What do you do on a farm when it rains for weeks?????

What do you do on a farm when it rains for weeks?? build a teepee of course! This spring has been VERY rainy! Constant rain turns everything into giant mud pits. The fields are so inundated with wetness, that when I try to walk in the field to plant or weed, I sink up to my knees and cannot get my boots unstuck. It is like the fields have turned into gigantic quick sand pits. Not easy to put all what needs to be planted in the ground- puts us very behind!

All over the country we are dismayed at the levels of rainfall and flooding that is occurring. Farmers are having a terrible time getting their crops in the ground and we will be faced with sky rocketing food prices yet again! It is frightening.

So to help ourselves stay positive and to keep our WWOOFERS busy, www.wwoofusa.org, we built a teepee out of old barn beams from a barn we pulled down last month and recycled as many materials as we could. (We built the teepee around $100.) Now the WWOOFERS have a better camp area with room to hang out and able to cook out of the rain! The teepee boosted morale and we feel like we accomplished something within the boundaries of dreary skies. Below you will find the pictures of the new teepee, our WWOOFERS and work that went into creating the campsite! The campsite has a rustling brook and is also near a small pond with loads of crayfish! At dusk, the frogs all sing a lovely chorus that can also be heard at the house. What a lovely spot!

These are some of my favorite farm books so check them out! If you have not seen the movie or read the book "Alone in the Wilderness with Dick Proenneke," I invite you to check out one man's survival for 30 years in the Alaska wilderness. The movie is really inspiring on what the human soul can endure and how creative we can be without a television!

Music, Fun and Dancing Mixer

Need a break from farming or gardening? The Greenhorns are fabulous! Have some fun at the young farmers mixer this Friday night and swap seeds and tools! What is better than that!? 

CSA options

We are very excited about this growing season! Our farm is growing! We will be adding two farmer's markets this summer and a farm stand out front of the farm! We will be selling produce and flowers at Schroon Lake on Mondays from 9-1 and on Wednesday you can find us at the Lake Placid farmer's market from 9-1. Our farm stand will be open daily from 10am-6pm.

We are also offering new CSA options and will be updating our website very soon. You can find the CSA application for download on the website. Our newest CSA option offers more flexible purchasing options for those who do not wish to commit to a full season CSA. We are offering smaller options of $100 value that allow purchases on the farm, at the farm stand, online at our Etsy store or at any of our farmer's market. You can purchase any amount you wish and use the amount you purchase for any of our products at any time.

We are also offering a 10% discount until May 15th for those wanting to join our seasonal CSA. Sign up now because full-season CSA memberships are limited! Download your applications from our website or simply send us an email and we will email you an application! (You can also pay directly on the blog using the paypal options to the right.)

GMO patents lawsuit and what you can do to help!

[http://www.cedarcirclefarm.org/]

• NOFA Vermont and Rural Vermont Join Lawsuit Challenging GMO patents

  On Tuesday, March 29, NOFA Vermont joined dozens of farmers, seed producers, agricultural businesses, and nonprofit organizations across the U.S. and Canada as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against Monsanto Corporation in federal court in Manhattan.
  The suit challenges the validity of the chemical giant’s patents on a number of its genetically engineered (GE) crops. It also asks the court to prevent Monsanto from continuing its unwarranted and damaging patent infringement lawsuits against farmers and others for alleged patent infringements when their organic and non-GE fields and crops become contaminated by Monsanto’s GE crops. On Wednesday,RuralVermont joined in as a plaintiff as well.
  Read NOFA Vermont’s press release
  Read the Public Patent Foundation’s (PUBPAT) press release
  Read the entire filed Complaint (lawsuit)

• Local and Organic Food and Farming: The Gold Standard

     By Will Allen, Ronnie Cummins, and Kate Duesterberg
     Organic Consumers Association, Feb. 23, 2011
  Recent USDA decisions to lift restrictions on GMO alfalfa, sugar beets, and ethanol corn along with consumer confusion about the terms local and organic has left many trying to understand how one can choose to do the right thing for their family.

  The locavore phenomenon brings up several important concerns including: food miles, chemically grown food, greenhouse gas emissions, factory farming, genetically engineered animal feed, and the value of organic labeling. All of these crucial issues relate to the central question: what should be in your market basket?

  Those who espouse local food are now called “locavores.” But, beyond the greenwashing and co-opting of the term by Wal-Mart, the supermarket chains, and factory farms and feedlots, what does “local” food and farming really mean? What is the impact of non-organic local food and farming on public health, nutrition, soil, water, marine life, biodiversity, and climate?

