target="_blank"> lawsuit </a>and settlement other than we are through it. It wasn't bad. We had some good, good people helping us figure it out. It was fun to gather ideas for new names. We waited and waited for the right name to come along. Prentice saw the word "trackside" and then thought "Villageside" and it was an instant "YES."<br />
<br />
We like the word "side" and all the side-y words: bedside, oceanside, poolside, mountainside, sidle up, sideways, sidelong, and now, villageside.<br />
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You will see a re-worked label and logo this spring. Gotta repaint the driveway sign. That'll do it!<br />
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The view of Jordan Pond from Sargeant Mountain in Acadia. October. A hiking trip with the children has been our fall exhale for the past few years. I wonder what it is like today up there. Sunny and white and glorious, certainly.<br />
<br />
And on a commercial note:<br />
We tweaked our <a href="http://www.villagesidefarm.com/new-page-2-1/" target="_blank">CSA</a> a bit this year. Always trying to simplify. Sign ups are happening at <a href="http://villagesidefarm.csasignup.com/members/types" target="_blank">this link.</a><br />
And we have a good many radically well-raised (pastured and organically fed) chickens in the freezer if you want to buy one or a dozen, be in touch. They are $4.75/lb with most of them around 5lbs.<br />
<br />
From here, the farm by the village in a town called Freedom, we send our best,<br />
Polly and co. <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-24781989288074616742015-05-01T07:19:00.002-04:002015-05-01T07:32:06.055-04:00Greenhouse Groovin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Yep, we made a <a href="http://a/" target="_blank">little video</a> to promote our upcoming Seedling Sale Days. One take. 59 seconds of goofery. That is all you get for this year!!<br />
(Technical note: I cannot seem to get the full video to load to this blog page. So just click on the link and that will take you to our public facebook page where you can see it.)<br />
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See if you can spot the product placement for Vermont Compost Company, an "I biked to the [Common Ground] Fair!" sticker and American Farmland Trust's "It isn't farmland without farmers" bumper sticker. And yes, that is real dirt on the stereo. I think it spent some time on the concrete slab. <br />
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The seedlings look great. We can't wait for the on farm sale days where we get to see so many of our gardening friends and neighbors.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">May 9, 16, 23 and 30 right here at Village Farm</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">8 am-12 pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hope to see you soon! Like tomorrow at the orchard planting party?!?!?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Polly and co. </span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-87087685313203424892015-04-28T10:56:00.003-04:002015-04-28T10:57:26.020-04:00Minga!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Though this picture was taken last Spring, we are not far from this degree of green. Just a few more weeks, I would guess.<br />
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Back in late March, I (Polly) took the boys on a road trip to Vermont. Abe asked if they would have different fruit available there. Ben asked if he should pack his shorts and crocs. No, no and no, boys. Vermont certainly was no respite from the late, cold and windy Spring we had in Maine, but it was a break from the ordinary days here at home. We had a blast visiting friends.<br />
<br />
We stayed in Richmond with a family that had recently returned from a 8 month trip to Bolivia. Wow, did we soak up the stories and pictures and admired their Bolivian duds that they wore home as they left all their American clothes there with new friends.<br />
<br />
One concept that I think of often as I plug away at all of the farm tasks that have me working a desk job, by myself, is the Bolivian word for work party: <i>minga</i>.<br />
<br />
Our Vermont hosts spoke of the townspeople in Samaipata getting together regularly to do a job that benefited the community or just one household. They would call a <i>minga</i>, gather and get a job done. <i>Together.</i><br />
<br />
So won't you come by this weekend for a community effort right here in Freedom? Our dear friends, Rebecca and Matt Stauffer are planting an heirloom apple orchard in our eastern pasture. <br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Orchard Planting Party</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Saturday, May 1 (and possibly Sunday May 2) </h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
9am-4pm. Lunch provided. Bring a shovel and a bucket.</div>
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<b>We hope to see you! </b></div>
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And I have a list of VF news pieces that need sharing here on this blog, so stay tuned!</div>
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Best wishes from all of us, Polly and co.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-15296182064463516212015-02-01T17:00:00.002-05:002015-02-01T17:00:48.991-05:00Community Muscles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
If there is such a thing as high summer, then mustn't there be a
high winter? This week feels like it. With two whopper snowstorms behind us and another one before us, we Village Farmers
are knee deep in seed catalogs and crop planning spreadsheets
between plowing and shoveling events. <br />
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<br />
The barnyard report is blissfully uneventful. The cows grunch-grunch
their hay in a most satisfying way and the hens are happily
ensconced in their hoophouse turned chicken house. That is about it.
Well, I guess we did find out this week, in a most embarrassing way,
that Miss Meow, a recent addition to the barnyard menagerie, is
actually a male. Oh well, leave it to the farmers to skip looking
for the identifying parts. <br />
<br />
There was a solid turnout Thursday night at a community meeting here in
Freedom. I don't get out much, as they say, but as the children were
off for a weekend with their grandparents, it was a pleasure to sit
with other Freedomites for a few hours of mid-winter scheming. The
scheming at hand was regarding a building that the Historical
Society acquired this past fall. The Society paid back taxes to the
town to take ownership of "<a href="http://waldo.villagesoup.com/p/freedoms-keen-hall-the-principals-house/1216018?cid=7331658" target="_blank">Keen Hall</a>," the yellow house on the
western edge of our village. Most people remember it as the
principal's house. Clayton Larrabee remembers taking his senior
finals in it in the 50's. <br />
<br />
Chris Glass, an expert on historical preservation was in attendance
and he spoke eloquently to the value, both economic and cultural,
of historical preservation of significant buildings. He brought some
drawings of possible renovation scenarios for the 18x36 original
building, the 18x18 original ell and also recommended that the
existing, decrepit garage be torn down.<br />
<br />
The Historical Society asked for ideas from the gathered citizens. There were words
of encouragement and support and, of course, words of doubt.<br />
<br />
Not everyone agreed that this building was a worthy project but in the speaking and listening, a
few key misconceptions were cleared up.<br />
1. This is not a town project.
There will be no additional tax burden to Freedom residents. This is
a project of a newly incorporated 501(c)3 non-profit (The Freedom
Community Historical Society). <br />
2. Though non-profits do not pay taxes to the town, some choose to give
a "payment in lieu of taxes" to acknowledge the use of town services
and the fact that a property in town is no longer on the tax rolls.<br />
<br />
What I witnessed was a room full of people who were interested
enough in the project to leave their woodstoves and comfy chairs and<i>
show up</i> to a meeting. I heard people speaking up in support
and others speaking up in dissent. To me, this all adds up to the
good news that people care. And since change comes only through our
active participation in our places, our towns, our waterways, I
think that those who want to work together <i>should</i> work
together. <br />
Working together builds our community muscles. <br />
And working together feels good. <br />
There are certainly many ways to improve and give back to our town.
