DECEMBER ~ Winter Open House!
November has been the month of raking and making. Every day I have worked on packaging and labeling all the wonderful goodies I will bring to you in less than two weeks. In between I raked up mountains of leaves around the house and in the orchard. I wish they would just fall all at once!! But the apple trees are still hanging on to some of their leaves, letting just a few drop each day…I burned my burn piles, put the vegetable garden to rest for the winter, beds piled high with manure and mulched with leaves, dug and stored dahlias and I am still working my way around the flower beds, cutting back and clearing. There’s been a good amount of rain and more coming. Yay!
Winter Open House Time! Holiday Social & Farmstead Goodie Sale
Saturday December 11 12noon-4pm
Sunday December 12 12noon-3pm
Join K.Ruby Blume and the Institute of Urban Homesteading for a year end celebration of the bounty!
Shopping and serendipitous encounters with urban farming friends, plus mid-afternoon micro-workshops. Small-batch, homegrown, hand-crafted goodies at below market price and only available here only once a year! Mustard, jam, floral cordials, shrubs, tinctures, salves, CBD on the cheap, handmade soaps, ceramic art tiles, handspun yarn, dried goodes (fruit, tomatoes, peppers), caramels, moonshine, pickles, lip balm and so much more. Lots of gorgeous gifts $20 and under. Come grab your Secret Santas, stocking stuffers and private stash! Pre-peruse the whole list of goodies HERE.
Micro Workshops (5-10 minutes)
These will be outside in the back yard given fair weather so that we may better observe covid protocols
Saturday 2pm Fiber Talk & Hand Spinning Demonstration
Sunday 2pm Quick and Dirty: How to get the most from your East Bay Soil
Notes on Small Batch Production
* I try to keep my prices low but due to covid there has been a shortage/increased prices on glass and other packaging, so many products are increasing $1-2. I’m sorry! I want things to be super affordable, but I also have to make some return or I can’t keep on keeping on….
* The actual products are not difficult or expensive to produce, what takes time and money is packaging. I could offer everything very plain, but what’s the fun in that? I love making things pretty and unique. This year had its particular struggles. The company that I purchased my label supplies from for years went under. There are many other companies that make label products now, but most of them are inferior….they either print dull colors or the papers don’t cut with my punches. So I wasted tons of time & materials trying to get the colors and cutting right. After a number of tries I did find a product that prints well enough (but doesn’t cut with my punches)…so for next year I will purchase a special cutting machine to cut custom labels…for this year it was too late in the process to learn the new software and get that together.
*I cannot compete with big box stores on pricing. The fact that T.Joes sells a package of dried fruit for $3.99 is actually shocking. I sell a bag of mixed dried fruit for $5 (maybe $6 this year). Let’s say I sell 30 packets…that’s $150. Now let’s think about what went into that. I tended the trees all year—pruning, watering, spraying (organic only). I picked the fruit. I spent hours/weeks peeling and slicing it and laying it out on dehydrator trays by hand. I paid the electricity to dehydrate. I paid for the packaging…not a lot of cost per package but still, that includes cellophane bags, ribbon, label paper and printer ink. I sorted and packaged the fruit. That took a whole evening. I created, laid out and printed labels. That took another 2-3 hours. I cut the labels by hand and put them on the packets by hand…another hour or so….and for all that, $150…I am not complaining and I will keep doing it. I love to share the bounty, see happy customers and just care about making it through the Winter. However, it saddens me that through industrialization and outsourced labor, we take a package of fruit for granted and think nothing of what it takes to produce it….
* I always feel good about offering a sliding scale, but it is hard to do with so many products. So I extend my round-up/round-down policy to you. If you are able, please round up a few dollars or put some bills into the donation bucket. If things are tight I am OK with you rounding down a few dollars. It will all come out in the mix anyway.
2022 Year Long Study Group ~ Dirt Farmers Deepen Online/We Will Rise (possible working titles)
Get ready to blow your mind and change the world. Microbiology, pollination ecology, ethnobotany, nutrition/health, race & farming, fungal and arboreal networks, art, permaculture, agrarian practices and how these are all connected. Science, spirit, politics and culture. My vision for this project/group is clear but the name is a placeholder, perhaps we will do some brainstorming together to find the perfect name. We will read books that are profound and life changing, generate a reading list, generate study questions, challenge each other in discussion, hone in on practices that make an impact and develop a curriculum that any of us can share with others. This is a group collaborative project, and while I am convening and facilitating, we may also have guest speakers (the more you are able to pay on the scale, the more possibility for this) and you may also be called upon to facilitate and practice your own leadership skills. In the second half of the year you will be called upon to develop a project…it may be hands on in your own garden or community or research based and there will be a presentation at the end. Transparency: I will use what we generate in my own teaching and may continue this project into a second year if we are not “finished.”
Logistics: We will meet online one Saturday a month (probably two 90 minute sessions with a break) plus a 75 minute progress check-in on a week day evening TBA. In addition to reading, there will be journaling and homework which will including some thinking/writing and some practice. There will be an ongoing forum for us to communicate as we go, creating our culture/community. I would propose a Facebook group for the purpose, but if anyone is not on Facebook or has a better suggestion I am very open to it. The cost to participate is $25-125 sliding scale per month ($300-1500 for the year) and the course is limited to 11 screens. Couples or families can share a screen but should consider this in their sliding scale. The balance for the first three months is due at sign up. But so I don’t have to track you down each time, my preference would be for 3 more quarterly payments sent as post dated checks, due on Feb 1.
A reading list and homework will be sent January 8th and the tentative date for our first meeting will be January 15, timing TBA. If you want to participate but this date doesn’t work for you, let me know. Additionally while it sounds like a lot I acknowledge that all of us, including me is super busy, so while I want us all to commit to it, I also want it to be doable to integrate into busy lives. Fell free to tell friends. I would love a diverse group of folks to join.
Sign Up HERE
Farm Internships/ Woofers
Two to four week stays @ Faerie Road Farm. May through September. 3-4 hours work per day, rustic accommodations. Please inquire.
NOVEMBER ~ Celebrate!
Is it November already? The days grow short, the nights grow long and the the natural world tells us to rest and enjoy the fruit of the harvest while we can. It is no mistake that so many human celebrations take place this time of year…Halloween, Day of the Dead, Thanksgiving and on through the various Solstice Holidays and New Year. For me personally it is also birthday time! I will turn 60 on 11.11! It hardly seems possible. The face broadens and wrinkles, the body aches, yet the mind feels as young and alive as ever. I am healthy and look forward to another ten years or so of farming, pruning fruit trees, raising sheep and shearing camelids (alpacas and llamas). After that, who knows? If you are moved to send me a birthday greeting, I’d love to hear about something you learned from me or have appreciated about IUH.
a double rainbow greets the first rains ~ crisp skies ~ fall color!