  This breaking article addresses the issues and confusing foodie definitions and informs us that organic standards are more important now than ever before. Click this heading to read the entire article written byWill Allen and Kate Duesterberg, Cedar Circle Farm’s co-managers, along with Ronnie Cummins who is the head of the advocacy organization the Organic Consumers Association. Local and Organic Food and Farming: The Gold Standard

• The latest on GMOs: Washington deregulates genetically modified crops

  by Cat Buxton, Cedar Circle Farm Education Coordinator

  GMOs: “Novel enough to be patented, yet not so novel as to warrant a label telling us what it is we are eating.” —Michael Pollan

  GMOs in the form of bovine growth hormone (BGH) in milk products and conventionally grown corn, canola, soy, and cotton have been found in processed foods on grocery store shelves since 1996. We have seen crop contamination from genetic pollution, super weeds that are resistant to herbicides, and an increase in the use of glyphosate herbicides designed to accompany Monsanto’s line of patented Roundup-Ready crops.
  As a consumer, I rely heavily on the organic label because GMOs are not allowed under USDA regulations. In the last three weeks, the Obama administration and the USDA have made some really bad agricultural desicions concerning the use of genetically engineered crops and they are certain to have an effect on organic agriculture. Here is a summary excerpted from a Food Democracy Now email I received:

  • Monsanto‚ Roundup-Ready GMO alfalfa, Jan. 27, 2011. Over the objections of hundreds of thousands of American citizens, the White House approved this unnecessary crop — despite the fact that 93% of alfalfa hay grown in the U.S. does not use herbicides and that genetic contamination with conventional, non-GMO and organic alfalfa threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of family farmers and the food choices of more than 50 million organic consumers.
  • Monsanto‚ Roundup-Ready GMO sugar beets, Feb. 4, 2011. Defying a court order to complete a proper Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) the USDA announced that it is granting a ‘partial’ approval of Monsanto GMO sugar beets, giving farmers and seed dealers the clear signal that final approval is right around the corner. By the time the EIS is expected to be complete, sometime in May, farmers will have already started planting their crop for the next year since the USDA says it gave the green light to avert a shortage in the U.S. Sugar beets comprise some 54% of U.S. sugar found in everything from soda, other beverages, candy bars.
  • Corn for Ethanol, Feb. 11, 2011. This new GMO amylase corn product contains an enzyme that allegedly allows an increase in ethanol production with a reduction of natural gas and water usage, thus saving ethanol plants money. While caving to the biotech and ethanol industries, the Obama administration basically ignored the concerns of leading food manufacturers who fear that if this new industrial corn cross-pollinates with or is accidentally mixed with corn used to make food products, it could lead to crumbly corn chips, soggy cereal, and a host of other food processing disasters.

  What you can do about it

  Take political action . . .
  . . . write a note to Washington
  . . . thank and encourage our Vermont delegates to Washington not to give up:

  Congressman Peter Welch
  Senator Patrick Leahy
  Senator Bernie Sanders

  . . . encourage your New Hampshire delegates to protect organic agriculture and your right know what you are eating
  Take direct action . . . Learn more . . .

  Learn more — websites:

  OrganicConsumers.org: Millions Against Monsanto Campaign
  FoodandWaterWatch.org
  FoodDemocracyNow.org

  Learn more—articles:

  Organic Consumers
  NY Times columnist
  Here is a recent article that has sparked a debate about big organic vs. small organic (aka: deep vs. shallow organic), and a counterpoint article.

• Another reason to eat, buy and grow organic

  Our Will Allen, author of The War On Bugs, confirms: Clothiaidin and several other fluorinated nicotinoids (synthetic nicotines) are definitely the final straw in colony collapse. Bees are moved a lot, which is hugely stressful. They ingest these pesticides from multiple crops as they pollinate, starting with cherries and almonds south, all the way north to apples.
  

  Stop the pesticide that’s killing bees.
  Honey bees have been dying at alarming rates in the last few years. Recently leaked evidence shows that the E.P.A. ignored critical information when approving a chemical linked to the bee die-off. Sign the petition telling the E.P.A. to ban clothianidin today. 

What is your range?

Open publication - Free publishing - More csa

Lots of new Lambs

End of January

Winter is a time for getting things done, behind the scenes, on the farm. Winter gives us time to plan all our crop, make seed orders, fix or make things, attend educational courses and conferences. Anything that we don't have time to do during the growing season!

I can't help but ponder how fast January seems to be flying by and all the "projects" on our TO-DO list that we have not finished yet. Hopefully, this is not a bad omen to our year, that we will be struggling to keep up each month! I will continue to think positive. My new year's motto.