(Cleaning up falling down houses was one that came up quite a few
times last night.) Through the initiative of the Historical Society, the one before
us last eve was a "bold," (to quote Mr. Freedom General) suggestion that instead of tearing down an
eyesore, we fix it up. This house stands at the western gateway to
our village. The questions on the table were "Does this part of our
history have a future? Should we work together to save it?" <br />
<br />
I do hope so. I look forward to lending my hands to its restoration
but mostly I look forward to having a project to work on with my
neighbors.<br />
<br />
Want to get involved? Next meeting of the Freedom Historical Society
is Wednesday, Feb 11 at the Town Office Annex. 7pm.<br />
<br />
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With all our best, The Village FarmersUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-10696238990319231352015-01-24T06:16:00.001-05:002015-01-24T06:18:12.888-05:00WoodIt seems to be the appropriate time of year to write about wood.<br />
Wood. (Singular or plural? I love this word.) <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sugar Maple bark.</td></tr>
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We burn it all day long in our home stove. We build with it: benches for the new greenhouse, a pine floor for my studio, a pencil holder for Prentice's birthday (shhh! Don't tell! It is Benny's secret project!). We think about it and plan it into our future: what part of the woodlot next year's firewood will come from, how much wood our new greenhouse will need to grow rockin' good seedlings, what trees we will grow out for FEDCO Trees. And we dream about it: I want to plant raspberry canes, American Plum seedlings, more elderberries, build a grape arbor and on and on.<br />
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We just got an email from a beginning farmer in Vermont who is starting a medicinal forest orchard. I tell you, I love to grow vegetables but my heart sings when I think of a "medicinal forest orchard." Wow. I want to plant one, too! Let me on that train!<br />
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This farmer was seeking rootstock for an elderberry variety that we "introduced" a few years ago. I say "introduce" as that is plant world lingo for bringing a new variety into the world--of commerce, yes, but also because they are plants, I think of it as <i>spreading the genetic material.</i> In this case, an old variety, probably a chance seedling gets to become a "new" variety. Anyways, enough with the "quotation marks!" We took cuttings, propagated them, grew them out here in our nursery, dug them and sold the young plants to FEDCO Trees. I, quite literally, grew up under this elder. It is the elderberry that grows from the place where my parents' 200 year old barn and the earth meet. It grows from the foundation, it seems, but I know it's roots are in the earth. We called it 'Meadowview' after my parents' farm.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some cuttings of cornus rugosa.</td></tr>
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Before I can commit to sending elderberry wood or young plants to this inspiring, forward thinking farmer in Vermont, we shall have to wait and see how many cuttings I can humanely take from my parents' planting this spring. We have established our own 'Meadowview' elderberry orchard here at Village Farm but the plants are still too small to take cuttings. And somehow, without that barn looming overhead and those granite foundation stones, I am somehow in doubt that it will be the same variety.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sculpture carved into a stump in Belfast, Maine. Photo by Joseph.</td></tr>
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Perhaps you will plant a tree this spring. Perhaps I will, too! <br />
More, soon. A new website is on its way.<br />
All the best from here,<br />
Polly and co.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-84589034271837494872014-12-27T21:07:00.001-05:002014-12-27T21:12:05.674-05:00In Between Happy Holidays from all of us at Village Farm! Sure hope that you have enjoyed the season's mellower notes as well as just as much cheer and partying and mirth as you can handle.<br />
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We won't go into this in-between weather other than to say we are hoping for ICE (to skate upon!) and then lots of SNOW. Winter sporting type activities, or shall I say, winter frolicking activities of all sorts are big in our house, so we all get kind of obsessed with the NOAA forecast. Hoping for perfect ice and then a dumping of "snowball snow."<br />
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This picture is from early December. I tend to take lots of pictures like this from the porch. I see something out the window that looks good enough to photograph, which for me is a combination of beauty and story and I grab the camera. Click. There you go. Pretty, snowy dusty fields with my dear Prentice biking to check on some very late cauliflower in the far field. Beautiful and story-rich.<br />
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Another few pictures taken from the dooryard: Prentice walking Sal and Pep, the 18 month old steers, and father and son in matching insulated suits, heading to the barn for chores. If you look to Benny's right, you can see our new barn kitten, Miss Meow, there by the hayrack. </div>
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Today we were outside all day long taking advantage of the spring-like day to tidy up the woodshed, move a lot of potting soil, replenish the hens' straw bedding pack and the like. It felt to both of us like a day out of the ordinary. There was a leisureliness to it. These days before 2014 shuts down and 2015 revs up are sweet in their special kind of in-between feel. <br />
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We have a lot ahead of us before the first seeds of 2015 hit the soil. Our new greenhouse needs a heat plant and benches. We need to T-up the CSA and fluff the website with new pictures and offerings for 2015. <br />
We need to sign on a couple more apprentices and of course order seeds. For now, though, we are tending the children, hearth and animals as we breathe deeply into our blessings. <br />
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With love and gratitude from here, <br />
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(<i>Lovely little vessel by a wonderful friend and CSA member. Thanks, Liz!)</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-43913924138778717632014-11-26T15:11:00.001-05:002014-11-26T15:11:22.601-05:00More gratitude to add to your pie.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And a note about schedule: Fall CSA members, remember no pickup next Tuesday. </div>
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Last distribution Dec 9.</div>
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With all warm tidings for a lovely, warm and cozy weekend. </div>
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Polly and Prentice, Joseph, Ben and Abe and all the critters</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-24106558350003308562014-09-30T17:56:00.003-04:002014-09-30T17:56:40.362-04:00Hello October!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Don't you love it when a picture actually <i>kind of </i>captures the beauty before your eyes? The light around this place is at its most gorgeous in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall and at the shoulder times of day. . .dawn and sunset. Probably true of most places, right? Although I only occasionally wrangle my "point and shoot" camera into my pocket as I traipse about, I do <i>try</i> to capture a bit of the feel for the workings of our place with you blog readers in mind.<br />
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Evening, looking to the west.<br />
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Morning, looking straight "south" (down!) at a beautiful mess of Ailsa Craig onion bunches. They glow!<br />
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A bit outdated, these onion pictures were taken way back in August.<br />
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Another intern shot: Ally in the chard patch. <br />
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Look at that sky, all wispy!<br />
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And remember those four heifers born this spring? They are in their pre-teen phase of life, I would say. And like pre-teen members of our own species, they prefer to move everywhere as a unit. </div>
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"I am thirsty."</div>
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The work around here changes in fall;. less weeding and very little planting. There are lots of harvests but they seem to be faster, bigger and simpler. The To-Do whiteboard in the pack shed gets populated with more carpentry projects. If I was handy, I might cross off "pour concrete slab" with some computer-photoshop magic as that job is <u>Done</u>.<br />
