2008
Spring
CSA Delivery Schedules and Updates
May 6, 2008
I don't how things are going for all of you, but sure a lot
to keep up with here at the farm. If any of you ever have
the hankerin' to get your hands in the dirt, let us know.
We're ready for volunteers. We might even fix you dinner by
the campfire, or teach a class or two. We are still struggling
with getting on our financial feet, but we're working on keeping
it all together until it all comes together. I know this will
be a good season, and I know you all will be happy to be connected
to a farm. Here's the schedule for this week. We're still
downsizing until we're stabilized, and appreciate your cooperation.
Olympia - Update
May 7 - My meetings have been rescheduled
to Thursday in Olympia so deliveries
will be Thursday, May 8 late afternoon at the CSA house, deliveries
after that, instead of Wednesday, May 7 as
previously posted.
Centralia/Chehalis -
before the week is out...could be Friday or sooner.
Longview - Saturday,
May 10 at the Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds. We're still
asking for any of you who are willing to pause, but for any
of you who would really like a delivery, come to market and
we'll do our best to serve you. If we don't hear from you
or see you we won't drop off for you at Bonnie's.
Note: Put June
5 and June 7th on your calendar. June 5th Joel Salatin will
be teaching at Evergreen State College during the day and
a public lecture in the evening, which will sell out. Don't
have details on tickets yet, but forthcoming. If you want
any, let me know. You can google search his work for now.
June 7th is the dinner...this will be sold out too, so register
early if you really want to come. Details forthcoming too.
P.S. We now
have local certified raw goat milk available to our CSA members
for $5/half-gallon, the supply of eggs is good right now and
they are $3.50/dozen, and we've learned about raw wool that
is available if any of you are spinners and weavers or felters,
or all of the above.
April 25, 2008
Thought I'd call it spring while we have some sunshine! Geez,
for those of you who have been waiting to know what's going
on, so have I! Here's the short report. Most of you received
a lengthy letter from the farm a week or two ago updating
you with the impact the flood and relentless winter has had/is
having on the farm. We put out a call for help and solutions
and it has been a very heartening experience of 100% show
of support, whether it be willing to take a pause from deliveries
until production picks up, to signing up and paying for another
year's membership and everything in between. Thank you to
all of you. New ideas have been created and relationships
have been strengthened. It has also been a very interesting
experience "negotiating" with people who are vested
in each other's well-being - a beautiful example of what is
possible between people.
The good news is we will be continuing on, but there will
be temporary changes. Right now our focus has to be cash flow
for us to keep going. Normally we fill CSA's first, and sell
what is left over second, but for the time being we are going
to have to put selling as a priority until production and
income stabilizes. I've worked out plans with many of you
(some pausing, some continuing), but for those of you I haven't,
my request is to pause your deliveries until production picks
up. If we find we have surplus, we'll be sure to let you know.
For any of you who can make a payment on a summer membership
or extending your season, this will be the most help, but
only if it works for you. If you have any questions let me
know as I haven't spoken with each of you, and there isn't
a "one size fits all" solution. We'll be in flex
mode for the time being.
We'll be at the Longview Farmers market tomorrow, Saturday,
and any deliveries to Good Health and Olympia will take place
the first of the week.
Put June 7th on your calendar for a big local dinner at the
State Capitol. Details forthcoming and unfolding.
To miracles and gratitude,
Susie
2008
Winter CSA Delivery Schedules and Updates
April 17, 2008
Olympia/Tumwater deliveries
Friday, April
18, after 1 p.m. at the CSA house, deliveries after that.
We're experiencing shortages and delays in getting produce
from the Co-op so we can't deliver until Friday.
Centralia/Good Health
Friday, April 18, pick up Saturday 9-6
Longview Saturday,
April 19, we prefer you pick up 11-1, but earlier okay if
that works better for you. The market will be across the street
as part of the Earth Day event. I don't know where our booth
will be located. If you can't find us you can ask the manager.
Dress for winter...I'm sure you all know about the arctic
weather coming.
April 9, 2008
Olympia/Tumwater deliveries
Thursday evening, April 10
Question: For
any of you who have had your fill of cabbage and dark greens
you can take a pause from deliveries until we have more spring
items if you'd like.. Just send me an email. As we all know,
it is being a very cold and wet spring, so the season is at
least a month or so behind.