November in the Garden
As I do every year I am going to tell you it’s time to plant your garlic! I traditionally plant November 1 and harvest around June 1. I have heard of people planting in January and as late as March and still getting a harvest, nevertheless for the largest heads the garlic needs to overwinter. You can use any garlic as seed or buy yourself some fun varieties at a specialty seed garlic supplier like Filaree Farm. Prepare your bed by loosening the top few inches of soil. Break apart the garlic head and place each clove root end down, pointy end towards the sky. I plant mine 4-6” apart and 1-2″ deep. After planting mulch with straw, leaves or grass clippings. The garlic shoots usually pop up within a week or so of planting and will stay fairly small until Spring. When it’s time to harvest, usually sometime after June 1, the outer leaves will start to dry and die back. Stop watering at this time, let them sit a week then dig them out. They should cure out of the sun and fog over several weeks. Put a fan on them if needed. Store in a cool dry spot.
News From the North
October was gorgeous with crisp Fall days In between the glorious rainstorms. I knocked many items off my Winter Prep list. Removed my irrigation timers, insulated the hose bibs, collected and stored all the hoses, stacked and tarped the wood and hay, put up plastic on the screened porch, drained the gas from various small engines and put tools, equipment and trailers under cover. The last of the lambs went to butcher and got delivered to happy customers, sheep were sheared, invasive blackberries cut down, dahlia tubers lifted from the ground, burn piles burned. I pulled out the summer garden, covered the beds with sheep manure, hung up the hemp to dry, salted and dried sheep pelts and started making and packaging all the goodies for Winter sales. After some brilliant Fall color the leaves have all come down and it is time to start raking like madpersons. Although the list sounds never ending and it is…the longer evenings have facilitated some good down time on the couch. The most exciting news? After extended visits this summer and fall, dear friend and former IUH instructor Jim Montgomery of Urban Goat Dairy fame has decided to relocate to Grants Pass! It was fun to help him shop for property, though sad to see that the area has become much less affordable post fires/covid. He found a fixer on a couple acres about 20 minutes from me and I am excited to have a close farming friend nearby.
Winter Open House ~ Mark Your Calendars
December 11 12pm-4pm, December 12 12pm-3pm
The tradition continues! Join me for my annual social & shopping extravaganza. There will be tons of lovely hand-crafted goodies…JAM, mustard, salves, art tiles, shrubs, dried fruit, dried peppers, cordials, mead, salsa, pickled items, yarn, tinctures, caramels, and much much more. I will post a list wth pictures in the first week of December. While I will not take pre-orders for curbside pick-up, I will have a volunteer available to shop for you if you are immune compromised/high risk and do not wish to come inside. Details on how this will work in the next newsletter. Shoppers are encouraged to wear their masks and be aware of social distancing/crowding. Volunteers needed for Friday set up, help during both days and clean up. Shifts are 2-2.5 hours. Volunteers receive a bag of goodies and my eternal gratitude. Reply to this email if interested.
FREE Zoom Call ~ Homesteading Check in, Q & A
Saturday November 20, 10-11:15 am
Join me and other homesteaders to share gardening & homesteading stories.
Q & A on homesteading topics…bees, chickens, soil, fermentation, canning, gardening, country living and more.
To join shoot me an email and I will send a zoom link the day before. Hope to see you!
Faerie Road Farm on Instagram
Join me @farieroadfarm
Jim helps sort and store fleeces ~ Daphne keeps watch as the sheep graze on a bright fall day ~ freshly shorn sheep, they weren’t even skinny!
OCTOBER ~ Fall Into Fall Into Fall
The days are getting noticeably shorter as we’ve passed the Fall equinox and barrel towards Winter. It is time for squash, marigolds and zinnias and a burst of harvest color as we head into the dark. Up here in Southern Oregon we’ve had a couple days of rain which combined with cooler temperatures has been keeping things green, and I am praying for more precipitation for all of us on the left coast.
October in the Garden
We should all continue to get tomatoes, raspberries and other goodies through October, but as the nights cool down the summer veggies can be pulled out and composted. October is a great time to scatter wildflower seeds, which will sprout with Fall rains and overwinter, springing into color bounty early Spring. Garden beds can be put to rest soon with Winter cover crops or mulch. Fava beans, vetch and Winter rye are popular cover crops which help regenerate the soil and can be used as green manure come Spring. Garden beds that will not be used this winter can also be mulched to keep down weeds and promote microbial activity. For food growing beds softer mulches like grass clippings or straw are best, encouraging the bacteria that balance soil ph and transform minerals making them accessible to plants. Animal manures can also be heavily applied this time of year—bedding from rabbits, goats, sheep and chickens can be applied directly without composting, as they will break down and mellow though the winter.
Autumn color
Instagram
I have created an Instagram page for the farm. Please follow me! @faerieroadfarm I promise to post pretty pictures on a regular basis.
Dahlias are Happening! ~Sleeping platform “The Covered Wagon”
News From the North
A whirlwind of activity on the farm the past month. Completed mucking out all the sheep areas this morning…a multi-day process with several different helpers So much fertility for the garden! I found a concrete contractor and had concrete pad poured in the high traffic area that the sheep feed in. I hope this will deal with the worst of the mud. I will probably still have to put in a french drain downhill from this sheep patio, but for now, let it rain! I put a floor and a roof on my shearing shed, completing my sheep handling area (“Shearing Shack & Swervy Chutes”) and am looking towards Fall shearing in the next few weeks. I located and purchased hay, which due to drought is near double last years prices. I hired a lovely weekly helper who has been mowing, clearing blackberries, chopping wood and hauling manure. It is really difficult to find good farm labor here so I am so grateful for this help. The sheep are all bred and I am looking forward to the first lambs around Christmas. I am working on creating more lambing spaces, called “jugs,” since if all goes well I will have lots of babies all at once. And finally “The Covered Wagon,” my sleeping platform has been populated by curtains, a bed, a solar powered power-pack and christmas lights. I have spent a few peaceful nights out there—it is like being on vacation!! I am looking forward to developing the site further. Solar shower, composting toilet and sitting areas are in the works. My flower gardens are in dire need of weeding and there is still much to do to prepare for Winter, but overall I am pleased to say that I have achieved my main goals for 2021 and there are still some months remaining in the year.
In the works for 2022
Year long study group ~ starting in January will be officially announced in December.
