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What's That Bright Light in the Sky?
3/8/2010 11:27pm by Heather Redden
Greetings my Farm Friends!
Wow, what a difference a few days can make! We feel like we've come out of a long hibernation here at the farm. I don't think we realized how much of a funk this winter has put us in until the sun came out and made it pleasant to be outside again. The lack of sun made it hard to even grow anything in the greenhouse for most of the winter. We have put the winter time to use planning for the spring and furthering our education. Brandon and I attended the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group conference in Chattanooga in January. It is always such a great time and we learn so much. I attended everything I could on multi-species grazing, pastured poultry, and marketing. Brandon went to anything on growing lettuce and soil health. He just loves all those critters that make up a healthy soil ecosystem. Saturday, we will be attending the annual Bluegrass Beekeeping School in Frankfurt. We always learn something new and it's a great place to get started if you are thinking of becoming a beekeeper.
Winter is also a time that we spend reading and watching whatever we can about farming and food. I thought I would give a few recomendations for those of you wanting to learn more. Some of the great books out there are:
1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver where you can follow her and her family through a year of local eating.
2. The Omnivore's Dilemna and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan are both a great look at how we've ended up where we are in our western diet and definitely provide you with some food for thought.
3. The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry is a most insightful look at how the dismantling of the small family farm has led to just about every social ill plaguing our society today. Wendell Berry is a farmer from Kentucky. He is a wonderful poet and fiction writer also.
And then there are the documentaries. Super Size Me is so much more than a gross out film about eating at McDonalds although some of it is gross. The part of that film that stood out the most for me was a look into a high school in Wisconsin for the "bad" kids that have been expelled out of their regular schools for behavior problems and how a switch to all fresh foods instead of processed in the school breakfasts and lunches has impacted the children's ability to focus and achieve at school. And finally, there is Food, Inc. I don't think I can say enough about this. It is the single most impactful piece of film I've seen in my whole life. The range of emotions that Brandon and I went through while watching it ran from disgust to anger to deep sadness to joy and all in about 90 minutes. It is a look into the food industry in the U.S. like you've never seen before. You get to see industrial corn and soybeans and the monster that Monsanto has become. You see factory farms and the grip that Tyson has on poultry farmers in Kentucky. You see how animals are viewed and handled in an industrial food system and you see how the farmers and slaughter house workers are used and abused. You also see how our food dollars make a huge impact and that Walmart can be a force for good (I know, it's shocking). One of the best parts is seeing and hearing from Joel Salatin, who is probably the single most inspiring sustainable farmer out there. It is not appropriate for small children as it is graphic in places. Everyone needs to see this film.
If I'm not careful, this is going to turn into a book so time to move on. Everything is hopping here at the farm. Brandon is starting lots of seeds, the bees are flying, chicks and lambs are arriving, and the chickens are laying like crazy. I am planning on coming to Independence for a drop off on Sunday, March 14 at 1:00 PM. Please make careful note of the day and time since this is different from my normal (whatever that is) schedule. Michelle Peluso will be coming again with her baked goods if you would like to order from her as well.
Available this week from Nature's Harbor Farm:
1. Grass Fed Eggs: $3.50 per dozen-We have eggs in abundance right now so no one will be limited on the number you can get. Now is the time to stock up!
Pasture Raised chicken parts:
2. Gizzards: $3.75 per pound
3. Hearts: $6.50 per pound
4. Feet: $3.25 per pound-great for soup
5. Necks: $1.50 per pound-also great for soup. Feet and necks also make tasty and healthy supplements for a dog's diet. Chicken bones are safe for dogs to eat as long as they are NOT cooked. Cooked chicken bones splinter and can kill a dog (or cat) when lodged in their throats.
6. Wheatgrass in 4 in. pot: $3.00-Great for your indoor kitties or for juicing.
Products from Michelle Peluso:
1. Jumbo cupcakes: $2.00 a piece- She makes three different delicious varieties. Specify whether you would like caramel frosted blackberry jam cupcakes, amaretto cupcakes, or fuzzy navel cupcakes. Minimum order of 4 of one variety.
2. loaves of buttermilk honey bread: $4.00
Please email with your orders by 5:00 PM Saturday evening.
