Half Moon? What!? Why? So many others do bimonthly newsletters on the Full and New Moon. They always get the attention. They always get the fandom. They always get the importance. The Half Moon, also called quarter moon, but when you look at it with your actual eyeballs it isn’t quarter, its half! (it’s a celestial pet peeve of mine) Half Dark. Half Light. And each switching sides every time. One time growing in light, the other time growing in dark. It isn’t the pause between the inhale and the exhale, it *is* the inhale and the exhale. It is the middle road. In northern winters, water is everywhere. We literally walk through it. We drive through it and move it out of our way. Our world becomes water.
Under their blanket of snow, the worms, beetles, salamanders, microbes, and bacteria are busy slowly turning what used to be plants into food for plants.
Future Learning Opportunities
Where to find it all?
The Mini Microgreen Market of course, running all winter! Thursdays from 12-1pm at the Libby Chamber of Commerce *come inside where it's warm & toasty while the micros are chill in their mini cooler* The Sweetheart Market February 11th from 10-6pm at the Ponderosa Room in Libby
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Do the microgreens ever end? Not really! Even once the regular full season markets start up they keep getting germinated, harvested, and packed up for you. But until then, they are available every Thursday from 12-1pm inside the Libby Chamber What are Microgreens?
One of the projects I've been busy working on in my winter cabin cave is a bevy of beaded bracelets and rings! They'll be making their debut at the Sweethearts Market on February 11th in Libby. After that they'll be available online! No cuddly photos this week cause the cats & kittens discovered that the previous melty temps followed by some freezing temps means a solid snowpack and they can go everywhere and anywhere, which also meant I had to do a lot of monitoring from the cabin windows and porch like a worried parent watching their kids do potentially dangerous things â–¡ Where to find it all?
The Mini Microgreen Market of course, running all winter! Thursdays from 12-1pm at the Libby Chamber of Commerce *come inside where it's warm & toasty while the micros are chill in their mini cooler* The Sweetheart Market February 11th from 10-6pm at the Ponderosa Room in Libby Another Wednesday, another reminder about the Mini Microgreen Market tomorrow from 12-1pm at the Libby Area Chamber. Also, I'll be at the Sweetheart Market, February 11th, from 10-6 in Libby. Some of my multiple winter projects has been working on making more products ya'll loved and new ones! This'll be the place to see them all before the season of fresh flowers begins! What are Microgreens?
What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The Mini Microgreen Market of course, running all winter! Thursdays from 12-1pm at the Libby Chamber of Commerce *come inside where it's warm & toasty while the micros are chill in their mini cooler* Half Moon? What!? Why? So many others do bimonthly newsletters on the Full and New Moon. They always get the attention. They always get the fandom. They always get the importance. The Half Moon, also called quarter moon, but when you look at it with your actual eyeballs it isn’t quarter, its half! (it’s a celestial pet peeve of mine) Half Dark. Half Light. And each switching sides every time. One time growing in light, the other time growing in dark. It isn’t the pause between the inhale and the exhale, it *is* the inhale and the exhale. It is the middle road.
You may feel bound by your path that you’ve spent years shoveling. It feels easy to keep pacing back and forth, forgetting all the work you spent shoveling. It feels easy to keep pacing back and forth on the well worn road, when all that shoveling has built high walls and the surrounding snowpack feels unstable. It feels easy to stay on the safety of the trail, until you see the snowshoes sitting in the corner. Sometimes that little boost, to not fall through the snowpack, to lessen the struggle on the pathless road, is all we need. And, honestly, a few well placed scraps of wood, like a few stepping stones across a fast moving stream, can help you onto the unplanned path. Or maybe a friend with bigger feet to break the trail. Farming was not the path I planned for myself nor is it an easy one. I've tried following the path of others, the well worn path that was cleared before I even thought about stepping foot on it, one that others did the work to clear. But once I placed my foot, I found that the easy road, the tried and tested methods of growing, selling, and production was too well worn for me. Because, I like the work of clearing a trail, shoveling a path, opening a road.
Future Learning Opportunities Are you ready to step into the wilderness? Saturday, March 4th: Free the Seeds in Kalispell I'll be giving a presentation on Edible Garden Weeds: The Accidental Harvest. Stop by for all the free presentations, info booths, and, of course, free seeds! Tuesdays in May: Troy Adult Education Program I'll be teaching a Spring Wildflower & Native Plant ID class on Tuesday evenings in May and early June. Two indoor classes to cover the basics and two outings to meet all the wonderful spring plants around Troy. Sign-ups to be announced later. Seasonal On-Farm Foraging Classes: Dragon's Breath Farm Come learn about commonly available seasonal edible plants in our region. We'll meet the plants, learn about their edible and also medicinal qualities, proper foraging etiquette, and taste the wonders of the wilds. I'll be updating the schedule as we get closer to spring. Where to find it all?
Mini Microgreen Market on Thursdays at the Libby Area Chamber from 12-1pm. Seeds are available to ship with so many new products coming soon! Another Wednesday, another reminder about the Mini Microgreen Market each Thursday throughout the winter. Stop by (inside) the Libby Chamber of Commerce between 12-1pm to pick them up! If you need to reserve any, or request a local drop off (within Libby only please), reply and I'll set them aside for you. What are Microgreens?
What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The Mini Microgreen Market of course, running all winter! Thursdays from 12-1pm at the Libby Chamber of Commerce *come inside where it's warm & toasty while the micros are chill in their mini cooler* Thursday is the Mini Microgreen Market at the Libby Chamber from 12-1pm. Come get your old fav or discover a new one! There'll be the trusty Mild Mix, zesty Spicy Mix, Sunflower Shoots, and the new Nasturtiums which are sure to put a smile on your face and a pep in your step on these dreary, foggy, damp, and cold winter days. I'm working on getting the inventory management on the online store fixed so its streamlined for both you and me, but until then, reply to this email with your order to ensure it'll be available or just stop by during the Mini Microgreen Market and test your luck. What are Microgreens?