Centralia/Good Health
Friday, April 11, pick-up Saturday 9-6
Longview Saturday 9-6 Saturday,
April 12. Market opens at 9 but we prefer pick-ups between
11-1 if possible. If you need an early pick-up just let us
know and we'll do our best.
Question: Since
last week was the first market of the season and we're just
getting things going for the season, for any of you we've
not had contact with could you please send an email and let
us know if you'd like a delivery this Saturday or not?
General questions/comments
of the week: We'll be making
a Coleslaw/Thai Noodle Mix this week in place of the Stir
Fry Mix as it looks now, fyi. We will be bringing/including
an instant soup mix that we love using with these veggies
and you can decide if you'd like to try it. STINGING
NETTLES: we have fresh spring nettles if any
of you have any experience using them, or we could bring it
to you made into fresh tea, or dried and you can make your
own tea.
The price of broccoli at the Olympia Food Co-op just went
up to over $3/pound. I just transplanted 13 broccoli plants
yesterday, and lots of broccoli and other seeds started. Interesting
and unprecended times. Hope and Hope are the focus (unlike
Hope and Despair...oppositite sides of the coin but when they
are "hardwired" together, not a good thing.)
Just something I'm contemplating and thought I'd share. Besides,
these are really exciting times. Not only are we in the midst
of unprecedented times, we are in the midst of creating unprecedented
miracles that would not happen without the current challenges.
April 3, 2008
Olympia/Tumwater deliveries
this evening.
Centralia/Good Health
Friday, April 4, pick-up Saturday 9-6.
Longview -
See you at market this Saturday, April 5th. I think we'll
be as happy to see you as you will to see us. Thank your for
accepting a pause in deliveries. It was essential for ouir
continuation, and very much appreciated.
Market begins at 9, and if possible we prefer for you to pick-up
between 11-1, but if you want to come early you can...we might
just need a little help. We may not be able to fill all the
shares tomorrow, or may have to begin with alternating weeks
until supplies increase, so we'll see how it goes. If you
could email me to let me know if you plan on picking up a
share, or not, that will help in our planning.
Note: Please
bring bags, containers, etc. I want to get away from using
plastic as much as possible this year and have thought about
making cloth bags for salad greens. If any of you have any
surplus material and/or a sewing machine and would like to
make some let me know. I can purchase cellophane bags and
while they are very good they are very expensive.
------------------------------------------------
I am very introspective still on preserving farmland and
do believe we will collectively come up with some innovative
solutions this season. Two farms were preserved with state
money this past week, and I'm certain as a direct result of
my efforts over the past several years.
Tribune Story. Now we need to expand the idea. We'll be
talking about this and other innovative projects around the
country at the dinner on May 5th. Would recommend getting
your reservations in soon as seating is limited. If someone
will connect us with a restaurant in Longview I will host
one there, and we will also be holding them at the State Capitol
in Olympia in the near future.
March 27, 2008
Good Health/Home Deliveries late this
afternoon.
Olympia deliveries Thusday evening. Westside shares to be
picked up at the CSA house in the Capitol area this week.
Note: I will be away until Monday, so if you need anything
call and leave a message for Brad. Thanks!
March 20, 2008
Olympia shares
were delivered last night (Thursday).
Centralis/Chehalis Good
Health and home deliveries will be mid-afternoon today. I'll
post a time when I'm leaving.
Note: I was just
informed that some produce we had ordered won't be in until
later today, so plan on picking up your share, or receiving
it, after 1 p.m. on Saturday.
March 14, 2008
1:15 p.m. - Brad just called from the Co-op and said the
van is running fine, so good news it may just have been the
battery. Pick up at the Olympia
CSA house after 2 p.m. today, deliveries after
that. Centralia/Chehalis/Good Health deliveries will be late
afternoon today, Friday.. I would suggest picking up on Saturday
9-6 at Good Health.
11:30 a.m. - Brad is on his way to Olympia. He's going to
call me to let me know he made it and then I'll post a time
they will be at the CSA house, deliveries after that.
March 13, 2008
Our van broke down on the freeway today,
threw our schedule off for the day, and with the on and off
rain this evening we've decided to postpone delivery to Olympia
and Centralia until tomorrow morning. We think we've solved
the van problem, but don't know for sure, so another good
reason for not going tonight.
I will post here tomorrow morning the
expected time the shares will arrive at our CSA house, and
deliveries will be after that. If you have any questions just
send me an email.