Wait, look, I can cross it off here, but not from the whiteboard above. <strike>Pour concrete slab.</strike> <br />
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This slab will be 24ft of our new, larger seedling greenhouse. This will be the seedling house we have needed for the last five years. We really outgrew our first one the year we built it. The remaining 72ft will be bare soil for in-ground growing and movable benches for seedling trays. Having more space in the spring greenhouse will be a boon for us. The slab will allow us to move firewood for the furnace, potting soil and racks of seedling around with ease. The larger capacity will allow us to sell more seedlings to our existing customers and expand our offerings. <br />
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Any earthwork project has its stresses, no?<br />
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Prentice is an excellent teacher, even in the midst of a job like pouring cement.<br />
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This is the ginger and turmeric crop before we dig it. Not as tall as last year so we are expecting lower yields but we shall see! The two beds on the right are seeded to cilantro, I believe. <br />
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The Summer CSA season is coming to an end with our last distribution on October 7th. Our Fall CSA season will begin October 14 and run until mid December. The crops look excellent. These scallions and celery will be part of the bounty. It is too late to get a vegetable share but we could add on a <a href="http://www.villagefarmfreedom.com/uploads/Appleton_Creamery_Desc_2014.pdf" target="_blank">Fall Cheese Share from Appleton Creamery</a> if you are interested. Send us a line or give a call.<br />
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And lastly, Prentice and I had a good laugh over this song when we heard it on WERU last week. It is called "Too Blessed to be Stressed" and it (really just the cheesy title!!) was a great reminder to us to count our blessings, relax, laugh and take a longer view of what we are doing here at Village Farm.<br />
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Up til now, one might hear one or the other of us mutter this favorite quote to ourselves or our stressed-up partner: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." <a href="http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/06/07/annie-dillard-the-writing-life-1/" target="_blank">(Annie Dillard)</a> This quote has been a regular reminder of our freedoms, our privileges, our choices. <br />
I think for the time being, we will belt out "Too Blessed to be Stressed!" in our best soulful voice when one or the other of us needs a talkin'-to.<br />
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As always, we send our best out into the world in the form of vegetables to the CSA, to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/belfastcooperative" target="_blank">Belfast Coop</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lost-Kitchen/119270838136645" target="_blank">The Lost Kitchen</a>, <a href="http://cateringmaine.com/" target="_blank">Swan's Way</a> and <a href="http://www.trilliumcaterers.com/" target="_blank">Trillium</a> Caterers, <a href="http://www.thejuicecellar.com/" target="_blank">The Juice Cellar</a> and others. We send our best wishes to all of you, too. Today and all days,<br />
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Polly and Prentice, the crew and little people.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-1480729615140246562014-07-10T19:40:00.002-04:002014-07-10T19:44:20.447-04:00Pick and Pack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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July brings more predictable days to us Village Farmers. The crops grow. The weeds grow. The "chickens need feedin'" as our dear friend, Grace, likes to say. The seedlings are all sold for the year. The CSA is in full swing, of course, so we gather the week's share early Tuesday mornings, wash and pack and cool them and then bring them to members Tuesday evenings. A larger portion of our vegetables go to wholesale accounts: The Belfast Coop, Swan's Way Catering, Trillium Events and of course, our new neighbor, The Lost Kitchen, among others. Still more vegetables go through our beloved distributor, Crown O' Maine, and make their way to many fine stores and restaurants to the south of us.<br />
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Now that all the large spring plantings are completed, we settle in to something of a daily and weekly rhythm. In the early mornings a few people do animal chores and a few people begin harvesting. We break for breakfast then all return to the fields for more harvesting. Prentice bikes around a lot to check on things. I tend to walk. We move vegetables from field to packing shed with this Jeep and a human powered cart.<br />
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Once in the packing shed, vegetables either go to a wet pack line or the dry pack counter. You can see a couple of ubiquitous clipboards there on the dry pack counter. The clipboards keep our pick lists handy, accessible to all as we wash and pack and check off the day's harvest. The pick lists tally each wholesale customer's order for the day. Those white mesh bags hold herb bunches and loose greens in our repurposed washing machine turned greens spinner.<br />
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You never know who will stop by the pack shed. This place is a hub of activity and always needs a good foremonkey. Or is it foregorilla?<br />
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This is the northside shed which is most definitely a wet pack line. Ally and Amelia are working through 150 or so bunches of scallions. We soak, separate, strip bottom leaves and stack. Lots of fast hand work. Then the scallions get bunched, trimmed and put through a final spray down before being packed.<br />
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Max is working through a gaggle of beet bunches. <br />
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Sparkly vegetables is what we like to see! <br />
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Just as ubiquitous as the clipboards are the blue rubberbands. But more numerous!! We have barely made a dent in the bale of blue rubberbands we bought two years ago. I guess we are stocked for the next decade. Not that you are interested in the rubberband inventory, but I <u>will</u> keep you posted. <br />
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Our first batch of meat chickens return from the butcher's this week. Come by and get one for the grill this weekend! We will have fresh chickens available Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from 8 am to 5 pm. Raised on pasture and organic grain, these birds are delicious and nutritious. $4.75/pound and most birds are around 5 pounds.<br />
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As always, we appreciate your interest in our farm business. Take care and enjoy these mid-summer days.<br />
Fondly, Polly and co.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-9478514080246864462014-06-28T19:19:00.001-04:002014-06-28T19:19:08.715-04:00Good Sports<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The hours and days and weeks go by at a good clip, don't they? No faster at Village Farm than anywhere else, I guess, but the non-stop action of May and June, the sprint that starts the already short Maine Summer.. . breathless we are not, but tired every night, yes.</div>
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Here are a few pictures taken about the place. </div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJjGDGThXdLCFv_waox6ZgJc3pE_bi1XlLNkxcPricXHlCLwRW5Z9zLGusdQLjmRmWfftbVyF7V0s9RLRczkm49zX0DyKWDQeeRHnSXCu91kVRePrEdKDjneIJKHyZsfoSgE_lhOlp94/s1600/P1000755.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></div>
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Our second batch of 200 'Red Bros', a red feathered, bred for grazing meat chicken, has arrived. When they arrive at the Post Office, we unpack them immediately and give each a drink. Benny says the holes in the packing box are so they can whisper to each other en route. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1bZF_JZFxDAn_F5QqVLPntuRHzsWnhbPF44wu99QZIlw8SEsmDv-Fdtk0j_ZIM4HQML_5LnGTT6krRPBtuaC0P9dJEEFbjgTovh73bpC7F6jUChpH3q2kQj6t9DEdFDh05NRDNODH_U/s1600/P1000762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju1bZF_JZFxDAn_F5QqVLPntuRHzsWnhbPF44wu99QZIlw8SEsmDv-Fdtk0j_ZIM4HQML_5LnGTT6krRPBtuaC0P9dJEEFbjgTovh73bpC7F6jUChpH3q2kQj6t9DEdFDh05NRDNODH_U/s1600/P1000762.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf77UEJaLRMurd9ySQtKyaBzR8I-D1cVinMPVVWxK5EUlAlNVoh_zD-6a-x6uhL5AFtUcLp9q74fCpTh99XAaKg2BUkDTW4Vc9_PbZOOBnUSKZiJjLOr0NegtjTR7CJnCjy-PsjZHgffA/s1600/P1000767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf77UEJaLRMurd9ySQtKyaBzR8I-D1cVinMPVVWxK5EUlAlNVoh_zD-6a-x6uhL5AFtUcLp9q74fCpTh99XAaKg2BUkDTW4Vc9_PbZOOBnUSKZiJjLOr0NegtjTR7CJnCjy-PsjZHgffA/s1600/P1000767.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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They learn with that one dip and then are ready to help themselves.</div>
