"Land really is the best art"

Andy Warhol, 1985

MAY 2010

"To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourseleves."

                                                                 Mahatma Gandhi    

April 2010

The trees are whispering to me,

reminding me of my roots, and my reach

.....shhhhhh.....

can you hear them?

Selflessly,sharing their subtle song.

                Jeb Dickerson

March 2010

"When we tug at a single thing in nature, we

  Find it attached to the rest of the world"

                                       John Muir

February 2010

Winter

is the time for comfort, for good

       food and warmth, for a touch of a

   friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:

      it is the time for home.

-Edith Sitwell

January 2010

"The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination".  Ward Elliot Hour

Quotes from 2009

" So I saw there is nothing better than a man should enjoy his work, for that is his lot."     Ecclesiastes  3:22

" A life removed from the soil is one that quickly loses touch with reality.  And a culture with no agrarian context becomes arrogant in its cleverness, and loses its humility."        Joel Salatin

"There can be no doubt that a society rooted in the soil is more stable than one rooted in pavements."       Aldo Leopold

" I view the farmer who wants to leave the land in better shape when he leaves it to the next generation as the role model for civilization."   Charles Walters Jr.

" A hundred years after we are gone and forgotten, those who never heard of us will be living with the results of our actions."   Oliver Wendell Holmes 

 We really felt in the Holiday mood picking flowers. They have expoded in color, just like fireworks. We were in a sea of red, white, blue, and about every other color and shade you can imagine, but not as noisy.

 Seeing all the familiar faces and renewing acquaintances, especially at the first few markets, is a wonderful feeling. Although we only see our customers for a few minutes (if that), it feels like seeing an old friend or family member and really energizes us. It helps carry us forward in the months to come.

 It is a very busy time of year and the days start to blur together. It is both exuberating and exhausting, and we love it.

Click here to read or print  2010 Annual Newsletter

Click here to read or print  2010 Poultry Order Form 

 Click here to read or print    2010 Pastured Pork Order Form                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

  If you are not familiar with farm slang and wonder what a bottom is, it is the farm ground that surrounds a creek, river, or stream and it seems everyone has a story about a bottom field, if you ever farmed one. They range from floods to quicksand. When Betty found out that we had bought this property that adjoined us, she had to tell us her stories, of this bottom field and woods. She finally stated that she had worked and played in that field so much her name was written all over it. So we named it Betty's bottom. She has since passed away but was a terrific lady and neighbor.

 Sorry I got side tracked, this blog is about Conard and his pigs. Well Conard has always enjoyed raising pigs for the fair and always wanted more. He likes pigs better than the fair. Last year he started his own enterprise of raising organic sweet corn. So this year he has started another enterprise of raising pasture raised pork. They are living high on the hog (pun intended) in this field, doing their best to root it all upside down. They have free access to pasture, and Conard's feed ration he is getting is customed blended.

  It really feels good to have hogs back on the farm. We raised hogs in the 1980's and 90's with Guy's brother. They are a great joy to watch and work with. He is planning on getting more next month.  

 Our fun and syrup adventure involved alot of time and help from friends and family. We tapped the trees on Sunday evening, Conard collected the sap on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Guy went to our neighbor Phil's to get his propane syrup finisher that Phil and his dad used in the 1970,s when their sugar camp was in full operation. Phil was pleased to see it being used again, and he was a major resource drawing from years of experience.

 Sandy was getting the boiling pan and all the other equipment together when she realized the boiling pans were wanting to leak. Sandy took the pans to her dad to seal. Which he did in a fine fashion. On her trip over she spyied that a friends of our's sugar house had smoke coming out of the chimney, we decided we should go and get some advice from him. Jeff had his sugar house in full swing and the sweet smell was just overwhelming. We left with encouragement and a nice sample of finished syrup to try.

 We started boiling Wednesday morning, and thanks to Phil stopping by a few times to check on us sap rookies it went pretty smooth. Success was achieved about 7:30 that evening. We tasted way to much and put the wonderful syrup in canning jars with a triumphet look in our eyes.

 The next morning we just had to have pancakes. 

 We liked it just fine. The livestock did use more feed and it was a bigger chore keeping fresh water unfrozen to them, but the farm being blanketed in snow was just beautiful. Now we are in the spring thaw and more mud, but we are mentally prepared for it. Spring is here and bringing its wonders, sights, sounds and new challenges.

 We have gotten our existing two hoop houses planted. Also we have started many seed trays with a variety of crops. Yes, we are eager to get our hands in the soil. 

 While we are waiting for the soil to dry out for major field work and projects we are trying something new. We tapped fifteen of our sugar maple trees and going to try our hand at making some maple syrup. This is a project we have wanted to do for several years. We were blessed a few years back to receive sugar maple making equipment when Guy's Aunt Estella Jo sold her farm and shut down her sugar camp. We never have seemed to have enough time to try making some until this year. We have a lofty goal (for us) to make a whole gallon this year. Wish us luck, it should be fun.

Chicken Tractors

These floorless pens allow us to move our chickens to fresh organic pasture daily. Here they have access to all the fresh air, sunshine, fresh grass, and the bugs they like (unlike the usual concentrations camp confinement system that they are normally raised in). Their diet is supplemented with a specially mixed feed of local grains, proibotics, organic minerals and vitamins. We have this feed made at our local feed mill.

Processing

All processing is done on our farm where cleanliness and quality (not speed and quanity) are top priority.

Things to consider

 If it is in the feed, it is in the food.  Even though our poultry products are not certified organic, we go to great lengths to create a superior eating experience. You'll have to try them for yourself to believe the difference in taste and quality.  A few advantages to pastured poultry are:  no hormones, no antibiotics, raised on clean air and sunshine, fresh daily salad bar, no chlorine baths, no irradiation, promotes family farming, reconnects customer and the farmer, etc.

How to order

Chickens should be ordered in advance and will be picked up at our farm. We dress our chickens one Monday each month, May through October. Ask for dates, an order form, or sign up on our mailing list.