Get ready to blow your mind. Permaculture, microbiology, ethnobotany, race and farming, pollination ecology, nutrition/health, fungal networks, art and how these are all connected. Science, spirit, politics and culture. We will read a number of life changing books and discuss them. Homework will include reading, research and practice. Our goal will be to develop a curricula and body of knowledge that could have an impact on the way we live.
Farm Camp @ Faerie Road Farm will likely take place September 2022. It is just too hot here in July and August and I am too busy with other work in May & June. I will keep you posted as plans for this evolve. Topics can include: Intro to Permaculture, integrated agriculture, soil building, seed starting, shelters & fences, water, fiber, food preservation/managing the harvest, pasture restoration & rotational grazing, farm economics, essential tools and equipment, livestock, predators and more
Interns/woofers 2022 ~ One to four week stays May through September. 4 hours work per day, rustic accommodations. Please inquire.
Sheep patio ~ Shearing Shack
SEPTEMBER ~State of the Union
What a time of transition and movement. Four of my closest and dearest have up and moved from the Bay area to…Nevada City, Montague, Colfax….Jeannie McKenzie of Pineheaven Farm, former Backyard Chicken and Urban Goat Dairy Instructor for IUH is selling her amazing Montclair homestead and moving to Asheville NC. Wishing you the best Jeannie! Are you and yours on the move as well?
Recent Harvest
Tomatoes to Sauce
2021 may not have been a good year for some things, but it has been a great year for tomatoes, at least on the West Coast—elsewhere in the gulf stream it has been cold and rainy all summer. Here we got tomatoes early and they have been very productive. I harvested 25 pounds off my one Roma paste tomato plant and there are at least that many yet to ripen. For those who can eat nightshades, tomatoes are a versatile addition to sauces, salsas, moles and more. In order to combat the lingering image of canning as an activity requiring long hot hours slaving in the kitchen, I have developed easier ways to process those masses of sauce tomatoes. A good food processor, a large pot (12 quarts or more) and a manual food mill are required. You can also use a squeezo or italian-style tomato strainer, but I find the food mill far easier to use and to clean.
I put whole tomatoes in the food processor and puree. If you leave some of the mush in the bottom each time, it makes the grinding go more easily. Pour the pureed tomatoes into your pot until full. Set on medium high until the mixture boils—be careful as the first boil it will boil over! Stir after the first boil and then turn down to a simmer and reduce by half, or until you no longer see liquid floating on the top This can take 2 or 3 hours. It does not need to be watched constantly, just stirred occasionally. Once it has been reduced, pass it through the food mill using the fine screen to remove the seeds and skins. This mixture can now be canned as is, flavored for marinara or frozen until needed.
Glamping Platform…Canvas curtains, bed, mosquito net, shelving, picnic table, solar shower, composting toilet and solar power pack still to be added. Temporary living space for friends and farm interns…..
News From the North
August was a full on month. After returning from a memorial in the Bay Area and a family gathering in the Sierras I went directly into sheep breeding. My hope is to have early lambs and to have lambing more condensed and done by mid-February. The early lambs seem to grow better and I don’t want lambs coming during shearing season when I am not always available. The fruit was all early this year, so next up was picking and pressing the 10 Ginger Gold apples trees and the 3 Scarlet Galas. I quickly organized an event, inviting community members to help and take some juice home. Peaches, pears, plums, blackberries, asian pears and storage apples all came on in a glut, as well as tomatoes and cucumbers, so picking and processing has been a daily meditation. I learned that the hay I had previously lined up for Winter was not available and that they price of hay had doubled due to drought and went into hyper drive trying to find some hay at a reasonable price. The best priced hay required helpers to unload and stack so there was an added struggle to find appropriate help and try to coordinate schedules. But I did get some good grass hay and met some willing young men to help, who I hope to hire again in September to muck out my sheep shelters. My first butcher day arrived and 12 beautiful lambs were harvested. A friend came and caught the blood while I caught and salted pelts. So great to be able to utilize as much of the animals as possible. My “Grand-Farmer” Jim arrived and we continued work on my glamping spot and he stayed and held down the fort while I delivered lamb to the bay area….I am currently working on getting more help and support on the farm, discovering that certain aspects really are too much for one person…with all the mowing and irrigating taking up my time, the garden has become an overgrown tangle…deeply in need of weeding and I am loosing the battle with bindweed.
Urban & not-so-urban Ag Education
I don’t currently have any course offerings for this Fall. I am glad to organize something for your group and will continue to offer zoom based consults and lessons for anyone who wants to avail themselves of my knowledge base.
I am not planning on starting a Youtube channel or creating online content for pay. While I know this is the wave of the moment and the future, it is just not for me. I am looking towards creating residential learning opportunities on my farm (Farm Camp!) and will officially announce the 2022 study group later on this year (see August newsletter). I will continue to write newsletters and answer your questions via email. There are some things I really really enjoy teaching…I love teaching about bees, dirt and gardening. I love teaching mosaic making, soap making, fermentation, food preservation and herbal medicine. I can imagine teaching some of these live in the East Bay in 2022…Let me know of your interests!
AUGUST ~ It Never Ends
Hot August Nites Hello and welcome to fire season. It is hard to believe this is the new normal. We had intense thunder and lightening here last week — some 700 lighting strikes sparking over 50 small fires. Crews were ready and most were extinguished quickly though there is a complex of fires to the north of me. The giant bootleg fire East of Klamath Falls that has been raging close to a month is now 85% contained but continues to creep along causing new evacuations. Most of the smoke went East, but we did have a golden red moon this morning…I hope where you are is cool and smoke free, your are staying aware and safe in light of the delta variant and that you are having something resembling fun!
August in the Garden
As the garden matures it is time for harvest, cutting back, tying up.
Some lessons learned.
1.You only need one zucchini plant. One individual plant. Not three. Be brave. Kill the other two that come in the 4 inch pot. And yes, you will still get at least one two and a half foot long zucchini that might make a good addition to a halloween costume. In the Castro.
2. You may beg to differ, but IMHO Lemon cucumbers are only good when they are small and still green. Once they are yellow, which is in the blink of an eye, they are tough and unpalatable to anyone but the chickens. Don’t know what to do with them? I give you permission to pull the plant. Next year grow thin skinned Persian cucumbers or munchers.
3. A happy basil plant will give til October. Just keep cutting off the flowering tops. Pesto, pesto, pesto.
4. Don’t be afraid to pull out stuff that is getting spindly or unproductive, there is time to replace with Fall crops (see point #5)
5. Start your Fall/Winter garden by seed NOW. You may get a harvest of broccoli and cauliflower before the nights get cold in November. You will definitely have beets, chard, kale and lettuce all Fall.