March 2, 2008
Spring is springing, wahooo! It couldn't have come any too
soon for any of us. Thank you to all of you for your patience
and understanding this past winter. Solutions to the flooding
are still being studied by the Governor on down, and it's
bringing many more people and players into the conversation,
which is good. Lewis County left to its own is not a good
thing...one of the reasons the flood had such a huge impact.
Hopefully we'll make it through the spring rains and snow
melt from the mountains and start making smart land use planning
decisions.
I just got turned on to Permaculture, A Designers' Manual
by Bill Mollison. I've know of permaculture for a long time
and can't figure out how I've missed this difinitive book.
I think it will become my next area of focus. I can't tell
you how jazzed I am about it. The book is out of print and
is $95 on Amazon.com, but if anyone comes across some better
deals please let me know. This is a must-read (study...it's
595 pages) for everyone...no exceptions. Yesterday a young
man who just came back from six months in Aisa studying permaculture
and is heading today to Israel for another six months to do
the same thing, told me about Gaia
University where you can get degrees in permaculture and
much more. I've just glanced at it, but very very exciting
and encouraging. I see the awakening happening. And then my
older son called me and told me Oprah
Winfrey is starting an online course Monday night with
Eckhart Tolle, author of A New Earth, and this looks
very good too...awakening to our life's purpose. What if we
lived in a world where everyone was living a passionate life
deeply connected to their life's purpose.
I was really sorry to have to put deliveries on pause, but
it has been very helpful to allow me to take a rest
from the pace, pause and reflect, AND to start working on
planting, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I've spent the last
few years with a greater focus on farmland preservation in
the bigger picture, but now that more people are on the bandwagon
I'm going to take a few steps back and focus on my own farm
(our farm) and the overall operation. It feels so good. While
there are still very important issues to work on, I'm going
to do my best to stay focused on the farm.
I'm also considering growing grains such as amaranth, quinoa,
sorghum, flax, oats, wheat, buckwheat, etc. now that the price
of grain is getting so high and supplies are dimishing. This
will be more experimental initially. Also, for any of you
or if you know of someone who might be interested, we have
extra land here for anyone who is looking for a place to grow
and/or learn about growing.
For our omnivore members, let me know if any of you are still
interested in a Pork Share. Breanna, our grower from Scatter
Creek Farm in Rochester, one of her sows gave birth to 13
piglets, can you imagine. Breanna loves raising pigs, and
for those of you who are meat eaters, the meat is incredible.
I can't believe I'm saying this...I used to be vegetarian
for 20 years, didn't eat pork even when I ate meat, now my
diet is local and organic, with animals an important part
of a sustainable farm...definitely not a good idea from industrialized
farms though taking down rainforests...We're going to be getting
a couple of pigs, and could get a couple more to put in our
orchard field to manage the grass and prepare the ground.
I've wanted to do this for some time. They are $80 each, and
we'd need to factor in a grain/feed cost, while I am also
exploring alternatives. They will be ready in about 6 months.
If you're interested let me know and we'll work out the details.
Continued, we are also in conversation with Mountain
Niche Farm. They are a small farm dedicated to raising
heritage breeds of sheep for wool and breeding stock. From
time to time they have frozen lamb, but are not licensed to
sell meat retail. They can sell an animal and make all the
other arrangements up to delivery, so Kim and I are talking
about working out the logistics. Let me know if you want placed
on the interested list and when we have details we'll let
you know.
How many of you are familiar with the term Locavores?
Here is a delivery schedule as it looks in this moment. Seeing
that the Longview Farmers Market is the first one to open
for us we'll have that be the re-starting date for Longview,
April 5th, 9-1 at the fairgrounds. Our plan is to come with
the CSA produce in bulk boxes, a sign board with contents
for the day, and you all pack your own. Our perference is
you come between 11-1, but if coming at 9 works better for
you let me know and we will work it out for you. For any deliveries
not picked up at market and we didn't hear from you that you
don't want a share that week, we will drop it off at Bonnie's
place on Pacific Way, and make home deliveries.
For Olympia and Centralia/Chehalis, we are currently endeavoring
to make weekly and bi-weekly deliveries, and to get on a regular
schedule of delivering on Thursdays. I'll confirm this in
the next couple of days. Feel free to send me an email if
you have any questions or requests.
