This morning we'd had the first whispered promise of Spring.
An icicle dripped. The ewes "bagged up", their udders swollen with the sign of impending lambing. The sheers clip clip clip across their bellies and backs, and Winter fleeces are bagged and awaiting washing, carding, and spinning. I heard the birds "sweetly tuning" on bough and branch: they were singing something about signing up for our 2014 CSA. Don't take my word for it...go out on your own front step and listen to em sing their blessed hearts out! The lyrics are unmistakable:
"Sign up! Sign up!"
Because here's the thing of it:
In order for a farm to inspire, it must be small. It must be the stuff we all secretly dream about from our "I wanna be a fireman or ballet dancer and eat that cookie now" days. There must be rabbits, and ducks, and hens, strutting about the lawn. There must be little twin lambs nursing at their mother's teets. There must be goat kids to jump about with. There must be hand-milking in the barn and farmers with grins and nobbly dirty hands. We must see something in the composting and the cover cropping and the greenhouse and the ground that stirs something better within the breast...
And...in order for the farm to be small it must be the work of city and country folk alike. The bare earth can only sustain for so long. A community of eager expectant willing people are waiting together for that first smell of good growing dirt, and that first forkful greens...that will sustain a farmer. Not acres owned. That's why the CSA farmer hums to himself as he sheers the sheep in the barn in the end of February. His long Winter alone with animals and watering and feeding out hay and spinning wool, and stacking wood, in short: his long Winter alone with the farm is coming to an end. His hope of real community is being born again with the Spring thaw. As the work mounts, his grin spreads wider.
Community Supported Agriculture has to be born anew every year on a veggie farm.
With a kind of faith akin to craziness, the farmer waits for folks like you, reading this, to sign up.
Together we bring a new season into being. We would not be here without you.
It's your notes about how your 4 year old scarfed down bok choy last night, and how much you look forward to each box and newsletter from our farm...you folks keep us going.
Our 2014 CSA Season promises to star the goats:
The Little Flower Farm dairy herd is larger now, due to the amazing demand in the area for our fresh goat cheese shares. We have 10 does due to freshen this year, and each one with a personality all her own. We are looking forward to introducing you to each one of the girls in the coming weeks, as they begin to kid. If you are new to chevre, consider trying a share: a month's worth of fresh cheese delivered to you for $5 per week. Goats are picky browsers, making their milk one of the most medicinal foods, filled with more vitamins and minerals than cow's milk. Then there's the delicious factor. 1/3 of our herd is Nubian, to capitalize on the higher butter-fat content in their milk, and lend it's creamy flavor to our cheese. If you are an old fan of the chevre shares, consider signing up for our "Heidi Share" which is a longer investment in the Little Flower Farm herd: 5 months of twice monthly chevre, and a monthly newsletter with recipes, news, and photos from the farm as well as an invitation to a year end "meet the girls" celebration.
Little Flower Farm Herd-Shares:
" Dorfli share"………………….$20.00/4 weeks of our fresh goat cheese.
"Heidi Share".............................$100.00/5 months of fresh goat cheese delivered twice monthly, our monthly newsletter, and invitation to a gathering of goat fans in Fall!
"Alm Share"...............................$200.00/ 5 months of fresh goat cheese delivered twice monthly, our newsletter, invitation to gathering in the Fall PLUS 20lbs of Cabrito butchered mid-summer.
Grass-Fed Lamb is available for pre-order. Space is limited, so get your reservations in now.
Your check for $250 reserves your lamb. $65 will be payable to the butcher upon pick-up. Your lamb will be cut to your specifications, and will weigh in around 35-40 lbs. Fall Harvest
Your support of our small herds allow our CSA farm to be a closed circle of fertility. The sheep and goats provide us with their pelleted manure, ideal for spreading on our veggie gardens in early Spring and late Fall. They help us manage the land better, eradicating invasive species, and managing our woodlots with aplomb. A farm without animals limps. We make use of natural symbiotic relationships between the animals and the land, and the end result is a symphony of stewardship.
2014 CSA veggie shares are $600/share. Payment plans are available this year if you need to break up payments to make the share price more manageable. We want to work with you to provide the freshest produce possible for your table. This is food grown without chemicals, by fjord-horse, and hand-harvested. 2014 space is limited, so please contact us early.
We are looking for people to host drop-sites. If you are interested in hosting a dropsite for our CSA veggies and chevre shares, let us know! We'd appreciate it!
Plan a CSA info night! We love it when members take the initiative and plan an info meeting with their friends, family, and co-workers! Help spread the love! We can bring slides and samples to the meeting, as well as answer any and all questions!
Visits:
Our farm is your farm! Schedule a visit! Transparency is what you deserve, and what we thrive on!
Call ahead and plan to bring friends or family. We'd be glad to show you around, and introduce you to the Little Flower Farm family!
email: littleflowerfarmcsa@gmail.com
phone: (651) 433-3611