This year we are excited on the changes are making here on the farm. First, we will be selling at two farmer's markets! More details will be coming later! We have been restructuring our CSA model with different time's for pick up, dates of selling season, and products. New products we will be offering are garlic, flowers, raw milk and soft cheese! We will be adding Icelandic sheep to our mix and maybe another herding or guardian dog. We will also be adding ducks and a variety of turkeys! We are very excited for this year.

We are also planning on planting raspberries, blueberries, nut and fruit trees that will provide our CSA members with more variety in the coming years!

Spring planting BRING IT ON!

Make Your Voice hear if you care about organic farming!

www.nationalorganiccoalition.org/GEalfalfa.html

PIZZA!

Here on the farm we don't eat out very often. Not only do we want to save money for farm stuff, we also cannot find restaurants that compete with our culinary delights! The food  is so fresh from the farm! We are very happy when everything on our plate came straight from our own land. Next year, we will start growing grain for bread and baking so we no longer will need to purchase any flour and grains! The grains will also feed the livestock! Double bonus!

Pizza is our favorite food, so through trial and error, I finally came up with a pizza dough recipe that rivals any Italian restaurant. Jon likes really thin crisp crust, so I needed something that could withstand being loaded with toppings. The crust has garlic and rosemary kneaded in for extra flavor. I have also tried a blend of Italian herbs for an even tastier crust. The dough can also be used for making flat bread! YUM!

This recipe will soon be available in our new Cookbook coming this spring, so stay tuned!

Wind Storm and power outages

Last night we had some really strong winds blow through the valley and the power flicking off and on. First thing that starts worrying us, is the big barn. Last spring, we had a 'mini' tornado pass through and took a 30' x 40' chunk out of the back wall of the barn. We have been trying to fix it, but planting season turns to fall harvest, (plus each of us having other jobs as well,) that not much has gotten done in repairing that gaping hole. Now that winter is on our heels, we must get that barn ready for lambing season. Farming never ends! Once in awhile though, we do get to sit back and watch a movie from Netflix. We don't watch much television, nothing on anyway worth wasting time on anyhoo! Netflix is so great, order a movie, it arrives in our mailbox, send it back once we watched it! FABULOUS! Great for the busy farmer.

I wanted to share a movie that we watched recently, Zelary. It is one of my favorite films; I must've watched it 10 times and I cry every time. I wanted to share it with Jon, but I could not find the copy that i owned, too many moves, so we rented it from Netflix. It is such a good movie, takes place during WWII and it is about a women who helped get people out of the country and she almost gets caught and must leave everything she knows, change her identity, and marry a logger in the country; whom she doesn't know. Check it out!

Life on the Farm

This fall has been really eventful. Good, bad and the ugly. It was more than good! Our circle garden continues to grow and amaze me! Even after the ice storm, our lettuce is standing crisp and proud. We are even harvesting broccoli and we are one week away from Thanksgiving! I have to say, fall has been absolutely beautiful. The foliage this year out did last year and the weather this week is balmy. 


The good. I want you to check out this artist in Germany and his art with sheep. Really cool stuff! Here is a link with more information: http://www.planetpinkngreen.com/2008/07/page/4/

The bad. Well, being a farmer sometimes is brutal. During the ice storm, of course I was the only one home that day and had to get all the sheep into the barn where they would be snuggly warm. It was insane, because I could barely see- small ice pellets were pummeling my face and my fingers went numb. Jon had locked the sheep out of the barn because we cleaned it out and the weather report said sunny mild weather for the next few days. We don't watch much tv, so we had no idea the weather went for a drastic turn and all of a sudden an ice storm had moved in. Welcome to the Adirondacks! The gates were locked really tight, Jon has super hero strength and sometime forget that my viking strength is still girlie. I struggled with the locks, had to put hay bales down, feed the sheep, etc. The California Reds have our Angus cow in their pasture for protection and company. The cow is really very beautiful and she looks like velvet glistening in the sun. She as been angry with us every since we butchered her sister last spring. Note to self, cows have long memories and never forgive. She was standing first at the gate with the California Ram- who is crazy aggressive and brutally strong. If the ram pelted me in my hip, I would end up in the hospital. It was very intimidating to see a huge cow, an abusive ram, and 15 ewe's staring at me, pleading to let them in the barn while I deliberated on how to get the gate open safely. Needless to say, not a fun day on the farm.