We are hoping to get away from using as much plastic as possible
this year, so bringing recycled plastic bags (and stopping
using them in the first place....I'm working on it) and paper
bags would be good. Also, what do you think of the idea of
making cloth bags for share bags. Each of you would have 2
and leave one for us each week. And how about making cloth
produce bags for greens. If any of you have a sewing machine
and would like to help with this let me know. We can buy cellophane
bags which are biodegradeable and allow the greens to breath
so they last a long time, but they are quite expensive. We
might have to pass the cost on, or look for alterntives like
the reusable bags and cloth bags. I'm open to suggestions.
Our canopy was damaged in the storm this winter so we are
looking for a replacement, actually 2 so we can have our farmstand
in one and CSA/demo space in the other. If you have a used
one you're not using any more, see one for a good price online
or at a garage sale, let me know.
Enjoy the spring and see you all soon!
Susie
February 12, 2008
Thought you'd like to hear from me! Sorry about the absence
of postings. This has been a daunting winter to say the least.
Good news is life is finally coming to the plants and signs
of spring are here. Because this winter has been so miserable
to impossible to grow in we are going to take a pause from
deliveries to allow us a pause, get some seeds in the ground,
and an opportunity to regroup and get some life in ourselves.
Brad and I are really looking forward to this growing season.
We won't be back to Longview until market opens in April
as it looks now. And what we will have when market opens remains
to be seen. We'll let you know closer to the time. We will
be on a pause in Olympia/Centralia/Chehalis too, except for
a few of you whom I'll be in direct email contact with.
I keep trying to drop my farmland preservation efforts, and
how does a farmer-activist do that! Things keep popping up,
like this amazing event coming upSatruday and Sunday evenings
at the Eagles Ballroom in Olympia.
It's a Big Benefit Music Concert to raise money to help the
farmers hurt by the flood. Olympia
Flood Aid (http://www.myspace.com/farmfloodrelief) was
created by a couple of musicians a day after the flood saying
they wanted to do something to help the farmers. This event
is their manifestation, and in a very short time. Check out
the link. I think this will be an event to remember, and there
will be more as long as the farms need help. There will be
music and more music, auctions, food, speakers, slide shows
of the flood, and more. Hope to see some of you there. Curious
how disasters bring us together. Guess we get reminded about
what is really important...life and love and laughter and
a light heart!
January 30, 2008
Well, I've been waiting for the weather to clear so we can
havest at Josh's farm in Chehalis, but now I'm waiting for
the roads to clear so it's safe to drive. Looks like there
will not be a delivery this week. Geez. I've been farming
here since 1996 and exploring what can be grown in the winter
here in the Pacific Northwest, something I couldn't do growing
up and living in Ohio. The problem is now I feel like I'm
in Ohio. No complaints though, I would rather be here than
anywhere else. Good thing because that's where I am...I think
one of the big lessons in life.
There are a lot of very cool things evolving in our local
sustainable food system, so let's spend these last few precious
moments in the cool and wet of our winter in appreciation
of the sun and the moon and the air and the water and the
soil and itsy bitsy microbes and minerals and the list goes
on and the farmers and the very important CSA members that
bring delicious and healthy food to our tables, and anything
else that I've forgotten to mention. We are part of a team
just like the microbes in the soil, and even if we can't be
seen we are still very important. This promises to be a breakthrough
year for local farming, and hopefully for us as humanity.
These are challenging times, but maybe what we're up to is
creating a miracle equal to the challenges we are facing.
After so many times of apparent breakdowns and then breakthroughs
on my farm, I've come to learn that breakthroughs are on the
other side of breakdowns. Maybe that's
what we're up to these days.
Here's what I was working on last week, a very dynamic week
with lots of synchronicity requiring me to drop nearly everything
else, even committments to you all and other important things...except
in the long run this is about supporting all of us, just in
the bigger picture but needing to let go of the immediate.
Tricky business. Thank you to all of you, 99% of you, who
have wholeheartedly supported me, even in my imperfections.
Here's the article in The Olympian, January 28, 2008, John
Dodge, Environmental Writer: Enlarge the photos if you can...the
color contrasts are beautiful, as are the farmers.
Pretty cool, eh, and there is more to come. I'm hopeful that
this kitchen can become the food processing kitchen for value-added
products that can start to stock our food co-ops and health
food stores and CSA's and farmers markets. Imagine products
of the quality, flavor and integrity of our garlic basil dressing
lining the shelves of your favorite marketplace. It's possible,
and possibility is a great place to live. Beats no possibility.