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And the following picture is just a gift from the camera gods. Neither chick nor boy posed for this. I just love it: a captured vision of two small beings having a moment together. </div>
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It is really not cliche or an overstatement to say that we care for every one of our animals, even the ones that we raise for meat.</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXJH5H9diDcClZ1G3nBppgW0aVfm1egv61vvNOpYXN-PYSUPmBkhhWebOpWGt7HdncvWdRO_BynUxEDv16fTAzQxfDAiVn7G1FjbrXRDudYWVu75PnfNlJosnCaf9__VArJvFSDKc9WPY/s1600/10452316_4216314463015_157222593878573843_n.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></div>
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We ask our farm crew to start work at 6 every morning. Sights like this are common and welcome. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tCYgQhmKDEAMCO6eYovb4in2XGJrBpkOe4bPXfoKNI-xxfm013g_4L5H7GA-JfocfM-xCkgKMafkIcAfAGhh5KIfhVvXuIlBORjZ28Fo2JUDpV9-_TdcVp_O03xLkVeg2r3wTEuYoK0/s1600/IMG_7678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tCYgQhmKDEAMCO6eYovb4in2XGJrBpkOe4bPXfoKNI-xxfm013g_4L5H7GA-JfocfM-xCkgKMafkIcAfAGhh5KIfhVvXuIlBORjZ28Fo2JUDpV9-_TdcVp_O03xLkVeg2r3wTEuYoK0/s1600/IMG_7678.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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And then there is mid-morning and high clouds.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzD0tMDsFod2VpF6fWIj9N-KiluCPhgibrrl9-p45z8uFkjm5KIzWk__BfCXstQ7LjeUalezhJoI7R9EZ12A5JJDQPdbQmiiGn784KTEDovAcDD-ZWCRJhZyPTmH51ZE0-t0SilpK3SE/s1600/P1000715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzD0tMDsFod2VpF6fWIj9N-KiluCPhgibrrl9-p45z8uFkjm5KIzWk__BfCXstQ7LjeUalezhJoI7R9EZ12A5JJDQPdbQmiiGn784KTEDovAcDD-ZWCRJhZyPTmH51ZE0-t0SilpK3SE/s1600/P1000715.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And then there are broken down tractors and multiple calls to mechanic friends.</div>
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Muffin tins full of bolts. And reconstruction. A fixed tractor.</div>
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There are snail trails on the hoophouse endwalls and turtle trails in the driveway. Killdeer making a loud living in the gardens and an elusive snipe circling, circling. When I called it "an unremarkable bird" (not a bad thing in my book!!) today, Eliot thought that the snipe was trying its best to be quite remarkable. Such are the conversations, at times.</div>
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Prentice was a good sport to let me clean off and dress up his barn workbench for the on-farm dinner by Chef Frank Giglio a few weeks ago. It was a lovely evening. Great great food. Lovely company. (I don't have any pictures.)</div>
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Prentice is also a good sport about the state of his farm bike seat. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kIKs2Tpn-UlMJx04mtY31F4zszetXO3mNzfa5cpe55GEB7sGglAr1Lrp7nQEKBk7uTEYlrJ10WUYvecCPZXCd88YKphr2vj7NNR417bNLIxc5zO_cUbUEgQgR5lPB8C1QDaaaydI8aw/s1600/P1000725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kIKs2Tpn-UlMJx04mtY31F4zszetXO3mNzfa5cpe55GEB7sGglAr1Lrp7nQEKBk7uTEYlrJ10WUYvecCPZXCd88YKphr2vj7NNR417bNLIxc5zO_cUbUEgQgR5lPB8C1QDaaaydI8aw/s1600/P1000725.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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And boy, is he a good sport about machinery breakdowns.This is the irrigation pump and in the background the fuel tank to the John Deere. The Allis Chalmers cultivating tractor was also giving him grief this week.</div>
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Luckily, there are large beds of gorgeous spinach </div>
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and broccoli coming along to cheer him up when the grease is too much for him.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lhxxngeOIc3eK81Fy9J_vl7L0xTAkTd6Fsy5HsLZ8kueG8qfIE8Sm2wR4nrnsYv3MheM8QGakhd04euAGdDr6bwOZ5Ug5yMVlXEEChtXzVKjeFMRiIdtxb1P_3CVtoTtoofH-4F0P3s/s1600/P1000782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lhxxngeOIc3eK81Fy9J_vl7L0xTAkTd6Fsy5HsLZ8kueG8qfIE8Sm2wR4nrnsYv3MheM8QGakhd04euAGdDr6bwOZ5Ug5yMVlXEEChtXzVKjeFMRiIdtxb1P_3CVtoTtoofH-4F0P3s/s1600/P1000782.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And small victories when machinery gets fixed, and crops get much needed water.</div>
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And sweet Sundays on Freedom Pond in a new to us sailboat. </div>
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And of course, it is all relative, right? This Village Farm resident has her own problems and joys. </div>
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It was our joy to cross her path on our way to the pond. </div>
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All our best wishes for a lovely end of June-early July to one and all!</div>
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Polly and Prentice, boys and crew..</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-1618279704082301202014-05-31T14:12:00.001-04:002014-05-31T14:12:46.489-04:00<h1 align="CENTER" class="western" style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i>You
are invited to a</i></span></h1>
<h1 align="CENTER" class="western">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Farm to
Table Dinner at Village Farm</span></h1>
<ul><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Friday,
June 13, 2014 6:00pm – 10:00pm </span>
</div>
</ul>
<ul><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Village
Farm 122 Belfast Rd. Freedom, ME 04941 </span>
</div>
</ul>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The <a href="http://www.waldocountyopenspace.me/">Waldo
County Open Space Festival</a> will kick off Father's Day weekend
with a delicious farm-to-table dinner at Village Farm in Freedom,
Maine. With the full moon rising up above us, chef Frank Giglio will
craft and prepare a 3 course meal utilizing the beloved Maine
bounty. </span><br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><b>Menu</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Snacks and
Beverages</span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Flatbreads from the Cob
Oven<br />Seasonal treats<br />Herbal Infusions</span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">First Course</span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Tender
Greens<br />Strawberries & Feta<br />Toasted Walnut Vinaigrette</span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Second Course</span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Herb-Roasted
Chicken<br />Turnips<br />Rhubarb Gastrique</span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Third Course</span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Flourless Chocolate
Cake<br /> Apple Minted Strawberries<br />Spruce infused Whipped
Cream</span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Vegan Option</span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Crisp Local
Tempeh<br /> Mushroom Ragu<br />Spring Garlicky Greens</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">**Please Take Notice**</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Menu is subject to change based on
seasonal availability of ingredients</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">This is a BYOB event. No alcohol will
be served as a part of this dinner. You are welcome to bring your
favorite alcoholic beverage and drink responsibly.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">This dinner is by reservation only. No
walk-ins accepted the night of the dinner.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">For vegan or vegetarian options,
please send a message to frank@threelilyfarm.com before June 11th.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">To reserve your spot, <a href="https://threelilyfarm.simplero.com/purchase/8194-Farm-to-Table-Dinner-at-Village-Farm" target="_blank">click here</a> for the online sign up or email Frank, email above. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hope to see you!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Polly and Prentice</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-70625424541421489242014-05-16T07:52:00.000-04:002014-05-16T07:52:47.371-04:00Beyond Words. . .May 10, 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-46290337810635623612014-03-21T21:26:00.002-04:002014-03-21T21:27:34.360-04:00ComparingWhen we begin marketing our CSA shares each spring, we re-evaluate pricing by calculating the real value of our CSA (what we actually distributed the year before); We set target membership numbers for Summer and Fall shares; we contact our collaborators, Appleton Creamery and Out on a Limb to make sure they are on board for another year of offering their cheese and apple shares to our membership; we fluff the website, make a new brochure, get out and hang posters.<br />
