Category Archives: Uncategorized

Thanks to Hoosier Outsider, we get a glimpse, long distance, of the fields being prepped for planting… Notice the first two pix: one taken at 12:30 the nextat 3:00 – he had done a lot more than just clean offthe group of trees in center: Third is what it looks like after digging out trees,pushingContinue reading “Cleaning Up the Fields”

Chefs will break bread next week with innovative farmers…part of a the Slow Food Movement started by Carlo Petrini. He’ll be making an appearance at the exclusive, sold out “picnic” near Chapel Hill. Petrini, who trumpets slow food over fast, you-get-what-you-pay-for fast food, is traveling all over the country hawking his new book. According toContinue reading “Farm-to-Fork Picnic”

It’s a sight I haven’t seen since I was a kid. Way back then, when the farmers would plow, we’d hustle down to the fields…especially after a light rain…and try our luck finding arrowheads or other flint artifacts. I haven’t heard of any finds so far, but I’m sure it won’t be long.

Farmers who diversify their land earn more than twice as much income as farmers who don’t. That’s one of the lines that jumped out at me in a recent Orlando Sentinel article “Farmers Find New Cash Crops.“ Then there’s this question: What’s Florida’s largest cash crop? I’d have answered citrus. But the right answer isContinue reading “From Cattle to Caviar”

I’ve been loosely following raw milk developments in the states and am still intrigued by the idea, so I thought it was worth noting a couple stories…one positive, one negative. On the positive, Michigan gave the green light for limited raw milk deliveries, according to the Ann Arbor News. The decision comes after food safetyContinue reading “Raw Milk Pros and Cons”

Hoosier Outsider is hardly the only one openly lamenting the sudden disappearance of bees…At least not anymore. The Chicago Tribune editors get it. They published an editorial on Friday, which starts: If you haven’t watched the dance of bees, either in the hive or on clover or in the air, then you may not understandContinue reading “Longing for a Good Buzz”

Because I’m still reeling from my move to, ironically and wonderfully, a more urban area, I’m going to rely on Hoosier Outsider for today’s post. Here are his recent thoughts (with “Endangered” photo) on our disappearing pollinators: [G]ot a lot of pix of farms and farming since the weather changed this week but this oneContinue reading “Missing Bees”

Impressed by the beauty and versatility of lavender, my family has been checking out how to grow the stuff in Indiana. Turns out it can be done, and with farmgirl style. Dad turned my attention to these farms — Willowfield Lavender Farm and Carolee’s Herb Farm, one just south of Indianapolis, the other (the state’sContinue reading “The Power of Purple”

I had no idea that to get started as a beekeeping hobbyist, you can get just about everything you need via mail order. Indeed, according to the Newburyport Daily News, postal workers throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire began delivering 3-pound packages, each containing: one queen bee and 12,000 drones and worker bees. The story coversContinue reading “Special Delivery: Bee Colonies”

No sleep for me tonight, so while surfing, I was happy to discover this charming article full of Farmgirl anecdotes about raising and shearing the uber soft alpaca. Virginia’s Daily Press covered a shearing open house that, in addition to a big round of haircuts for the alpacas, featured weaving and spinning demonstrations. The openContinue reading “Raising Alpacas a 'Shear Delight'”