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
Don't forget you can now follow the farm on Facebook also at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natures-Harbor-Farm/216328054616?v=wall
Wow, what a difference a few days can make! We feel like we've come out of a long hibernation here at the farm. I don't think we realized how much of a funk this winter has put us in until the sun came out and made it pleasant to be outside again. The lack of sun made it hard to even grow anything in the greenhouse for most of the winter. We have put the winter time to use planning for the spring and furthering our education. Brandon and I attended the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group conference in Chattanooga in January. It is always such a great time and we learn so much. I attended everything I could on multi-species grazing, pastured poultry, and marketing. Brandon went to anything on growing lettuce and soil health. He just loves all those critters that make up a healthy soil ecosystem. Saturday, we will be attending the annual Bluegrass Beekeeping School in Frankfurt. We always learn something new and it's a great place to get started if you are thinking of becoming a beekeeper.
Winter is also a time that we spend reading and watching whatever we can about farming and food. I thought I would give a few recomendations for those of you wanting to learn more. Some of the great books out there are:
1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver where you can follow her and her family through a year of local eating.
2. The Omnivore's Dilemna and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan are both a great look at how we've ended up where we are in our western diet and definitely provide you with some food for thought.
3. The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry is a most insightful look at how the dismantling of the small family farm has led to just about every social ill plaguing our society today. Wendell Berry is a farmer from Kentucky. He is a wonderful poet and fiction writer also.
And then there are the documentaries. Super Size Me is so much more than a gross out film about eating at McDonalds although some of it is gross. The part of that film that stood out the most for me was a look into a high school in Wisconsin for the "bad" kids that have been expelled out of their regular schools for behavior problems and how a switch to all fresh foods instead of processed in the school breakfasts and lunches has impacted the children's ability to focus and achieve at school. And finally, there is Food, Inc. I don't think I can say enough about this. It is the single most impactful piece of film I've seen in my whole life. The range of emotions that Brandon and I went through while watching it ran from disgust to anger to deep sadness to joy and all in about 90 minutes. It is a look into the food industry in the U.S. like you've never seen before. You get to see industrial corn and soybeans and the monster that Monsanto has become. You see factory farms and the grip that Tyson has on poultry farmers in Kentucky. You see how animals are viewed and handled in an industrial food system and you see how the farmers and slaughter house workers are used and abused. You also see how our food dollars make a huge impact and that Walmart can be a force for good (I know, it's shocking). One of the best parts is seeing and hearing from Joel Salatin, who is probably the single most inspiring sustainable farmer out there. It is not appropriate for small children as it is graphic in places. Everyone needs to see this film.
If I'm not careful, this is going to turn into a book so time to move on. Everything is hopping here at the farm. Brandon is starting lots of seeds, the bees are flying, chicks and lambs are arriving, and the chickens are laying like crazy. I am planning on coming to Independence for a drop off on Sunday, March 14 at 1:00 PM. Please make careful note of the day and time since this is different from my normal (whatever that is) schedule. Michelle Peluso will be coming again with her baked goods if you would like to order from her as well.
Available this week from Nature's Harbor Farm:
1. Grass Fed Eggs: $3.50 per dozen-We have eggs in abundance right now so no one will be limited on the number you can get. Now is the time to stock up!
Pasture Raised chicken parts:
2. Gizzards: $3.75 per pound
3. Hearts: $6.50 per pound
4. Feet: $3.25 per pound-great for soup
5. Necks: $1.50 per pound-also great for soup. Feet and necks also make tasty and healthy supplements for a dog's diet. Chicken bones are safe for dogs to eat as long as they are NOT cooked. Cooked chicken bones splinter and can kill a dog (or cat) when lodged in their throats.
6. Wheatgrass in 4 in. pot: $3.00-Great for your indoor kitties or for juicing.
Products from Michelle Peluso:
1. Jumbo cupcakes: $2.00 a piece- She makes three different delicious varieties. Specify whether you would like caramel frosted blackberry jam cupcakes, amaretto cupcakes, or fuzzy navel cupcakes. Minimum order of 4 of one variety.
2. loaves of buttermilk honey bread: $4.00
Please email with your orders by 5:00 PM Saturday evening.
Sincerely,
Heather and Brandon Redden
Don't forget you can now follow the farm on Facebook also at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natures-Harbor-Farm/216328054616?v=wall
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