6. Lettuce and cilantro bolting? Let it go to seed. The seed of both of these is easily saved for replanting next year. When the top of the lettuce starts to look like mini dandelion puffs cut the whole stalk and turn it upside down in a large brown grocery bag. Once it dries the seeds will fall to the bottom. Store in a paper envelope in a cool dry place.
sunflower & coreopsis
News From the North
July went by in a blur…I know I accomplished a bunch of things, but not even sure what! Let’s see…..Shearing season rolled to a close with a few tardy customers sliding under the wire. Several rounds of guests came and went—loving the new guest room! A learning curve with my first month running the River Retreat Air BNB, but getting the hang of it now. Weeding, weed-whacking, mowing and irrigating have become my summer religion…maybe think twice about moving to the country, eh? Harvest is coming on and I am starting to put up jam, shrubs, cordials, tinctures and more. I have amply harvested cherries, berries, plums, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, potatoes and garlic, as well as coreopsis (a dye plant). Pulled out the dehydrator, made the first batch of pesto and did my first apple pressing in the last few days of July. What else? Got a business card made for the farm, and some patches too. Ordered lots of bottles and tins in preparation for farm goodie production. Started work on my tent platform, tweaked the sheep handling area after using it a couple times, replaced a bunch of gates including some I put up when I first got here that were terrible! I have really come to appreciate a good simple functional gate. The Summer FarmSit Retreat was a success, with two young ladies learning oodles about handtools, animals and the daily rhythm of farm life while I snuck away to a memorial in the cool Bay Area and thundershowers at a family gathering in the high sierra. Now working on building my flock and getting my ewes bred with more guests on the horizon and a lot of mucking out sheep pens to prepare for winter which will be here before we know it. Does it never end?!
Zoom Lessons and Consults
I am available for your homesteading needs! I can get you started gardening, advise on canning and other preservation topics, advise on bees and beekeeping, get you started with chickens or other urban livestock, help you with garden/site design, teach you soapmaking or talk about how to move to the country, fermentation, cheesemaking, fiber arts and more. $50-75 per hour. Use me.
In the Works: Year Long Study Group 2022
Get ready to blow your mind. Permaculture, microbiology, ethnobotany, race and farming, pollination ecology, nutrition/health, fungal networks, art and how these are all connected. Science, spirit, politics and culture. We will read a number of life changing books and discuss them. Homework will include reading, research and practice. Our goal will be to develop a curricula and body of knowledge that could have an impact on the way we live. There will be a fee to participate…I am still thinking about that and a title for the thing. More info coming soon…..
triple crown blackberries & ginger gold apples
JULY ~ Fly high & Fry in July!!
Good Greetings to You!
As we return to some kinda “normal” it is hard to believe we are half way through the year already and heading towards the dark again…June offered record temperatures here in Southern Oregon, with the hottest temperature on my thermometer at 115. Now back down to “normal hot” summer temperatures, I am grateful for AC and water rights!!
Major Tom smiling in the sun as the girls chew their cud under the shade cloth
Thank you!
Thank you to the many who responded last month to tell me that you’re out there reading and to those who offered kind words, advice and wisdom. There was a general consensus that social media, vlogs and online learning is the way of the world at the moment. I hear ya. I prefer the immediacy of live teaching, the face-to-face interaction and find the actual work of making a good quality vlog or video based education pretty tedious. I suppose I would do it “for the money,” if I could not find another way, but I am not there yet. One suggestion that I did enjoy was the idea of making an audio blog that y’all could listen to driving, weeding etc.. Undecided for the moment, still cogitating on that one.
RubyFox Retreat Air BnB
At long last I have officially listed my AirBnB. The RubyFox Retreat is an upstairs studio with kitchenette located about 25 minutes from my farm and right on the Applegate River. Currently listed with a two night minimum and fairly well booked through August……Autumn is a beautiful time to visit. Check out the listing
Rabbits on an AC vacation ~ Excavation for water tank ~ The new kid on the block, Miss Jimmeny Cricket, 8 pound wonder
News From the North
June was a doozy…lots going on including the aforementioned heat spell. I spent quite a long time preparing for the heat, wetting down shady areas for the sheep, putting up extra shade cloth, installing mist systems and bringing close to 40 rabbits into my house in kennels. The rabbits suffer already at 100 degrees and I thought they might not make it, even with mist, fan and ice bottles…..it was a ton of work, but everyone survived! Cherries came and went and berries are currently in full swing. I got a long awaited upgrade to my water system. I now have a 2000 gallon underground concrete holding tank and accessory pump. This gives me better water pressure and better flow. I can now fully utilize my drip irrigation and run more than one faucet at a time without my water going down to a dribble. The excavator did an excellent job and my pump house is now extremely tidy and streamlined. Finally (drum roll please) my sheep handling facility is finished and functional! It includes several catch pens, a sorting chute and a medical chute. I found some great folks for the July retreat and am looking forward to summer visits from friends and even a little travel of my own!
Summer Camp 2022? Your input welcome!
I am dreaming of a residential farm camp or camps here for Summer or Fall 2022 (Summer is the obvious time, though it can be challenging due to the heat). We would learn the basics of permaculture and sustainable small scale farming, land stewardship, livestock options and management, pasture management and restoration, rotational grazing, fencing primer, homestead design, irrigation & water rights, fire defensibility, growing a seasonal kitchen garden, and more. We could practice canning, fermenting, medicine making, fiber arts, natural dyes….Or perhaps there would be a couple different camps with different foci. Residential learning has its own challenges of camping and feeding folks…I have some experience with it, and think it likely easier to do one longer camp as opposed to multiple small ones…but am curious what sounds exciting to people, including ideas on duration and price points.
Thanks everyone stay safe as the world re-opens and we advance on fire season!
The lid of the new tank will be the foundation for The Wishy~Washy, a tiny laundy and bathhouse
JUNE ~ I’d love to hear from you
Hello Dear Subscribers….
Where Things Stand with Ruby & IUH….
It is going on 5 years since I left the Bay Area and I am starting to feel the distance. It has become increasingly difficult to sell classes…last year was an all-time low in terms of registration, number of classes and revenue. Until I find a landmate or other solution I cannot travel to teach in the Bay Area on any consistent basis. Additionally I no longer know how reach my audience. People are barely reading emails and I don’t spend much time on social media. I used to print postcards but am not sure that is a viable way to advertise anymore. I want to continue to hold my fabulous winter open house and would gladly do another farm tour next year if someone local wants to partner with me to make it happen. I have been writing a monthly newsletter for almost 15 years and I don’t seem to want to stop, even if only a handful of people read it. In this moment I feel like I need you more than you need me…I am looking for your thoughts and input. Thanks!