I've been told there will be a farm film shown in Longview
Sunday evening. When I have details I'll post them here.
Farmer Susie
January 23, 2008
10 p.m.
Tumwater, Tuesday,
January 22 by 4 p.m. *
Longview, Friday
(not Thursday),
January 25 by 4 p.m. (make sure
to pick up or have someone pick up for you by 6 p.m. because
of the freezing temperatures).
NOTE:
For any of you who have told me you are willing to skip a
week, I'm going to take you up on the offer this week. The
deep freeze we're in has created it's challenges, and some
other very exciting good news is in the works and this will
allow me to focus on it...watch The Olympian newspaper, environmental
page Monday. I was going to write you all about it, and then
it turned into news. As it is seen in this moment, the shares
I will be delivering to Longview will be: Gail & Ann,
Suzanne Meg., Darrin, Tracy, Deborah, and Lee Ann. If any
of the rest of you really want a delivery, let me know, or
those of you who are scheduled but could get by without one,
let me know.
Centralia/Chehalis,
Saturday, January 26 after 1 p.m. at Good Health, deliveries
after that.
Olympia, Saturday,
January 26 after 5 at the CSA house (pick up that evening
if it's still sub-freezing), deliveries after that. Note:
There may be a couple of deliveries to Olympia Thursday, January
24 to new shareholders on the waiting list - Juliana and Whitney.
I'll confirm by phone or email.
January 19, 2008 Update
for Olympia and Centralia/Chehalis
Most of you were called, but in case you were missed, there's
no delivery this week. Between the mud and the freezing, and
now it's looking like severe freezing for the next several
days, eee gads. We do expect to have a delivery next week,
most likely Saturday to Olympia and Chehalis. Those of you
in Olympia who can't do a weekend pickup let me know and we'll
try to bring it Tuesday.
January 18, 2008 Update
for Olympia and Centralia/Chehalis
Due to the freezing we aren't able to pick in the field
we were waiting to dry up from the rain!! What a winter. There
will be no delivery Friday the 18th to Olympia. Brad will
be calling each of you todayto chewith what your options are
for a delivery tomorrow, Saturday, or if you want to skip
this week. Next week's looking better.
January 16, 2008
Here's the schedule for this week. I'm also working on sending
out a questionnaire and hope to get that to you this week.
* = delivered
Tumwater, Tuesday,
January 15 by 4 p.m. *
Longview, Thursday,
January 17 after 4 p.m. at Bonnie's, or anytime Friday or
Saturday *
Olympia, Friday,
January 18 by 5 p.m. at our CSA house, deliveries after that
Centralia/Chehalis,
Saturday, January 19 after 1 p.m. at Good Health, deliveries
after that, and if you're coming to the Matrix Coffee House
Saturday Grassroots Conversations you can pick it up there
12-5. Just let me know.
Note: The Matrix also has live music Saturday evenings and
great food, including vegan and vegetarian entrees.
Jerusalem Artichoke Alert:
It has been brought to our attentioon that
Jerusalem Artichokes can be upsetting to some people's digestive
system. From a vegan website: "Sunchokes are often called
a starchy plant, but the starch is in the form of inulin,
a polysaccharide from which fructose can be produced. Because
this starch, or inulin, is not easily digestible by everyone,
it may be best to introduce the vegetable in small amounts."
January 7, 2007
The past six weeks have been filled with a myriad of circumstances,
some you are aware of and some you are not. We're hoping that
things are settling down enough to allow us to get back to
regular weekly deliveries this week. Just know we haven't
forgotten you and we haven't been slacking. Everything I do
is focused on bringing you the best local produce possible,
and securing a safe food supply for all.
The constant rain is still making it difficult for us to
pick in one of our main fields in Adna. The kale got so muddy
it took us 5 minutes to clean one curly leaf, so we're looking
for other options in the farming community until we can get
back in that field. We may be doing some improvising so we
may be giving you some choices before we deliver.
Just keep an eye on this link for updates.
Proposed Schedule for the week
of January 7, 2007:
Tumwater, Tuesday,
January 8 before 5 p.m.