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This spring, we are adding a new piece of data to our marketing pitch. (I am only sorry I didn't include it in our brochure!) Let me tell you more about the who and how of this data before giving you the juicy nugget of a finding.<br />
<br />
Prentice's parents, Sally and Tony, have been CSA shareholders since our very first year. We have put up with their compliments and gratitude for the food because we thought it was just because they were relatives, you know? Well, they are that, and they are also smart consumers. Sally and Tony have been saying for at least a few years that they thought our CSA shares seemed like "great deals."<br />
<br />
And so last year, in 2013, they decided to put some data behind their hunch. Each week of our 17 week Summer CSA share season, these two intrepid Village Farm lovers traipsed into Hannaford's (one of the China, Camden or Belfast stores) and recorded prices for the "same" produce they received in their Village Farm CSA share that week. The thing is, the only thing that was the "same" was the name of the vegetable. The vegetables in Hannaford were:<br />
<ul>
<li>not organic, </li>
<li>not looking too good (droopy and bruised, not handled carefully),</li>
<li>not likely as fresh (3 days old, at least?)</li>
<li>not likely as nutritious (see <a href="http://chge.med.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/resources/local_nutrition.pdf">this article</a>)</li>
</ul>
Sally and Tony kept track all season long and in the end. . .<br />
. . .Drumroll. . .<br />
The Village Farm, organic, local, picked that day, fresh as a mountain mist, carefully handled and flavorful vegetables cost (only) 7% more than the "same" Hannaford's non-organic, tired, traveled, dehydrated and none-too-pretty vegetables. <br />
<br />
This is something to talk about! <br />
Thank you, of course, goes to Sally and Tony, authors of this small but specific study comparing cost and quality of our fresh vegetables vs. the supermarket options.<br />
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We grow vegetables because we love good and fresh food. We love to be outside. We love working with plants, animals and the living soil.<br />
<br />
We don't exactly love marketing our vegetables. You know, making <i>the pitch</i>, the sales pitch. It is the car salesman stereotype. . .we don't want to be pushy. But with this new data bit, selling CSA shares seems a whole lot easier all of a sudden!<br />
<br />
So come on, folks, step right up and get your 2014 CSA shares!!! (<a href="http://www.villagefarmfreedom.com/CSA_Information.html" target="_blank">Details and link to sign up form here</a>.) Call or email us if you have questions. We would love to hear from you.<br />
<br />
Our best wishes from around the sap fire,<br />
Polly, Prentice and the boys.<br />
<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-48158169899720766522014-03-06T15:05:00.000-05:002014-03-06T15:39:49.803-05:00Winter Retrospective<br />
Spring is right around the corner by the calendar, but wow! we are still knee deep in winter cold here at Village Farm! In early December we moved the laying flock into its winter abode, one of the hoophouses.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiX9Da-6aoop1_X-G0C2wQG7iydcybrOcZiCGWOzs6w3W36A1cXy9xzEgJd_q0d9VypgDLblqcPtzb4A6cysrH6W76bpG5-3uyx73fx7dstGuywB-LiXpIm5JsVhAwtUtekaA4vMVA-0/s1600/2013-12-14+09.06.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOTEA_d9eV9L60MvxbAPd7-D5fmUZ9e_dz0VLf9v2HN_hZ40mCypub_XLYheloUnO9xKnSGHG2pBCyOA7xffSQKHMXFsGBNNZhwBkg04a1KUZ4mCl_4vR8C1ttWssuhLTfHFIrHTMdys/s1600/2013-12-25+07.39.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiX9Da-6aoop1_X-G0C2wQG7iydcybrOcZiCGWOzs6w3W36A1cXy9xzEgJd_q0d9VypgDLblqcPtzb4A6cysrH6W76bpG5-3uyx73fx7dstGuywB-LiXpIm5JsVhAwtUtekaA4vMVA-0/s1600/2013-12-14+09.06.21.jpg" height="480" width="640" /><br />
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Prentice suffered a serious shiner after tripping over some fence and landing face first in a frozen kale stalk. How is that for a farm injury? At first we thought he needed a more 'colorful' story to go with the shiner but then quickly realized that the frozen kale stalk was actually just the thing.<br />
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The ice storm of December 2013 was certainly remarkable in its beauty and its harsh reality.<br />
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We were lucky enough to have only last power for a few hours (I know!) but we made up for that luck by the near constant work of freeing the many hoophouses from the weight of the snow and ice.I only punched one hole in the plastic "skin" of one of the houses and felt like Rocky Balboa away at arctic training camp as I punched and slammed a janitor's broom into the frozen plastic (overhead).<br />
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Village Farm sprouted yet another building this fall in the form of a barn for the cows. When we bought the land in 2001, the only building on the place was a (then) dilapidated pole barn south of where our house now sits. (I petitioned the town in that first year of paying taxes to value the building at $0 and was successful.)<br />
We moved our herd of cows in there and for 12 years spent every winter morning chopping a hole in a nearby pond's ice to water the animals. The barn was sub-rustic. It was scary, but it served us well. This new barn has a frost free hydrant for watering, electricity (for a radio) and tons of space for hay storage, hay fort building and calving stalls for spring's bounty of wee bovine folk.<br />
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An awesome crew of carpenters built it with Prentice pitching in as the farm responsibilities would allow. Prentice has built doors and stalls, stairs to the loft and readied the building for shingles this winter. It is by no means complete but it is so delightful. We love our new barn. It will be treasured for many, many years of morning chores, and hopefully generations, to come. <br />
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I will have more to say about spring, seeds and the CSA soon, I promise.<br />
Our best to one and all,<br />
Polly and Prentice.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-84877294684428518692013-10-17T05:55:00.000-04:002013-10-17T05:55:02.816-04:00Rewind to Summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Alas, a whole darn summer has slipped through my blogging fingers! Do you want to know why?<br />
Or maybe you didn't notice the silent VF bloggity blog blog. That is fine, too!<br />
I will tell you.<br />
One part technological frustration (weird assortment of cranky cameras), one part old fashioned busy, and one part giving myself a break. The first two you get, the last one is, of course, the story of our business and life here. 'Giving myself a break' stems from the crazy winter of hospitals we had last winter and the promise to myself somewhere in one of <i>those corridors</i> that I would, well, give myself a break whenever and however I could for the next year. So I let the 'you should write a blog entry' voices go right out of my brain. All summer!<br />
Here are a few summer shots I did manage to capture. The above one is Joseph walking Lucky, our spring born steer, in the Freedom Bicentennial Parade. It was a highlight of my summer. That boy walked and talked to that calf all spring to ready themselves for the parade. Good to have a goal. And a pal.<br />
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And this is farmer Prentice, driving our Allis Chalmers G cultivating tractor in the same parade. I think that is an American flag stuck in the back toolbar there.<br />
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And below, Brownie, who seemed to be in this state quite a bit this summer. A few weeks ago, Prentice had the boys rolling in laughter as he sang to the tune of any-old-tune, "Someone has busted brownie's door. It won't shut. The poor old door." Prentice thought there was a barnyard collision, perhaps--a tractor back-up into the door or something like that. But, no.<br />
No collision. No errant motorist.<br />
Just sag.<br />
The frame is so rusted, the driver side door just won't shut anymore.<br />
This will not make Brownie weather-tight.<br />
This is yet another of Brownie's many problems.<br />
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The To Do List as of July 10 or so. You see all the gaps where things done got erased? The crew and Prentice make a To Do List every Monday morning together as they think about the week. Any one of us can make an addition as new jobs are noted. <br />