Summer in the Garden Q & A
As the garden matures into the summer it is time to tidy up and clip back. Spring flowers that are spent can be pulled or topped to keep them looking their best. Roses and other perennials can be “dead-headed” to promote further blooming. Early Spring crops that are getting stressed or full of aphids can be pulled and replaced with a fresh batch of lettuce or other greens. Recent questions/concerns from my inbox:
“I just can’t grow basil…it just seems to go to flower, any tips?” You can have months of basil with regular harvesting to prevent it from flowering and completing its life cycle. Harvest by pinching (or cutting) the tops above a leaf node. Pinch off one or two nodes below the flower bud to prevent bolting and encourage branching.
“I am growing in containers and my plants are taking longer to mature and are smaller than what is on the seed packet, any advice?”
No matter what a seed packet says, different climates, different soils, different years, different amounts of water will yield different results. Growing in containers in non native soil means plants may not have access to as much nutrient or to the fungal and bacterial partners that help them thrive. A good low numbers fertilizer such as liquid seaweed and an active compost tea could help.
News From the North
May was incredibly busy and I am using this wonderful and unseasonal week of cool weather to play catch up on farm clean up and admin. The second FarmSit retreat went amazingly well, the farm has a new honorary farmer in Rachel Penn. She really went the distance in trying on farm life, getting an instant education in flood irrigation. While on the road I visited and sheared at farms down the I-5 and back up the 101, making new friends in my shearing family, then hit the ground running for my local shearing work putting in three 12 hour days a week, while also trying to keep up with irrigating, mowing and getting the spring garden in the ground. I love the annual visit with my shearing customers, catching up with them while working together. In the midst of all that I have had an increasing number of lovely houseguests including my former creative partner Amy Christian who I ran my puppet theatre with back in the day passing through to pick up her daughter from college. As I write the lambs are growing, the roses are in their peak, the wildflower plot, which fully volunteered from last year grew up to the sky and toppled over. I welcomed two baby cows last month, both boys and am trying to figure out how to catch them to neuter them…it will be 18 months before they are ready for harvest, but once that happens I should be able to offer Wild Deter Beef annually. I am starting to put my tractor into use with a somewhat steep learning curve and looking towards major infrastructure upgrades this summer including having an underground holding tank and auxillary pump installed to improve my water system and having a concrete pad poured in my sheep feeding area so that my sheep don’t have to live winters in a swamp.
Heritage Lamb Program: Update on Meat & Pelts
Lambs sold out in half a day this year. I am sorry I won’t be taking new lamb customers in 2021. But there will are pelts available for advance purchase. Pelts run $250-350 and are simply put, quite incredible. If you put a $75 deposit on a pelt now you get 10% off the total, balance due on delivery which would be late 2021/ early 2022. If you would like to see more pictures that give a sense of the array of what I will have, feel free to shoot me an email.
FarmSit Retreat July
Come spend 8-10 days at Faerie Road Farm this summer! Help me out and have yourself a little farm experience. Current dates are July 20-30 (give or take a day on either end of that). Spend a couple days with me learning daily chores (animal care and watering) and then enjoy farm life while I am on the road for a few days. Beautiful guest room, hot tub, wi-fi, full kitchen. I have a memorial and a family gathering to attend and could really use your help! Please email me if this sounds interesting and we can have a conversation to see if it is a good fit.
Seeking Compatible Landmate(s)
I love being on my land by myself, but it is simply not viable long term. I am not in a rush, but I am starting the process of seeking a compatible landmate. Currently offering an RV spot with hook up for someone with their own RV or tiny house in exchange for a small amount of $ towards utilities plus work/trade. If you have been dreaming of low overhead and a rural situation, let me know and I will send you the full details about what I am looking for/offering. Long term temporary is possible (3-6months).There is decent rural wi-fi here, you would need your own account.
What are you up to?
Enough about me. I would like to hear from any of you, even a sentence or two what type of homesteading activities you are doing, whether it is more or less since the whole year and a half of covid and if you see yourself continuing to deepen into this sort of lifestyle. Are you planning a move to the country? What things do you feel you need to learn more about?
MAY
Happy Belated MayDay! The Green and the Red.
This day celebrates the force of green. Gardens growing, sheep on pasture, ecology, appreciation of nature, fruit set and the potential of a bountiful harvest.
It also celebrates the force of red. Workers right and the rights of the common person. People rising up to resist oppression and injustice in all its forms: racism, sexism, homelessness, homo-and trans-phobia. We do this with our words and deeds in whatever capacity we can.
Small acts count as much as big ones.
Fancy Irises coming on ~ Columbine Everywhere ~ Lots of Bunnies
May in The Garden
Things are heating up! Time to plants your tomatoes, peppers, basil, cukes, potatoes, onions and winter squash if you haven’t already.
Lesser grown but delicious crops to consider: kohlrabi, rutabaga, salsify, ground cherries (aka cape gooseberries), celeriac.
Crops that require less water: tomatoes, burdock, grapes, sunchokes, beans (fava & pole beans)
Crops that grow in partial shade (partial shade means 2-6 hours of direct sun and filtered indirect light the rest of the day–no food crops grow well in deep shade): arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, Chinese cabbage, corn salad, endive, escarole, garlic, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, leaf lettuce, leeks, mustard, blueberries, huckleberries, parsnips, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, salsify, scallion, sorrel, spinach, turnips, watercress, catnip, chives, lemon balm, parsley, rosemary
Flowers you can eat: calendula, borage, viola, violet, bachelors buttons, rose petals, marigold,nasturtium,lavender, cilantro, squash blossom
Happy Growing!
News From the North
Busy busy busy. It all happens all at once. The garden needs to go in at the same moment that massive mowing and weed whacking need to happen and irrigation too. It has been hot and dry here. The grass seems to be growing everywhere except in the pastures. I am on the road shearing in my busiest work season and trying to sneak some flood irrigation in before I go. The second Artist FarmSit Retreat is underway. Unsure what the future holds but putting it out there for a summer retreat for someone who is game to play. Come experience the Farm Dream and the Farm Reality first hand! ••• I retired my older rabbit bucks to a farm in Napa last month, where they will live out their days in a colony (free ranging). Before their exit they sired 4 healthy colorful litters. Lambing season i finally officially over and now I just need the lambs to grow! ••• My tractor arrived last month. It is another learning curve which I have not had a lot of time for, but I am looking forward to practice once shearing season slows down. I hope it will help me manage my sheep areas mucking and building compost piles…and later hope to purchase other attachments that will be useful such as a post hole digger and disc-er. ••• Big infrastructure projects on the horizon for this summer. A water upgrade for my struggling well and a concrete slab for my sheep feeding area, so they don’t have to live their winters in a swamp. Still haven’t finished my farm website or officially opened my air BnB. Ha. I suppose there are only so many hours in the day and days in the week!