Olympia, Wednesday,
January 9 in the evening (maybe Tuesday)
Longview, Thursday,
January 10 after 4 p.m. at Bonnie's
Centralia/Chehalis,
Friday, January 11 after 4 p.m. at Good Health, deliveries
after that
The Film Festival
is still going on at McMenamins
Olympic Club in Centralia through Thursday. Showings are
at 12 Noon and 3 p.m., $5 suggested donation, and you can
order the Local Lunch Special, $12 including movie. It is
definitely worth coming to, not only for the films themselves
which are very good, but the McMenamins venue is worth the
trip just by itself.
January 3, 2007
Due to the weather it looks like we'll have to continue to
be on stand-by. The main field we pick in is too muddy to
get into. It's been a doozey of a winter and it hasn't let
up yet. We will look for a window of opportunity to get things
to you and will let you know at the time.
We are hosting a Film
Festival at the Olympic Club in Centralia Janary 4-10th..
Films will be shown at noon (plus a local lunch) and 3 daily,
and Sunday the 6th at noon, 3, 5, 7. It would be great if
some of you could come. It's definitely worth the trip. The
McMenamins Dinner Theater is a fabulous venue.
December 28, 2007
I hope you all had a meaningful
Christmas and looking forward to a really great New Year!
The community that has come together around Lewis County
has been extraordinary and a really beautiful outcome of a
very difficult situation. Thank you to all of you who have
and are so generously giving of your time and money. The recovery
will continue for a long time, and we have some really great
events and projects that can help our community get back on
its feet over the long haul. I'll keep you posted.
CSA Update:
There will be no deliveries this week of Christmas and I'll
give you the schedule for the next two weeks in a couple of
days. We're finalizing an Organic Farms Film Festival at the
Olympia Club that will take place January 4-10 so I want that
to get firmed up before making the schedule. We have some
really great things in the works.
Week of December 10, 2007
12-11-07 It's been a difficult decision, but due to recent
circumstances we will be temporarily discontinuing our CSA
deliveries until further notice. We will honor all memberships
so please record the number of deliveries you have remaining
and that is where we will pick up when we continue. I don't
have a time frame, but I did learn from one of our grower-farms
yesterday that they got very wet but didn't flood, so this
is very good news. I've also located another source of local
produce in Yelm that didn't flood. If you have any questions,
please feel free to email me at: winlockmeadowsfarm1@yahoo.com.
I will be away from the farm for several days answering telephones
but I will check emails. The Chronicle
newspaper in Centralia is a source of local news on the
flooding. Blessings, Susie
12-10-07 Hi Everyone, Sorry to be out of communication with
all of you. I went to my daughter's over the weekend to rest
and regroup and am returned to the farm today (Monday) to
start figuring out what's next. What has happened is mind-boggling.
The good news is our farm came through in good shape. It's
not on a particularly high spot, and we even have a creek
which became more of a river, but it never crested over the
bank to our place. This property has never flooded in recorded
history and that's saying something. The farms that we were
sourcing most of our produce from for our winter shares where
devastatingly hit. Their crops are destroyed and some their
homes, greenhouses, barns, etc....everything. Our focus needs
to be helping them getting back on their feet. I'll keep you
posted with ways that you can help soon.
I will also have to get back to you on when deliveries will
resume and what they will look like. My guess is there won't
be a delivery this week, but in this moment I really don't
know so watch for an updated posting in the next couple of
days. Traditionally with CSAs they are a shared relationship
with the farmer and the shareholders, sharing the bounty and
the losses, not leaving the farmer out there by him/herself.
I'm going to do what I can to honor everyone's membership,
but I'm going to have to regroup. Even though I've gotten
some rest and a step-away from it all, I am feeling a bit
overwhelmed upon returning to the farm this morning. I just
read Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize speech which was very sobering
and a powerful call to action. We all have a lot to think
about, and then to get in action about.
It is very heartwarming and encouraging to see how the communities
have pulled together through this, and the resiliance of the
human spirit. This is a great example of what we can do when
we all pull together. Blessings, Susie
Week
of December 3, 2007
12-4-07 There will
be no deliveries this week due to the flooding.