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We grew some beautiful ginger in Hoophouse 1 this summer. This is about half sized, I would say. It was a trial for us. We have sold all of it to our wholesale accounts. We did not give any to the CSA members but plan to next year. Much more to come next year, for sure. What a delight! The hoophouse smelled like warm ginger tea all summer. <br />
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The flower and pepper house--Hoophouse 2.<br />
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The newly expanded Hoophouse 3. This year it was full of tomatoes. Next year we will expand hoophouse 2 to 100ft long and fill that space with tomatoes. The winter brings the laying hens to the barnyard and they get moved into one of the hoophouses. This year they will inhabit Hoophouse 2 for the deep winter months, feast on dropped peppers, bugs, worms and grubs and soak in the sunlight. We love that our animals are part of our farm system. As with any interconnectedness we allow or cultivate, mutual benefits abound.<br />
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One last summer shot before we fast forward to Fall with the next post. Travel safely, be well and our very best to one and all,<br />
Polly and co.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-4483224572749467972013-05-31T11:57:00.001-04:002013-05-31T11:57:36.777-04:006 a.m. May 31st, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The photos above record an hour or so of this morning's adventure. The crew and Prentice have been erecting the ribs of this hoop house all week. This morning's weather was warm and still, so we all got to it bright and early. The boys trickled out one by one as they woke, with Big Brother Joseph shepherding them from pillow to worksite. <br />
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Seems that many people ask us "Do your kids help out on the farm?"<br />
And we answer, "Yes and no."<br />
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We seldom ask them to show up while we hustle through a project or double-check an order heading to town. . . That approach has proved very difficult for all. But a nice and easy "many hands on deck" job like this one, good weather, no bugs. . .Yes. Harvesting pumpkins? Washing many cases of cucumbers? Yes. These are all good jobs to involve the children. <br />
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We want our children to enjoy the farm. It is about all we do from March to November!! So at their ages, we encourage but do not demand participation in the work around the place. We don't expect any of them to grow up and take VF over but if one, two or all three of them like this farming life enough to continue it . . . great,. They will have a good piece of land and a bunch of infrastructure like the hoophouse "skinned" this morning to work with. <br />
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Top of the mornin' to you.<br />
Polly and co.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-36935498389516146562013-05-28T16:16:00.003-04:002013-05-28T16:18:30.218-04:00Cowboys, Cowgirls and Sheriffs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Warm greetings from Village Farm!<br />
"Field and Forest Report": (To quote our beloved WERU commentator Rob McCall's <a href="http://archives.weru.org/awanadjo-almanack/awanadjo-almanack-20130524">Awanadjo Almanac</a>) Apple blossom season is right before and overlaps with lilac season. Apple blossoms follow plum blossoms. Dandelions' blooms are waning. Getting ready to pop with their floaty seeds. The cows are finally and gleefully out to pasture. Hannah is hoping to get a hive of bees going this summer. We are hoping she does!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXkY0i5kF-LdVM3zanaUwzQRk1l5QFYCCDM-GCChgyV9gonp5DKfKS7sN7bfOSqHOKrvedIwQyrp008Bt9YSvzRBSVM54SOR1Q_xSt7giTy2rLmkGcUj1bqLEFR5UGqEBQIYsDiIQJVA/s1600/DSCN3323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXkY0i5kF-LdVM3zanaUwzQRk1l5QFYCCDM-GCChgyV9gonp5DKfKS7sN7bfOSqHOKrvedIwQyrp008Bt9YSvzRBSVM54SOR1Q_xSt7giTy2rLmkGcUj1bqLEFR5UGqEBQIYsDiIQJVA/s640/DSCN3323.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Barnyard Report: Abe and Ben have caught the entrepreneurial bug and have both opened barnyard "stores." Ben sells "Seaglass, Rocks and Things" and as you can see here, Abe sells whatever I will let him take from the kitchen. Most often apples and raisins. Come on by, pardners, if you need some grub.<br />
(Note to Kathy and Aunt Ewe: Excuse my misspelling of SHERIFF. . .you can see by the scratch-out that I did struggle to find the right letters!)<br />
And you can see the splatters on the wall from a long ago art project? The patina of this house is definitely growing with these three boys and their non-stop exuberance!<br />
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Garden Report: All the rain of late has slowed down the planting fury and has afforded the crew the time to start erecting a new hoophouse that will make a 100 footer out of a formerly 50 footer.<br />
We watch the weeds grow in rainy weather but do not tread in the gardens for fear of compacting (damaging) the soil structure. It looks like later this week is going to heat right up in time for our June 1st Seedling Sale (10 am to 2 pm--come on by!!!) and in time for a lot of weeding and cultivating.<br />
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The summer CSA begins in 3 weeks! We are going to have gorgeous kale, bok choi, salad greens, herbs and lettuce heads for you members. And we will not forget the micro greens for that first pick up.<br />
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We send our best and many thanks for supporting our Village Farm.<br />
Polly and co.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-28060033435193872013-05-17T05:20:00.002-04:002013-05-17T05:20:54.360-04:00Looking aroundWarm greetings from Village Farm!<br />
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With the CSA beginning in a month, I figured I best be getting in blogging shape again.<br />
Actually, blogging and jogging have a bit more than "ogging" in common. Best to start slow. Take deep breaths. Look around. <br />
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With so much going on here, I find it a challenge to narrow the story to something coherent.<br />
Pictures help.<br />
We have had a lovely and talented photographer here from time to time over the past month or so. Collin Powell is a student at the Maine Photographic Workshop in Rockport and is doing her final project on farm apprentices. She has captured some wonderful images. Here are a few of my favorites.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wpCU_M3SeCZXlLKf4t5gv5zEASslpM-xDefwFI-OErdFAMRU27ZtQQJXt1I0uaI-YTmuqiccc5bSJmwR4-DB2tnGbfU7Bgowqajs7tQt56f1P6gf2nVaRzV4MjGyU96KapeAz3zum2M/s1600/Howell-0243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wpCU_M3SeCZXlLKf4t5gv5zEASslpM-xDefwFI-OErdFAMRU27ZtQQJXt1I0uaI-YTmuqiccc5bSJmwR4-DB2tnGbfU7Bgowqajs7tQt56f1P6gf2nVaRzV4MjGyU96KapeAz3zum2M/s640/Howell-0243.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These capture small moments of farm life at Village Farm. . .and thousands of such moments/visions make up every day and every week. Seeing these photos does help us pause the next time as we take in the mat of green babies in the greenhouse, the big sky, the brown earth and morning mist, and the good company of a calm dairy cow. </div>
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We have the first of our two on-farm Seedling Sales this Saturday, May 18 from 10am-2pm. June 1st is the next one: same time, same place. Should be fun and festive and we have everything you need for a very prolific garden this summer. I say make a day of it--get your garden seedlings, stop by the most awesome general store,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/FreedomGeneralStore"> Freedom General</a>, walk around and peep in <a href="http://www.millatfreedomfalls.com/">the Mill's</a> windows and take a walk through our woodlot down to Freedom Pond. The loons are busy these days. We hear them all day and all night long!</div>
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So much planting going on. Seeds going in, tubers going in, trees going in, transplants going in. </div>
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Planting gets all the glory but of course, it is preceded by hours of plowing, spreading compost and amendments, tilling and bed-forming. . .and followed by watering, weeding, mulching and thinning. The crops are going into some well cared for soil, that is for sure. They will be well cared for, that is for sure. They will be delicious and nutritious. We can count on that, as well.</div>
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From all of us at Village Farm, </div>