Daphne and Major Tom on duty while the sheep mow the orchard ~ a couple alpacas enjoying their summer haircuts
Summer Artist FarmSit Retreat
July-August (approximate dates) July 20-August 1
High summer, hot days and cool nights…river time, long days. The special person or pair who signs on for this retreat will learn about harvesting and processing fruit, sheep breeding and irrigation systems, plus we’ll throw in whatever other interests you have.
This retreat will include 3 days of learning/farm work with your host, yours truly, plus a week to yourself on the farm while I travel. You will be responsible for morning and evening chores (about 1 hour each) and otherwise your time is your own to write, read, relax and enjoy the pastoral setting, the river and whatever else. Sound like an incredible opportunity? More Info: https://iuhoakland.com/spring-retreats/ Apply here: https://iuhoakland.com/application/
Classes
Nothing in May — too busy shearing irrigating and weed eating…Here are classes for June! Click links for more info & registration. These are zoom based classes.
I added this cheesemaking class as a few people expressed interest. If you are interested please sign up in the next couple weeks or I will postpone until summer.
#farmthug #babytractor
APRIL
Hi All! Happy April. It is full speed ahead here. My Spring retreats have begun and shearing season too. It looks like things are sloooowly getting back to normal…whatever that is. Going to be a quickie newsletter this month as my list is too long!
Plum and magnolia full speed ahead!
April in The Garden: Bugs, Slugs and Warm Season Crops
Even in the Bay area, April is early for some of our warm season crops as the nights are still cool. But we can think about putting in our tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant and basil sometime this month. Potatoes and onions too! Want to try some “marginal” crops for the Bay Area? Look for short season corn and melons—the ones that mature in 60-65 days. Grapes also struggle with the foggy summers, but an early season grape like Swenson Red can produce. If you can find it, the local grape cultivar “Emeryville Pink” is adapted for the foggy summers. Are you struggling with snails and bugs eating your favorite baby plants? I’ve tried all the methods beer, diatomaceous earth, etc. But the best solutions I have found are eggshells and copper tape. The eggshells you just crumble and put around the plants on the bed. The slugs and snails don’t like to crawl on them. For standalone plants that are getting eaten I cut rings out of black plastic plant pots, put a line of sticky back copper tape around them and shove them into the ground around the plants. For snails your best bet is to collect them nightly each Spring for 1-2 weeks. This interrupts their breeding cycle and cuts down the population significantly. Feed your collection to the chickens (or your neighbors chickens if you don’t have any).
my sheep handling area, overkill for the number of sheep I have, but determined to finish it! And here I am with Natasha, the Llama.
News From the North
The lambs are growing and dancing about the sheep pen and I am just waiting patiently or not so patiently for the grass to start growing so I can put the sheep out and stop feeding hay. I see four more sheep bagging up and preparing for some late lambs. The last round of pelts returned from the tanner and went to the people who put deposits on them 10 months ago. I think everyone was happy! This past month my friend Jim Montgomery formerly of Green Faerie Farm—the urban goat farm—visited me and helped shear the flock and work on my handling area, which is coming along. All the walls are up and now I just need to build a bazillion gates and put a roof and floor on the shearing shed. We named the whole thing The Shearing Shack of Swervy Chutes, as nothing about it is square or straight. The fruit trees are blooming , the bees have returned and I just need some time to start getting the garden in. The most exciting news of all….I put a downpayment on a small tractor! More about that next month!
Update on Farm Website & RubyFox Retreat
The bones of the website are up, but there is no online shop or photos yet…so not quite ready to announce it will get done eventually. And the Retreat is also not officially up on Air BnB. Anticipating that for Mid May once I am done with the two spring retreats and California shearing.
Hot and dirty, but getting it done
MARCH
Forward MARCH ! Trudging on, marching forward, keepin’ on trucking, onward into the light. The days are lengthening, the daffodils are popping, chickens, ducks and geese are laying. Earth rebirth. I was recently in the East Bay and Spring is about a month ahead of where I am…I actually got overheated! In this newsletter looking back and looking forward and announcing a small but delightful offering of classes this season. March marks equinox, daylight savings, beginning of Spring. Let’s Spring into action growing, gardening and crafting…..
Homesteading History
It’s been 12+ years since I started IUH and a little more than 10 years since Novella Carpenter’s book Farm City hit the best seller list. Urban farming has ebbed and flowed in those years, but it seems that it is here to stay. The idea of Urban Homesteading or Homesteading in general seems to now be commonplace and the current meaning, of growing food, raising animals and employing sustainability hacks small-scale whether renting or owning, urban or rural seems to have more or less superceded the earlier associations. The term homesteading is historically complex, with both positive and sinister outcomes. The original Homestead act of 1862 offered 160 acres of great plains land to any adult who would farm it and build a house on it. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica the act allowed both African Americans and single women to claim title to land, while at the same time promoting the idea of Manifest Destiny and the right to the “American Dream.” More than 25,000 southern Blacks moved to Kansas during the 1870s and 1880s as a part of the Exoduster Movement—the name given to the migration or “exodus” of African Americans from the South to escape Jim Crow oppression. What the Britannica article doesn’t mention is how the Homestead act affected the first nations people. The government gave away first nation lands, utilizing the native americans lack of understanding of english languague and european property holding rights/laws. The homestead agreement included cultivating the land leaving nothing for the previous residents to come back to. Read more about the homestead act and it’s effect.