Then we had an incident one morning, of course, I am all alone again to keep watch over everything and I go out to do my morning chores.  I walk into the barn, and hear a strange noise coming from behind a pile of chicken wire. This particular corner of the barn is directly to the right of the door and has an electrical panel and some stuff stored. When hearing a noise, I immediately think of large mice or rats and I get scared. It is a good thing that my dutch shepherds are always around me to protect me and check things out first! Chava loves to investigate and ran right over to where the noise was coming from while I tip toe slowly behind her. I see her start wagging her tail and run to see what is going on because now there is a frantic commotion that Chava was stirring up. I look behind a wheel barrow and there is a rooster hanging upside down by one of his legs. He perches at night in the barn because he is a free range rooster that roams around the farm eating all sorts of bugs for us. Evidently when he tried to jump off his perch, which is really old bars from milking stations, his dew claw got caught on the chicken wire and he could not free himself. He must have been hanging upside down for awhile, because his leg was cold and numb, the blood ran into his head so he could not hold up his head, and he had pooped all over himself. I rubbed his leg and did Reiki on him while I tried to soothe him. When he tried to get away from Chava, who kept trying to nudge him with her nose because she was worried about him and his nervousness, he would tumble and do somersaults because he could not walk or keep his head erect. The poor thing brought tears to my eye's and I was so upset that we would loose one of our roosters. I kept an eye on him all day, while he sat in one spot gaining his composure. He survived and runs around the farm like nothing happened. 


Really I could go on and on about the bad, but I will tell you one more. The Leicesters, http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/leicesterlongwool/index.htm, are my pride and joy sheep. I love their viking like curly long locks. They look ancient and positively medieval. One morning I went to the barn to feed them some hay, and one of the pregnant ewe's, Astrid, was tangled upside down in the electric fence. I started screaming for Jon, who thank goodness was home that day and working on the side of the house. We untangled her, but her foot had been cut in between her toes pretty badly. It was swollen and very hot to the touch. I did Reiki on her, while Jon cleaned and put ointment on the cut and we had to keep an eye on her for a few days. Seriously, sheep have a death wish and get into trouble a lot. If it isn't the burdock patch that ruins their wool, it is a bad weed in the field that makes them sick, or the rams fight each other till death, etc.


The Ugly. This is in regards to the political state of farming. There are bills trying to be passed that will treat small farms like big corporations! Small farms cannot compete with large scale corporate farms and we need to support the amendment to this bill. We need to fight against the Ugly! Here are some links for you to read more information and help fight against the monopoly on seeds!


Video on bill S510
http://naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=9209B7B02D4A5A8EA8B71038D6C18D26

Petition Link, people put in their zipcode and it generates the email for them to their reps.http://www.citizens.org/?page_id=2312

Another PetitionHttp://www.cornucopia.org/2010/11/action-alert-act-by-nov-17-on-senate-food-safety-legislation/
How to protest Senate Bill 510
1) Go to Congress.org and type in your zip code in the box in the upper right hand corner.
2) Click on your Senator’s name, and then on the contact tab for their phone number. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senator’s office: 202-224-3121.
3) Once connected ask to speak to the legislative staff person responsible for agriculture. If they are unavailable leave a voice mail message. Be sure to include your name and phone number.
Give them this message in support of the “Tester Amendment” which would exempt small farms from S.510:
“I am a constituent of Senator___________. I ask that he/she support the Tester Amendment to the food safety bill. The Tester Amendment will exempt the safest, small, owner-operator farms and food facilities and farmers who direct market their products to consumers, stores or restaurants. Food safety legislation should not create inappropriate and costly regulatory barriers to family farmsand the growing healthy food movement in the drive to crack down on corporate bad actors. Please support the Tester Amendment and market opportunities for small and mid-sized family farms, and small food processing facilities.”

do stuff! » leethal store

I found this blog today and really got inspired to recycle old sweaters! I want to make a hat for my nephew for Christmas. He thinks he is a super hero, so having eye's on his head would be right up his alley. I love inspiring creative people! Check it out!

do stuff! » leethal store

The Clay Studio, Philadelphia: Shop

The Clay Studio, Philadelphia: Shop

Books that have helped us on the farm!

My favorite book is "The Good Life!"

Autumn finally here!

A heavy frost finally hit our area, but the winter garden is still growing strong! I planted the winter garden on the sloping southern part of the field where the corn and potatoes grew, so it is slightly protected. The circle also protects the more fragile lettuce plants! The circle garden has golden and red beets, three varieties of kale, two varieties of broccoli, green bib lettuce, romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, radishes, onions, red and green cabbages, rutabagas, swiss chard, and some winter squash. It is exciting to see the winter garden continuing to grow as the weather gets chillier and the fall colors are exploding!

We have HONEY!!

This is our first year with bees and we are super delighted to start offering honey to our CSA customer's! Since this is our first year, we have limited supplies of pint jars of honey and we also offer honey comb with honey! email us for pricing and details!

The meat and layer birds

Our meat birds are really beautiful and taste good!

One of our beautiful layers!

Brochure