Lewis
County was hit particularly hard, and farms we
harvest and source produce from are in some of the hardest
hit areas. We still don't have word of how they are doing,
but trust they are safe and look forward to hearing from them
soon. The odd thing is we may wish for this kind of rainfall
this summer. Interesting times we live in. BTW, our farm is
okay, even though we've been stranded here since Sunday. I
had hoped to go to the first Office
of Farmland Preservation meeting in Olympia tomorrow,
December 5th, but the weather had a different plan. Something
you might find interesting, I'm certain I had an influence
in the formation of this office through my testimonies with
the Senate Agriculture Committee the past two years. Senator
Shin, who was part of the Office of Farmland Preservation
legislation, and on the Senate Agriculture Committee expressed
he was disturbed with my testimony that we are importing more
food than we are exporting. We are now dependent upon foreign
food like we are on foreign oil, and we're paving our farmland.
Senator Shin and I spoke outside the hearing room after my
testimony and I told him I actually thought it was an issue
of national security. He contemplated for a moment and said
that the legislature helped Boeing a few years ago and maybe
it's time to creating funding to help the small family farmer.
My impression is this Office of Farmland Preservaion will
be working on creating a funding stream to purchase development
rights in farms. Lesson: You can make a difference. You just
need to show up somewhere and do something, and best if it's
something you are passionately committed to. Deliveries
to resume when possible. It looks like I-5 will be closed
through the weekend and possibly into next week. What a mess.
Watch for a posting. Blessing
to you all. Susie
12-3-07 Note: Winter deliveries
are the most prone to inconsistencies due to the unpredictible
weather. This is my 4th winter CSA season and every season
is different and has it's own challenges. I was hoping to
have a Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday schedule to have all deliveries
complete, but with the heavy winds and rain it looks like
we'll have to change our schedule. Below is the proposed schedule.
Changes will be posted or if not enough time you will be called.
Longview
- Thursday, December 6, Bonnie's after 4 p.m. We hope to be
there by 2 p.m. for any of you who would like to pick up earlier.
Olympia, Centralia/Chehalis,
Farm - Friday, December
7 before the day is out. Pick-ups at the CSA house and Good
Health would be best on Saturday.
Olympia - M.R. at the DOH -
on standby with the weather. We'll keep in email contact.
This week's bonus item:
The first person to send an email that they read this posting
will receive a free bar of locally made and produced bar of
soap from Scattercreek Farm in Rochester.
Week of November 26, 2007
(all delivered)
Olympia - Tuesday
evening, November 27 to CSA House (would recommend picking
up Wednesday the 28th), deliveries Tuesday evening, November
27, including Tumwater. DOH delivery Tuesday or Wednesday
November 27/28 before 4 p.m.
Centralia/Chehalis/Farm
- Wednesday, November 28 to Good Health, pick-up Thursday
the 29th. Deliveries Wednesday, November 28th.
Longview -
Thursday, November 29 after 4 p.m. at Bonnie's Nursery (can
be picked up Friday if weather allows.)
Matrix Coffee House -
Saturday, December 1, 12-5 p.m. FREE Open House discussions,
open mike, music, films, music, delicious full menu w/vegan
and vegetarian entrees. Participate in grassroots conversations
to help find solutions to our communities’ growing challenges
– food, farming, industrial growth, housing development,
and how we can strengthen the local economy and health of
our communities. Bring your topics of interests, concerns,
personal agendas and be a part of shaping your community’s
future.
Longview - Delivered Thursday, November 15
Olympia - Delivering Friday, November 16, before 4:30 to
offices and CSA house, deliveries after that.
Centralia/Chehalis - Pick-up at Good Health after 2 on Saturday,
November 17, deliveries after that, or could be picked up
at the Matrix Coffee House if you let me know.
Matrix Coffee House, Chehalis 12-5, Saturdays for informal
community conversations around food and farming, growth and
development, films, open, music, and a great menu to order
from so come hungry and Rick will feed you well, plus this
helps to support his generous gift of the space free to the
community. Address: 434 Prindle St. NW, Exit 77, 740-0492
2007 Summer
CSA Delivery Schedules and Updates
Updated Monday, June 18 11 p.m.
The wedding was a treasure of a
day. I'll share a few pictures when I have them. Note: I said
a "few."
Centralia/Chehalis -
Wednesday, June 20, Good Health after 12 noon, deliveries
after that.
Note: You may
also pick up at the Chehalis Farmers Market Tuesday, 2-4 preferred
(market is 12-4)
Olympia - Thursday,
June 21 after 6:30 p.m. at the CSA house, deliveries after
that.
Note: You may
also pick up at the Tumwater Farmers Market Wednesday at 2
(market is 11-2)
Longview - Saturday,
June 23 at market 11-2, deliveries after that.
