Spring Chicks...

Monday a box of 50 chicks arrived at the Chelan post office. I dropped everything to go pick them up knowing they would be packed in a small box and most likely been in there for a couple days! Their little home, an old apple bin (large harvest bin-carries about 900lbs of apples) converted to a warm (90-95 degree) dwelling was waiting for them back at the greenhouse. I pulled out one chick at a time dipping their beaks in the water, teaching them how to drink, someone needs to teach them! Well here they are a few days at the farm and they have learned to eat, drink, sleep and use their voice. I must admit it is a nice noise to give me company while spending hours in the greenhouse seeding for spring plantings.

A Thanksgiving post!

Well it has been sometime! I guess the attempt to start a blog mid season while learning the ropes of managing 3 acres and managing employees is a little more time consuming. But I am here and THANKFUL for A LOT!!!

Considering it is Thanksgiving it is only right to give thanks & gratitude to the things in my life I feel fortunate for daily. And there is the harvest, another historic component in celebrating this day! And well I will admit a lot of my giving thanks this year is to the harvest, to the wonders that Mother Earth has to offer.

I give thanks into being able to dig my hands in this beautiful earth

and through a little manipulation...

and planting the seed...thousands of seeds

....(take note of the shed where I store/d everything except the tractor)

... and spreading the word...

..providing a little TLC...

...there is REAL food that all can enjoy!

...and now I am thankful for the warmth that a little plastic over the heads of some veggies can do in the winter (greenhouses!). Recently I have been staying busy with not only weekend harvests (as our Market stand is still open Friday-Sunday) I have been packing up CSA boxes. Next Tuesday will be the last day for Winter CSA pickup. This year was the first year the farm has provided veggies this late into the season, and I am afraid to say it has been great (this may be the last year of my winter vacation months).

And..look at that wonderful shed!! Guy and the crew built that last week right in time before the winter weather! The tractor...along with all the other tools now have a space to spread out. (thanks for that guys!)
...of course life on a farm ain't right without a farm cat, Mac is his name. He will love anyone that walks next to him sometimes surprising you with a giant leap from the ground up to your shoulders just to have a little snuggle. He has been my number 1 snuggler. I find myself in these short days of not as many tasks at hand, just sitting down to give him a little cuddling in return! (ya all will be happy to know he just got a kittie door put into the shop so he won't be homeless once I leave next week!)


...to my family. I love ya all and thanks for making numerous visits to the farm...(Mom and Trevor, both much thanks for your visits as well...no photos)

Can't forget being thankful for all my lovely friends that surround me in my thoughts day in and day out no matter the distance! Congrats Afton and Steve, what a beautiful day it was! (Thanks to the Universal Life Church for allowing me to be part of such a special time)

Liz..Thanks for your journey out here and the wonderful balance you brought to my hectic summer life. Everyone still talks about the evening yoga class near the waterfall! Ryan...Thanks for your few visits, you learned to stay clear as time went on or else you would be put to work : ) ...Have I told you all that I have learned how to delegate?!

And next...well I will be back in Chelan come February but for now I am off to hang out with this little rascal down in Portland for three weeks while TnT go to work! Do you think that I will have my hands full? (thanks for the photo TnT)

...I look forward to seeing all you folks back in Wisconsin, I will be back Christmas eve through the New Year.

Harvesting

Cutting arugula for market

First harvest of sweet corn! ...eatin' it raw in the field!!

Just Photos

Six weeks ago...

Present...same field! Quite exciting, we will be harvesting our

first field tomatoes in the next couple of weeks.

April 1st.

July 1st! We already pulled off ~100lbs of Heirloom Tomatoes. As you can see with the previous picture this structure is new on the farm. This is the High Tunnel which is home to ~360 tomato plants with eggplant, peppers and basil along the edges. Rachel (the woman I work for and who I give thanks to everyday) had a dream to have early tomatoes, once her and Guy (his family owns the property and has been in apple production for many years) announced their marriage last summer they decided to say 'no' to the online wedding registry. Instead they asked for money in order to buy a home for Rachel's dream. Now everyone throughout Chelan is able to enjoy the early bounties of the precious heirloom tomatoes.

'Knee high on the 4th of July'. Our first succession of corn is

an early season crop and is definitely beyond knee level.

Basil. This batch yields ~ 7lbs/wk.! We have been selling it to a

local couple in town who makes salsa.

The first of the melons.

Twenty years from now you will be
more disappointed by the things
you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
MARK TWAIN

Hmm…where do I start? First, I want to apologize that the form of cyber space is the only way I am attempting to connect with some of you. Secondly, I truly hope that this opens up a doorway with those of you that I have lost touch with over time (since I don't have facebook, I feel a little out of the loop). I look forward to mutual efforts in keeping in touch with each and everyone of you! I will start with a quick overview of where I am at and what I am doing. I am living in North Central Washington in the small town of Chelan. A community of about 4,000 in the winter and during the peak season of Lake goers and Vineyard crawlers (I do not believe that is the proper term) it feels like 10,000. The peak season provides a great business for everything the farm provides. An organic vegetable farm, fruit trees, grapes, an on-site road side market with produce from the farm plus othe local artisan products and a winery. All this nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains along side a 55 mile lake, of course called Lake Chelan. Although I am tempted to go on about the geography and the economy of this area as it has a lot to do with why I am here...farming. I will let you check out The Sunshine Farm Market website http://www.sunshinefarmmarket.com/ .

Farming...so yes I am at it again, no it was not just a hobby of mine that I only wanted to check out for one growing season...it has now become my everyday, from 5/5:30 in the morning until I lie my head down in the evening (which never seems early enough). I am working as a "field manager" on about 2-3.5 acres of land which provides a diverse number of veggies to the market on site, a 40 person CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and a couple restaurants in town. We have a 90' by 30' high tunnel (meaning it is similiar to what you would think of as a greenhouse but has no temperature control system other then the roll up sides and the retractable end walls) and a 40' by 20' greenhouse where we do all of our propagating (picture of early season plant starts with Nellie, Thanks to Nellie and Seth for all my images of the farm as I have not been persistent with the photography).


Well this is my first attempt...soon to be posted...updates with tips from the field (easily adapted to a small backyard garden) to the kitchen... And of course just words and thoughts that weigh heavy on my mind while I spend a good number of hours of weeding...