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We are grateful for your support for the work we are engaged in, </div>
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Polly and co. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-37617699930265381892013-02-28T22:12:00.000-05:002013-02-28T22:12:32.335-05:00November post interrupted by Life.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfI0YU0zLZo7yosQBZ-n9Oey7AXGE-73CYx7DjGm4fsLQCzk8Ak1FYS9WWb8i8gns022Dr8kdFoObmfr2ZSObKEl5hd5d_ADKIBoq4unERbIZKhH1zZXV_PeY-Jf6bqR0rm3aYskze_oo/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfI0YU0zLZo7yosQBZ-n9Oey7AXGE-73CYx7DjGm4fsLQCzk8Ak1FYS9WWb8i8gns022Dr8kdFoObmfr2ZSObKEl5hd5d_ADKIBoq4unERbIZKhH1zZXV_PeY-Jf6bqR0rm3aYskze_oo/s640/001.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our parting gifts to John, Ryan, Emma and Willie. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVa4rN1y4bOjMD_Q0gGO8Zz2HChRWrUQ24AH09YcnvJH77j3aogY4rIH6QYqw_kW-hrzTdhRWmDaxGDUW09l8izLJmaAnBbWBNiz9wLVhe8EwWMm6RkbqMy5pBH_tpOvU2giQcOAobUag/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVa4rN1y4bOjMD_Q0gGO8Zz2HChRWrUQ24AH09YcnvJH77j3aogY4rIH6QYqw_kW-hrzTdhRWmDaxGDUW09l8izLJmaAnBbWBNiz9wLVhe8EwWMm6RkbqMy5pBH_tpOvU2giQcOAobUag/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryan's Guinea hog (pork) sausage and signage.</td></tr>
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[February 28, 2013. Just found this post in the queue as "unpublished". It was written in November 2012 and somehow never got finished or published. . . until now.]<br />
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Tonight we are hosting a goodbye potluck for our farm crew. Willie leaves tomorrow, Emma and John and Ryan all move on in the next week.<br />
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Much of what Prentice and I do here-- <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSL0cnmYL5UHZ8SzANi7e_EbzO9XSGqPQ1ZWWNQt5TPt1V0QVuHO4t_K5BeozO9dvRFl3ivy570YLaTh2Mq_-cESIMfHf-mYAPJPUlJNx9_ojYtpnUm_EbR16TSHamXyAVXQQclt3iDsM/s1600/DSCN2494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSL0cnmYL5UHZ8SzANi7e_EbzO9XSGqPQ1ZWWNQt5TPt1V0QVuHO4t_K5BeozO9dvRFl3ivy570YLaTh2Mq_-cESIMfHf-mYAPJPUlJNx9_ojYtpnUm_EbR16TSHamXyAVXQQclt3iDsM/s320/DSCN2494.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Willie's goats, before he sold them. </td></tr>
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have fun, grow vegetables, milk a cow, raise chickens, collect eggs, form a community, learn, work hard, sweat, get dirty, build things, fix things, wash things, pack things--is made possible and better by the help of interns/apprentices. 2012 brought four amazing humans to Village Farm from May-November. As we reflect on our season, financially, production-wise, inter-personally, we pretty much start and end "our gratefuls" with the crew.<br />
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We take the apprenticeship model pretty seriously.<br />
We both began our farming careers as apprentices and we met on an oh-so-romantic sea side in farm downeast Maine.<i> </i>We work to create a healthy working, learning and living environment here at Village Farm. I say working AND learning AND living because we do all three in community. And the word, "healthy," of course, is relative. What I mean by healthy is honest, communicative, challenging, easy-going, flexible and accountable. The apprenticeship model, as we see it is a way for us to share our home, land, food and expertise with aspiring farmers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXiPM9OfjwUogbkl70rK_UO25rdrfuvIIwv5IPaOh8X-7f3RDkfgCuTbvmHUtb2dgkBmjkcheicWfBRZ536F0ON83ZLnkyw_pE9Ivc7wdaC8NDFCwwJil2Khc9y1j5hbc0LLecGaUnic/s1600/DSCN2448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXiPM9OfjwUogbkl70rK_UO25rdrfuvIIwv5IPaOh8X-7f3RDkfgCuTbvmHUtb2dgkBmjkcheicWfBRZ536F0ON83ZLnkyw_pE9Ivc7wdaC8NDFCwwJil2Khc9y1j5hbc0LLecGaUnic/s320/DSCN2448.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma and John's garden.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxhpQfwaudLA_xytycv1KixUyOhjtqzr-4ktUdjjVZpVg7vccF09dwMeo6caPYeJfbV_fOKLc5-UzuLS-zlf3WASuzrCyuB3ctHAeWo5_0uX9yfQ0b7vjVkb7BUEyyV3O6bKKifcuo5g/s1600/044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxhpQfwaudLA_xytycv1KixUyOhjtqzr-4ktUdjjVZpVg7vccF09dwMeo6caPYeJfbV_fOKLc5-UzuLS-zlf3WASuzrCyuB3ctHAeWo5_0uX9yfQ0b7vjVkb7BUEyyV3O6bKKifcuo5g/s320/044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma and Polly working on the earthen oven.</td></tr>
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It is a model of working and learning that is not so much about master-apprentice but much more about immersion, working with, day in and day out and literally and figuratively "breathing in" the new information. <br />
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And we certainly learn, too. We never cease to be inspired and amazed by the people who sign on to this farm and family business as apprentices. <br />
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The pictures with this post give you only the tiniest look into some of the projects that Emma, John, Willie and Ryan took on independently this year.<br />
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With all best wishes for your futures, we are gratefully yours,<br />
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Polly and Prentice, Joseph, Ben and Abe<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-80955755120795473802013-02-28T22:00:00.002-05:002013-02-28T22:00:33.867-05:00Fall 2012 photos<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Escarole and shallot stir fry. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first fire in the earthen oven.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saying good bye and thank you to John and Emma, Ryan and Willie, 2012 apprentices as we light the first fire in the new earthen oven.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look what was left in the Village Farm driveway? Meet Findus, aka Mr. Lucky and Mr. Cuteness.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddling some shapes into the wet last layer of mud.</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-27970075935932809062013-02-28T21:51:00.002-05:002013-02-28T21:54:47.210-05:00News bits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello out there! It has been a looong time since I have been here to the Village Farm blog. I almost forgot how to log onto Blogger, in fact. But here I am, getting back into shape, so to speak, as our farming season gets underway.<br />
How about some news:</div>
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. . . .We have a gaggle of CSA members signed up already. Yay! And thank you faithful supporters and new members! We are looking forward to another wonderful year of growing and eating ahead. <br />
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. . . We have leeks and some herbs sprouting in the basement and will start up the heat in the greenhouse this weekend so that the onions can get their early start, too. We will hang a curtain down the length of the house so as only to heat 1/2 the space for a few weeks. A heated greenhouse will mean that micro greens will be in the Coop and on Crown of Maine's availability list soon. </div>
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. . .We have three apprentices signed on for the season with a fourth in the works. 2013 will be the 6th year we have engaged students of agriculture here in our version of a labor for learning exchange. And we continue to enjoy the camaraderie, intelligence and hard work that each of those fine people have brought to the Village Farm. </div>
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. . . The laying hens are upping production. These things happen in
late February. I collected the most gorgeous basket of eggs this
evening. Blues, greens, browns. . .<br />
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. . .The cows are eating hay and resting. They are such phlegmatic creatures.<br />
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. . .We have tapped some maples! 34 was the count I last heard. Boiling to come!</div>
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. . . We have met with all of our wholesale accounts and are planning great things. Mostly great things very similar to 2012's great things but it is always fun to try a few new varieties, new packaging ideas, tweaks to the planting schedules and the like. If you do not wish to be a CSA member, you can find our produce at the <a href="http://www.belfast.coop/">Belfast Coop</a>, through <a href="http://www.crownofmainecoop.com/">Crown o' Maine,</a> on the elegant plates of<a href="http://www.cateringmaine.com/"> Swan's Way</a> and <a href="http://www.trilliumcaterers.com/">Trillium</a> caterers and at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lost-Kitchen/119270838136645">The Lost Kitchen</a>. And if you are a child in the Belfast or Mount View school system, you may eat our vegetables in the lunchroom. </div>