Black History Month: Celebrating Black Farmers in America
February was Black History Month so technically I am behind, but we should celebrate black history year round anyway, right? In the 1920s there were nearly a million African-American farmers. Now there are only about 45,000 or 1.3% of total farmers nationwide. But black farming is again on the rise —from 2007 to 2012 there was a 12% increase. Most live and farm in the South and farm on the edge of the poverty line, earning less than a quarter annually than white farmers in part because they hold less land. Read the census highlights here. Black farmers face discrimination in the marketplace and struggle to get the same governmental grants and benefits as white farmers. Read more about these struggles in this excellent article from the guardian. Folks of African descent have made many contributions to agriculture,notably George Washington Carver, who promoted alternative crops to cotton and innovated crop rotation systems, Henry Blair who developed mechanical seeders to make farm work more efficient and John Boyd, featured in the Guardian article above who founded the National Association of Black Farmers. Please take a moment to click on and check out these links and resources:
7 Contributions to Agriculture by Black Farmers
The Color of Food ~ Book: Stories of Race Resilience and Farming
Farming While Black ~ Book:Soul Fire Farms Practical Guide to Living on the Land
BUGS ~ Organization: Black Urban Growers
Brown Girl Farms ~ Local CSA located in the Hayward Hills
SoulFlower Farm School of Earth Medicine ~ Local African-American run Farm & Permaculture School
A well pruned orchard ~ the gander protecting the goose
News From the North
February flew past in a nanosecond. I pruned the whole orchard, 100 trees, and all the grapes and was out in the local community pruning other peoples fruit trees between storms as well. My newly painted and furnished guest room had its inaugural visit with flying reviews and I am looking forward to the upcoming Artist FarmSit retreats, which have been awarded to some lovely women. I am working on the farm website which will include an online shop…finally! I hope to be able to announce that in next month’s newsletter. Lambing is coming along…but sloooowly. Seven lambs have been born here so far this season and I welcomed two bottle babies from another farm, Nori and Shiro. I named the bull calf Chester Mohawk and have been watching my two Dexter cows closely for signs of calving. Thanks to Carla Waters for the suggestion of Chester—perfect! The grass is starting to grow and I dragged out the mower to find it needed fixing, so I took care of that and did the first small mowing of the year. Next up, setting posts, running a few fencelines and getting to work finishing my sheep handling area and shearing shed…then it’s shearing season. I have my first shearing jobs this week and am looking forward to the challenge of shearing my own flock later this month. I mostly shear alpacas, not sheep, so it should be interesting.
nori & shiro, bottle babies ~ the guest room
Classes
It seems we are not quite ready for classes to go live-in person….I hope that by Fall enough folks have had vaccines that we are good to go. These classes are Zoom based and all Pacific Standard time. I am getting a little bit better with the Zoom format and I am liking the one day intensive with brain breaks between segments. Because the Spring is so busy, I am going with one intensive day per month, March though June (technically there are none in May and two in June, but I am still going with the one per month concept ( – ; ). The hands on classes will be organized for people to gather supplies ahead of time and follow along. The cheesemaking class is priced to include a cheesemaking kit which I will ship to you ahead of time so you have everything you need to follow along—Please register for that one by Sunday May 30 to allow enough time for shipping.
Finishing up with a cute cat picture…cuz why not? This one is called Snuggle Trouble
FEBRUARY
Hello Earth Lovers and Rain Dancers,
Winter finally came here and my world is alternately covered in white wonderland and muddy slush. My poor sheep are living in a swamp and growing moss in their wool. I know you got some good storms in the Bay Area. Rain is good. Congrats!! Plus a new president (may he prove to truly be the lesser of two evils) and vaccines on the horizon. Will you get one?
Classes in Person? Random Queries.
I have a couple windows later this Spring (April/May) to teach a class or two in person in the Bay area (outside with masks/social distancing of course)…should I try? And if so, which classes? And How long do you all guess the shelter in place bans will go on? I was thinking perhaps a fermentation class one time and a canning class the other as these have hands on portions. I would also love to teach a beekeeping class, though they are not terribly well attended and I would need a location with an active hive to teach….I haven’t offered cheesemaking in a long time due to lack of interest…has any interest returned? Let me know your thoughts…otherwise I will post a few more online offerings next newsletter.
February in the Garden ~ Pruning Dormant Fruit Trees
It is time to prune fruit trees and it is easier than you think. In pruning you make hundreds of small decisions and a few large ones, but it is really only one decision…do I cut it or don’t I?
The ideal structure for a backyard tree is 3 main horizontal branches extending from a central point in a cup or chalice shape. Horizontal structures slow the fruiting hormone down as it travels from the branch tip towards the trunk, allowing for fruit production. Primary and secondary branches extend from these with the fruiting wood. Fruiting should occur on short spurs, close to a supporting branch, not at the end of a long skinny branch. Peaches and figs produce fruit on wood that grew the previous year, so new wood should be cut back to 3-4 inches so it can support the fruit. Plums, apples and pears produce fruit on wood that is 2-3 years old and produces on that wood for 5-15 years.
1. 3S: Center, Suckers and Sprouts. Clear the center of the tree, cut off anything growing below the graft and randomly on the trunk and anything growing straight up at the top of the tree.
2. 5D: Remove anything that is Dead, Dying, Diseased, Deformed or Doubled (growing parallel in the same space)
3. Remove anything crossing through the center or crossing each other
4. Reduce overlong established branches by 1/3
5. Reduce new growth by as much as 90%. I usually cut new growth back to 1-3 buds
6. Always cut back to an outward facing bud that will grow out or down, not back to the center or up.
7. If cutting away an entire branch, cut all the way flush to the branch supporting it, do not leave ugly stumps.
If you follow these steps you cannot do your tree harm.
News From The North
In January I weeded and cleared every garden bed on the property and pruned the berry patch, preparing to relocate one line of berries as I put my rows too close together. Rookie mistake. It felt good to get all that done though. Continuing the trend, I am doing massive cleaning and organizing in every nook and cranny. I love making order! My family gave me 8 hours of cleaning service for my birthday and I hired a local friend to do the job tacking a couple hours on to get a thorough deep cleaning of the entire house. Yeah! On rainy/snowy days I have been cleaning and organizing my shop, painting and furnishing guest rooms, working on admin projects (taxes, new farm website etc.) and making plans for all that I am hoping to accomplish this year. It is pruning season as well, so in between storms I am snipping away, alternating between my property and the customers who suddenly popped out of the woodwork this season. I love that I get to go to other wonderful properties and help them with their trees. I am currently about 75% of the way through the most challenging bunch of trees on my property (10 ginger golds and 3 scarlet galas), having hired a friend to help me for a day. Although there are some 70 more after that, they are mostly small and manageable…though I am not saying it is not work! My new pup is doing great, growing and learning his job. he is finally big enough he cannot escape through the fences and has to stay in the mud with the sheep. Aw. Poor sheep. I am awaiting lambs with bated breath.
