June News 2011

Dear All,

This July 4th, I am thinking a lot about the pioneers who first broke ground in Connecticut.  The stone walls they built rock by rock on this farm remind us of to how much their liberty meant to them - and how lasting a contribution they made to our town: we are still harvesting food from the fields they established on this ground two hundred and fifty years ago.  Freedom came to them in the form of their own fields, their own crops and, eventually, their own government.  Food independence is part of what it is to be a strong nation.  And they knew outright what I have spent the last five years rediscovering: that aside from the deeply political, there is a personal freedom that comes with a taste of self-reliance.  Sugar snap peas grown in your home town: a little pint of a gesture that would make those patriots proud. It makes me laugh to recognize that I began farming partly out of a desire to consciously break away from where mainstream American culture was taking me - and five years later, here I am practically singing the national anthem in a newsletter. 

The Farm Stand is open on Lounsbury Road: Come Celebrate Your Food Independence.  Enjoy some fresh, organic lettuce, garlic scapes, flower bouquets, and yes, sugar snap peas.  The farm stand has come in from the edge of Lounsbury Road this year, where it used to sit a bit precariously.  When you come to visit us, just pull into the barnyard driveway and The Stand is a few feet off the road, inside the stone wall.  The Stand is open seven days a week from 11am - 6pm. 

Twilight talks: Starting mid July we will host a small number of gatherings to bring local folks together to share stories/ideas/questions about topics such as raising chickens, beekeeping, and fixing your own stuff.  The evenings will be informal and focus on getting your hands into the production - no matter how novice.  Please join us: 6:30-7:30pm.  

The first is July7th -Beekeeping.  We can not stress how informal and hands on these evenings will be - no powerpoints, just hay-bales and bee suits.

The next will be July 27th - Raising Chickens. The visiting instructors for this evening are our chickens.

More information about these evenings will be on our website (www.thehickories.org)  The evenings are free to CSA members and $5 for anyone else.  All are welcome. 

Sheep!: After a thirty year pause, a flock has returned to graze The Hickories.  When my father was a boy, this was a sheep farm. They raised purebred suffolks and were the local source of grass-fed lamb.  Farm enterprises come and go, and after the shepherd retired, The Hickories stuck mainly to fruit and vegetables.  In those intervening years, however, industrial agriculture has taken many farmers and their livestock by the short hairs.  Farm animals have been hit hardest with the industrialization of our food supply.  We are proud to lock arms with local, independent farmers attempting to reactivate our communities to stand up for the animals that feed and clothe us.  We all have a lot to learn: and I think this adorable flock of lambs has a lot to teach.  If you are coming to the farm stand, make sure you take a quick walk out back behind the greenhouses to welcome these lovely ewes to the neighborhood.

All the best,

Dina