What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The Mini Microgreen Market of course, running all winter! Thursdays from 12-1pm at the Libby Chamber of Commerce Luckily, before the the temperature plummeted well below zero, the snow piled up high. This helps insulate the soil and all that live in it from the frigid air temps. It's also super fluffy and fun to walk through 😝 These temps are nothing to mess with. Some things, like heaters among the pumphouse and pipes, were already going strong to keep out the cold. And the woodstove was cranking to keep me and the kitties comfortable. Awaking at 2am to see the temps already near -30F, I went out to check on the chickens as this is much colder than they have ever dealt with before... I was able to add an extra heater to their two heat lamps to help them through. Chickens do well with cold in general, but they have their limits and they've gotten frostbite before at much milder temps so I wasn't going to assume they'd be fine. They mainly huddled together in their heated hut covered in snow to keep as warm as possible. The now rain and +40F temps may be frustrating for us to deal with all the slush and compacted snow and ice, but they are just fine with the much warmer temps now. And even thought the cold makes everything a bit harder, it was still so nice to get out in the shortest amount of clear sunshine with a walk down to get the mail. Where to find it all?
The next delivery is January 5th to help us all welcome in the New Year with fresh microgreens and hopeful seeds! Winter Solstice. In our modern calendar we call it the beginning of winter, which can seem a little disheartening when it's been a cold and snow-covered world outside for weeks. Yet, ours is not the only calendar in the world. There are many ways of describing the movement of time through our lives and our experiences with that. Most are based upon what that experience is like in that cultures specific location, the land they live with and depend upon. Calendars are land-based just like languages, cultures, and people. For me, I consider this the height of winter and with the sun's return, it begins to decline. Yes, the cold and the snow remains and will be with us for awhile, even get colder and snowier, and that new sunshine carries almost no warmth. Yet, in a few more weeks, the sap in the trees begin to rise. Then the crack of the coldest temps and the flurries of snow feel more like a tempestuous tantrum of a toddler trying to hold onto winter while spring is beginning to write the rules of it's new game. And the sunshine in mid-February carries the intense promise of the warmth of June. Until then it is still a time of rest, a time of dreaming, a time of planning, a time of preparation before the action of spring begins. And if you need a small reminder of the growth and green that is to come, stop by the Libby Chamber of Commerce Thursday from 12-1pm to pick up some microgreens! and the microgreens aren't the only green things waiting for spring. These are some of the overwintering perennials in the greenhouse sleeping through the subzero temps. Why clear the truck to get the mail when I can walk in the accumulating powder! Also, walking through deep snow gives the same workout to your legs as walking uphill does. ... Thus, trudging through snow on flat ground is similar to walking uphill. Maybe grandpa wasn't lying about walking uphill both ways to school?! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
Pick up at the Libby Chamber of Commerce Thursdays from 12-1pm Pickup available December 15th from 12-1pm at the Libby Chamber of Commerce What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
Pick up at the Libby Chamber of Commerce Thursdays from 12-1pm While we in the North inch ever daily towards the darkness of winter, where sometimes the brightest light is the Moon or Stars shining upon a crisp snowpack, I work diligently on the task of counting my small blessings, my seeds! While the wind blows the snow in crashing swirls upon my cabin's windows, I sit inside surrounded by seeds as I work to thresh, count, and package them. Saving seeds is not something you do on a whim, for they are promises for the future forged in the past. In their tiny shells and bodies, they gather up all the sunshine, wind, and rain from last season, memories of microbes, animals, and insects, and hopefully, memories of me, first planting them into the soil, then brimming with joy as I watch them grow, walking past them to see what they need, and finally harvesting them in fall so that they may find new homes this winter and maybe be planted by your hands this spring. If you too want to help them grow, check out my online farm store for available varieties and you can gift yourself or someone you love a few little promises for the future while we sit in the cold darkness of winter. The returned Winter Weekly Pop-Up for picking up Microgreens, Seeds, and other farm delights will be Thursday from 12-1pm at the Libby Chamber of Commerce. This gives me a chance to get out of the cold and you a chance to see what else there is to do in winter. I won't have a everything on display but I'll bring all available items along so check the website for what's available even if you just wanna email me your order and pay when you pick up. Seeds are available to ship as well! These are Plantain seeds. Some of the chaff is still present after doing the bulk of the threshing. The most common way to separate the rest is the real messy bit! It involves using a fan to create a gentle breeze as you let the material (chaff, seeds, and all) fall through the breeze. The heavier seed falls down onto your tarp or blanket and the chaff blows away. I've been waiting for all the seeds to be at this stage so I can clean up only one mess instead of many :) And even if views like this are only a distant dream right now, another promise for the future to look forward to is a spring and summer filled with ways to learn on the farm and in the woods. I'll be teaching a series of foraging and plant id classes on the farm as well as in Troy so that you too can wander the wilds with confidence and recognize a few new plant friends! More details will be available closer to spring but you can check out my website by clicking the 'Find Out More' button way down below to, well, find out a bit more until then. Even if it's cold, dark, and windy outside remember to bundle up and get a little bit of daylight (even if you can't see the Sun, it's up there!) Because, we northerners know that cabin fever is real and it's even worse when you and your seeds are itching for spring to come so we can sow out little promises for the future together. What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The Microgreens will return next Thursday for local pickup in Libby from 12-1pm at the Chamber of Commerce. Order online for local pickup or ship of Seeds, Crafts, & Botanicals! |
AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
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