A Great Farmer

This is my mom.  And she is wonderful!  It's seems to be working out that she is coming down to the farm regularly and helping me with whatever needs to be done.  My mother grew up on a farm, so this isn't a foreign concept to her.  She is a crazy good worker and even Jerome noted it saying he knows where I get all my hard work from!  We went to town weeding last week and then started mulching the tomatoes.  It was hot and humid and we were sweaty messes, but she kept on trucking with me.  It helped when we had to take the gator somewhere...we'd raise our arms and squeal with the delight of the extra wind!

I never take the help for granted and wish she could come more during the week.  Even after not selling any produce at the market, she still has complete faith and backs this venture entirely and that feels good.  

First Harvest!

This is my first harvest for market!  I did it yesterday morning and felt joy the entire time.  Because I had produce, I didn't make as much bread.  Then when I went last night I sold out of my bread products in half an hour and DID NOT SELL ANY PRODUCE!  Can you believe that?  Everything looked beautiful, my stand was nice with prices labeled clearly (same prices as everyone else it seemed).  And yet, nada.  I just laughed and went home.  C'est la vie.  I will give some to our families and then donate to the local food shelf, so that's the positive.  Happy almost weekend!

Swarming Beeeees!

I'm back!  I was out of town squeezing my new nephew in Wyoming and have returned to a crazy load of weeds.  Here's the visual rundown of the bee swarm!

They started as a big black cloud and once their queen was in a safe spot, they huddle around her like this.  That's just one big blob of bee.

Ross was out of town, so Brent and his wife Danielle drove quite fast to come down and try to save the bees.  Since so many swarm, you want to do whatever you can to save them and bring them back to a new hive.  And he did it!  Jerome put him in the bucket of the skid loader and rose him right up to the branch where he then cut it down and placed it in the new box.

The branch is now out of the box and Ross has checked on them, but no sign of baby bees (which could mean that the queen escaped and didn't get into the box).  We'll keep you updated on them.  In the warm weather now all the bees are going nuts with work!  

Hope your weeks are going wonderfully!

Finally lilacs!

Well, this last weekend was full of activity!  10 year high school reunions, bees swarming and dress fittings.  I will be posting this week the wackiness with the bees.  They swarmed!  It was crazy and amazing to see.  But after all the busy-ness, Sunday evening ended calmly.  I took a walk with the dogs as the sun was setting in the huge billowing clouds and came home to lilacs picked by Julie for our home (yes, it's almost mid June and the lilacs are just blooming).  I woke this morning to the smell of them filling the kitchen, an excellent way to start my week.  

Happy Monday!

An Organic Farm in Turkey

This past January Ross and I traveled to Turkey for a month.  We really haven't talked much about our experience there or shown a lot of pictures.  But, with all adventures that we've taken, it feels as if everything ripens once we're back home.  The experiences are always full of curiosities and joy, but when we return is when we look at each other and say, "Remember when we did that?" and then refer to some story that brings our entire bodies racing back to that place and time.  

Turkey was full of it.  One experience was on the organic farm near the Black Sea, just an hour and a half from Istanbul.  I referred to it in this post.  But this farm is our dream.  Upon arriving we walked into a burlap tent of sorts and immediately were swarmed with welcomes, hugs and lunch!  I kept laughing by the warmth of the greeting and immediate notion that we were a part of the family.  This farm has another similar tent that sleeps all the volunteers who work there (I will post about that tomorrow).  We found the place through Helpx, which is a wonderful resource if you want to travel on the cheap, but more than that, you want to be with locals and learn.

In this first burlap tent is where they had meetings and also breakfast, lunch and dinner...family style.  Whoever is there working or visiting at the farm partakes...no questions asked.  I almost fell over with the joy of it all.  In this type of community living it's easy for some people to think of commune and potentially write it off as some hippy thing.  But this place held the most natural environment and showcased how beautifully people can live together.  It helps that Turkish culture is very family based and many households have three generations living together.

Each meal was gourmet and I mean it.  Turkish home-made everything.  They had a hired cook at the farm, who I think everyone worshiped because of the glorious things she made.  Breakfasts included bread (with every meal), jam, olives, and cheese.  Lunch and dinner started with soups and followed with salads and then unknown awesomely delicious main dishes.  And obviously followed by tea, tea, tea! 

The farm operated as a learning center and they were in the midst of finishing hotels on-site for clients who want to learn and live an organic and permaculture way of life.  We were there in the off season, but were still able to farm and learn.  The whole farm was full of different building projects that added loads of charm.  The trellis thing you see below at the outdoor lunch table becomes loaded with foliage in the summer and makes for a perfect shady spot.  Things like that were everywhere and it blended perfectly with nature. 

The tents were located at the top of their property and this photo shows what we'd walk out to each morning.  Below are many fields where they grow their produce and also have a greenhouse.  They sell on-site as well as a market in Istanbul.   

On the night before we left we were with the family in their home and Nar (the matriarch who the farm is named after) shared some of her "hocus pocus", otherwise known as homemade liquor.  That was followed with them giving me a bunch of Turkish seeds!  My insides were squealing as we went through and labeled each pack.  (Side-note: they successfully are being planted now:).  

It always feels good to look back at pictures and realize that it's a part of me and always will be.  This place is definitely one where I'd love to go back and volunteer.  If there is a Facebook page of their place eventually or website, I will share it here.  And if you're heading to Turkey and interested in volunteering here, email me and I will be happy to help!

A Sweet Start to Mornings

 

 Found here.

Welcome June!

Here's the garden/farming space at the beginning of June!  It's just going to be nuts from here on out and I am all about it.  Yesterday I put in hundreds of onions and started on shell beans.  I will be finishing those beans today and then onward to more seeds!  It was gorgeous yesterday and the plants and animals agreed too. 

This week I've been doing morning and evening chores because Jerome, the patriarch of the farm, is out of town.  It has been really great to have a schedule where living things are actually relying on me rising out of bed when the alarm sounds.  I feed the calves, release the ducks and chickens and get them their breakfasts and start a search for duck eggs.  There are officially two ducks that are sitting on eggs.  I talked with the barnyard animals and we all decided to let them sit.  I mean, who doesn't like the idea of ducklings waddling about!!  Eeee the thought of it kills me.  

It's off to the garden for a full day in the sun.  Happy Monday to everyone!