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. . .We will be at the <a href="http://www.mofga.org/Events/CommunitySupportedAgricultureFair/tabid/876/Default.aspx">CSA Fair</a> at the Belfast boathouse this Sunday. Do stop in to say hello if you are in town that day. We will have eggs for sale and of course will be peddling and pushing our CSA shares.<br />
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. . .We have enjoyed reading some great articles in the press lately.<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/health/mediterranean-diet-can-cut-heart-disease-study-finds.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0"> This one</a> in the NYT cites the advantages of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as protective against heart disease and strokes. And <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/10/22/121022fa_fact_specter">Germs R Us in the New Yorker</a> made us downright giddy as it elucidated a whole new branch of science for us. . .the study of the human biome. It, too, has much to say about the benefits of eating fresh, locally grown nutrient-dense and microbe slathered vegetables. (We wash all of our vegetables, of course, in fresh, cold well water but because of and thanks to the magnificent flora and fauna found in our soils, our vegetables will indeed be slathered with healthy, desirable and natural microbes despite the dunking.)<br />
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. . .We are so excited that the renovation of <a href="http://www.millatfreedomfalls.com/">The Mill at Freedom Falls</a> is nearing completion. The straighter and brighter building is just so proud looking on its granite foundation. And, it looks like Prentice's sister, Laurie, will be educating a class of young fry there this fall as her venture <a href="http://www.themillschool.org/">The Mill School</a> takes form. <br />
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. . . We are continually grateful for our community of friends and family and farm supporters. It is a great joy to be growing food for many of you.<br />
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Best wishes from Village Farm,<br />
Polly<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290966362551933276.post-3659992774930804122012-09-15T21:21:00.001-04:002012-09-15T21:46:25.559-04:00Around the place<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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We notice the chill in the mornings these days. The cold well water in the huge wash tubs doesn't feel so "refreshing" but has been called "numbing" instead. We have begun eating dinners inside rather than out on the porch. Bare footed boys have been seen in crocs and even --<i>gasp!--</i>socks. The pumpkins are coloring up, the onions are all curing in the greenhouse and the bees that camp out on the sunfowers remain loagy for several hours each morning. These are some of the many signs of fall that we notice. Here are a few more pictures and words about what we have been up to. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvMs7TfTyJiWFmeSrwnAYwqI4UneSdsYPzGlG02ldQbZNM1nlSgbwfuyNnGzRItnXTTlOXT8KXKy_qeH0OR7CXfiyTEeThQKS3BvnadiPCzKfzw3oJWE9i2jAOX1-wYUMJVuB2qnxS1A/s1600/DSCN2398.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNvMs7TfTyJiWFmeSrwnAYwqI4UneSdsYPzGlG02ldQbZNM1nlSgbwfuyNnGzRItnXTTlOXT8KXKy_qeH0OR7CXfiyTEeThQKS3BvnadiPCzKfzw3oJWE9i2jAOX1-wYUMJVuB2qnxS1A/s400/DSCN2398.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
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This preying mantis hitched a ride out of the corn field with me a few weeks ago. I hung out with it for quite a while that day. I gave it a ride in Brownie, the farm truck, brought it to show the boys and crew and then released it back into the green where it is so at home. When we bought this land in 2001, 25 of the 40 acres of field were planted to corn. It seemed to us then that that was ALL there was in the field. No bugs, weeds or birds. Just a whole lot of corn. Whenever I see a new bird perching in one of the trees we planted or find a new to my eyes insect, I feel and realize how much diversity we have allowed back into this small world of Village Farm. I don't feel proud of that fact, exactly, just happy and lucky.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTB1j5BTJlo56OXbQ8ZLvcSCK-V3HbG_uBHCHZPjlGtgmn6RJMiy4Dyjydt5anAsv7G3AjgunHD4JHoh6gb6ILZ8neO3b_O6itk-07Z0wDap6e9VeTny8weX5D74EWqSWG1Uj3wGrThcQ/s1600/DSCN2066.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTB1j5BTJlo56OXbQ8ZLvcSCK-V3HbG_uBHCHZPjlGtgmn6RJMiy4Dyjydt5anAsv7G3AjgunHD4JHoh6gb6ILZ8neO3b_O6itk-07Z0wDap6e9VeTny8weX5D74EWqSWG1Uj3wGrThcQ/s400/DSCN2066.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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Speaking of diversity, we hosted a group of incoming Colby College students over Labor Day weekend. This picture is of Pralaksha, a real sweet heart of a person who grew up in Bhutan. She is probably a first for this land, too, I would venture to guess. What a pleasure to spend a weekend with 13 fine, fine young people, all on the verge of their college years and all so equipped already, it seemed,with much intelligence and keen insights into life. We worked, cooked, ate and played Ultimate frisbee. We are grateful for their helping hands and most excellent company. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrgiSp25glaW_BKNpS0DVEyPh5OZJxYZl7O_-NSb2VEzuh8WhXaALxpa70xHjn-0A14Kl0_lm0y8B0YY3DrOik2PNs2wObdVQ5KSjgjvTdQETILoFCnk5i7oqUaHSvqY195k2bAmocA4/s1600/DSCN2067.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrgiSp25glaW_BKNpS0DVEyPh5OZJxYZl7O_-NSb2VEzuh8WhXaALxpa70xHjn-0A14Kl0_lm0y8B0YY3DrOik2PNs2wObdVQ5KSjgjvTdQETILoFCnk5i7oqUaHSvqY195k2bAmocA4/s400/DSCN2067.JPG" width="640" /></a> <br />
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A sea of tithonia in the mist. Just pretty.</div>
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Prentice off to seed some cover crops. Winter rye, planted now, will put on enough root and top growth to hold the soil right through the fall and winter, ensuring that our precious soils don't get eroded by spring rains and washouts. Some of it will be allowed to grow and set seeds in the spring at which time we will cut and bale it for mulch. Most of it will be plowed under as early as we can get on the fields next spring and its organic matter will nourish the soil and next year's crops.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi7RZR5FgJonJUdcmjkax3hYmrk-nnQTMwncdAxYi3NgFUVjYAdA1azAAlNC0KhvUUSSy5gsEMWPjTqAKJfmJYMP8RDCtcwSDDyKkmW7HwHPpSsGplwoNaEV9VO1EvaJ9295zXEmuTbNQ/s1600/DSCN2069.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi7RZR5FgJonJUdcmjkax3hYmrk-nnQTMwncdAxYi3NgFUVjYAdA1azAAlNC0KhvUUSSy5gsEMWPjTqAKJfmJYMP8RDCtcwSDDyKkmW7HwHPpSsGplwoNaEV9VO1EvaJ9295zXEmuTbNQ/s400/DSCN2069.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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We started the base for the bread/pizza oven. Do you believe it?! This has been one long wish and dream and project but it is well underway with a committed and excited team of (very amateur) masons going for it. We are at 12" tall by 68" wide by 78" long--in the share of an oval. Once we get the base done (by next Friday??) we will plan our earthen oven building party, and that is where you may want to come and help. More details when we have the base done!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8NJIPAYaNVV9Xsfj8UHdURUJdnHicnUWyk7EKlHOQvK3Vz5aDpG6HmTb6wX6D4Ogig8hj3AXUEmUq49e1tFV6bxoeUeZNVcCqY-nJc0fdhey2tPZsKNwwiHkiOlBqAnycV8-XL3zJxU/s1600/DSCN2031.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm8NJIPAYaNVV9Xsfj8UHdURUJdnHicnUWyk7EKlHOQvK3Vz5aDpG6HmTb6wX6D4Ogig8hj3AXUEmUq49e1tFV6bxoeUeZNVcCqY-nJc0fdhey2tPZsKNwwiHkiOlBqAnycV8-XL3zJxU/s400/DSCN2031.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
And let us not forget the canning and freezing and pickling and lacto-fermenting. . . into the late hours, some nights, I am afraid. This is a crock of Prentice's lacto fermented mixed vegetables before salting and fermenting. Best darn pickle around, I tell you. We will put some out at CSA distributions this week for sampling. Let us know if you want to buy a mess of picklers or paste tomatoes. We have lots and they won't be coming out of the gardens for too much longer. <br />
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Well, that gives you a good look into things around the place. Summer vegetable, cheese and egg shares wrap up on the 9th of October and Fall Shares begin on the 16th. We are sold out of Fall vegetable and egg shares but Appleton Creamery would take on some more cheese shares, if you are interested. Apple shares from Out on a Limb began last Tuesday and will go through Nov 6th, on every other Tuesday.<br />
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All the best to you and yours this lovely September of 2012!<br />
Polly</div>
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