Caretaker Opportunity ~ Live in the Country Work/Trade
Faerie Road Farm needs an onsite caretaker/ work-trade renter/mentee. There is a developed RV spot here with full hook up including water, electricity and sewer. The ideal candidate would provide their own RV or tiny house, however it may also be possible to provide one for the right person. Other wishes would include—someone stable, responsible and positive, no drugs or heavy alcohol. Easy to be with, good communicator. Must be able to lift 40-50 pounds and walk a few miles per day. Someone who has building/carpentry skills would be awesome. Caretaker would help with daily chores when I am here, animal care & irrigation while I am on the road (5-7 hours a week) plus 10-15 hours of other farm maintenance monthly (10 hours per week maximum). A small and negotiable amount of $ to cover utilities would be desired. One dog or cat would be acceptable, single, couple or small family welcome to inquire. In addition to the RV hook up there would be potential for access to shop & garden space and share in the bounty of fruit, eggs & vegetables. For those who do not know the area, living is affordable, but wages are low. There is reasonably good rural wi-fi available for someone who can work remotely. The area has a very low population density, good health care and social services for low income folks, little traffic and almost no good restaurants ( : The farm is 10 minutes from the nearest podunk town (for your pizza, bad mexican food and convenience store needs) and 25 minutes from the nearest medium sized town. For Costco, Trader Joes and high end natural food store you have to drive an hour. Feel free to connect with your curiosities if this is of interest to you. There is no deadline…position is open until filled.
Upcoming Classes
We had a wonderful day learning about fruit trees this past weekend and I am stoked for the next two class days coming up. I will announce another round of classes in the March 1 newsletter, let me know if there are topics you are hoping for.
JANUARY
Good Morning and Happy New Year!
I know we are all hoping for a better year and I wonder what that looks like…maybe there is a safe and effective vaccine (seems like all anyone talked about over the holidays), maybe we have a new president (the lesser of two evils) maybe hatred and racism ends completely and forever (wouldn’t that be awesome)? In the meantime, I am still going to grow a garden, harnessing the awesome processes of nature and listen and watch for moments of beauty and wonder like this incredible layered New Years Day sunrise. I’ve got a series of online classes coming up for you and high hopes to teach in person somehow this year.
Winter Open House: Thank you to all
Thank you for your patience with all the emails earlier in December. In spite of wind and rain and shelter-in-place orders, my event was a great success! I loved setting up outdoors under canopies and in spite of some mistakes in filling orders on my part, and simply wishing I had more inventory, the curbside pick up aspect worked out well. You, my subscribers, fans and customers were the stars of the show. I thank you so much for your support, your patronage and your joy in receiving my hand-crafted goodies. I promise to grow more peppers, make more tea, bag more dried fruit and make more mead for 2021! My gracious hosts have offered me their space as long as they live there, so I hope to see you all next year! Thank you again Ravenel Family for your beautiful space and generosity. For those of you who hoped for mail order I am sorry, yet glad to report: all sold out! More next year!
January in the Garden
If you haven’t already done this, on sunny days in January it is time to clear, cut back and divide. In the annual veggie garden, pull out every thing from last season and toss on your compost pile (or green bin it). Pull any weeds and then cover with leaves or straw or consider a cover crop like winter rye, fava beans or vetch. These can be cut down and turned under when you are ready to plant in a couple months. In your perennial areas you can cut back, shape and thin shrubs and bushes including your perennial herbs like oregano, rosemary and lavender. Clumping plants can be dug up and divided this time of year to keep them in check or to multiply them, or to give away plant materials and spread the love around. Perennials can also be dug up and moved in January if needed. Remember to start your digging a few inches outside the base of the plant to get the root ball, and yes, the roots can be trimmed back for ease of transplanted into a hole or a pot elsewhere.
News From the North
Lots of replacing, rearranging and changing around here. My partner took many of the sheep, the bull and one of our guardian dogs as well as tools and equipment. I have a core group of sheep left and have purchased a few more from a local fiber friend. My new Dexter bull calf will arrive in January. He is brown, or dun and needs a name. Any suggestions? As well, I brought home a guardian pup just after christmas. Major Tom is a Kangal cross. He is only 8 weeks old, but every day we are socializing with sheep, dogs and other farm critters, so that he bonds with his charges and learns his job. On solstice I welcomed the first lambs on the year—a boy and a girl, both the coveted silver saddle coloring. I have big plans for the year…hoping to finish my sheep handling area that has been sitting unfinished the last 2 years as a glaring sign of the conflict that has been ongoing and also to work on a glamping area that will be fully self contained with a solar shower, composting toilet and dedicated parking spot. I need to deal with drainage issues in my home pasture where the sheep sleep and eat, so that they don’t live in a swamp. This will require hiring someone to do the tractor work as I can’t quite afford one of my own. I also need to decide whether to spend the money to improve my well water situation by having an underground holding tank and acessesory pump installed…this is another big job requiring heavy machinery on the land. I will also be thinking about finding an onsite caretaker, who would like to participate in some of the farm operations. Lots of big stuff. I am alternately excited and overwhelmed, grieving and celebrating in a swampy swamp of human experience. Life!
TOP: Dun Dexter Bull Calf ~ Mama sheep with Solstice lambs ~ With Major Tom, the new pup ~ BOTTOM: Solstice Lamb
Spring Retreats
As well as the two formal Spring Retreats there will be opportunities for summer and fall and custom worktrade weekends
Calling all artists, writers, dreamers, homesteaders and you!
Come spend 12-14 days at Faerie Road Farm in Southern Oregon this Spring
Deadline to apply January 31 Awarded by Feb 15th
Tentative Dates March 29 – April 11, May 2 – May 15
Spend the first 3-4 days learning animal care and farm systems, participating in various farm projects and learning a variety of skills. Then spend 8-10 days to yourself on site, with a private room/studio, access to kitchen, wi-fi, hottub. Aside from morning and evening animal chores your time is your own to rest, write, read, draw, paint, take walks, and otherwise create and/or rejuvenate amidst the great natural beauty of the farm. If trying out farm life is one of your goals, farm tasks and projects can be assigned, but there is no obligation beyond the basic chores. You must be prepared to stay onsite every night, daytime excursions are acceptable.
Cost: $200-400 sliding scale covers utilities and oversight
Lodging: You will have your own room with bed & desk in a cozy light and art filled home. There is a full kitchen, relatively good rural wi-fi, laundry, hot-tub, private bath.
Food: Basic condiments, eggs and garden veggies are provided. Otherwise you provide your own food. Fridge and freezer space will be available.
The application process consists of a written application and a zoom based interview.
WINTER CLASSES via Zoom January-February 2021
Each mini-intensive is made up of three segments. Each segment can be taken as a stand alone class or you can register for the full day.