Peace and Quiet Tranquility

Good evening all,

First actual snow fall………and so beautiful.

We worked most of the daylight hours yesterday to tighten up, pick up , cover up and fill up (The firewood)! And then, just as promised, the snow began so lightly at 3 pm.

We all live in a world of background white noise: traffic, radio, television, house appliances. True silence is just as elusive as full night darkness.

And so, last night, just at twilight, with snow falling all around, I walked among my sheep as they were bedding down for the night ,they were so contented at being in a snug shelter for the evening and making happy murmurings. And within a few moments of the last bit of light leaving… total quiet. How is that possible? 50 large wooly animals, and not a peep ( or bah)? They were listening along with me too. Listening to the silence, and the snow falling, so quietly and gently. Silly sounding words I know, but how often do we really have total quiet? Our world and life is full of motion and sound, I appreciate and value these silent moments on my farm……

And this week, we have no chef prepared foods on our list, but we have added a homemade red sauce for pasta, a sweet chunky homemade applesauce, and peeled butternut squash all vacuumed sealed and ready to go!

Delivery will be on Thursday this week, and orders would be appreciated to be sent to me by Wednesday evening. For all of you that ordered pies, turkey, duck and goose I will deliver those on Thursday, or you can come to the shop. We will be open Wednesday and Thursday this week 2-5 pm!

Linda, my computer/farm helper gal supreme ( I thank her every day for her skills in keeping me in the 21st century) has been working on our gift certificates for the holiday, so if you’d like to offer some as holiday gifts we can personalize them and I can include them in your delivery order for Thursday…..

Grateful as always, I hope that you all have a happy blissful holiday with family and friends,

Travel safely,

Kath

Shooting Stars

Good morning all !

4 o’clock in the morning seems like a teeny tiny bit of a stretch when you are all snuggled up in a cozy warm bed to hop out and bundle up to look at the shooting stars……BUT what a show!

I tiptoed ( about as quietly as a freight train in my old house) down the stairs at 4a.m this morning, dressed in my woolies and long johns, asked my little dog Violet if she wanted to go outside with me ( are you KIDDING she said and put her head back under her blanket),tossed on heavy boots and filled a thermos with hot coffee , rousted my big dog boys out of their winter pen…..

They are always up for an adventure…….

And sat for almost an hour to watch the “Fireflies “ of the sky . We are at almost total darkness here at the farm, very little urban light pollution, so the display was awesome and well worth the early morning rise. Meteor shower watching was a pastime that as little kids we enjoyed with my Dad so I thought a lot about him this morning.

My big boys enjoy any excuse to snuggle up next to me and hold my hand or wrist in their mouths and vigorously exfoliate any exposed skin with their joyful licking…..almost a year old now ,Kip and Leo are slowly working their way into their jobs of farm guardian dogs. They will live their lives outside with the sheep, ducks geese and chickens, protecting and warning away any predators foolish enough to venture into “their “ territory, and vigorously protecting when the need arises.

Soooooooooooo,

This is the last week to order holiday pies, I have 2 turkeys left that could be ordered, duck and goose too, 8 pound hams , pork roasts and a few beef roasts available as well. So, reserve your holiday meals and pies now , I will deliver Friday this week and THURSDAY (the 23rd)next week. Fresh duck, turkey and goose will be ready by Thursday next week.

Holiday week order deadline will be WEDNESDAY December 22.

Again and again I am reminded how lucky I am to be offering up our local fresh farm foods, and how fortunate I am to live in the wonderful state…… thank you all…. Really and truly,

Kath

Turkeys Still Available!

Goooooooood afternoon All…..

So what happened to the 50 degree temps that our weather predictors promised for today? Maine happened that’s what……temps are on a slight rise though because the fog was thick thick thick! It was hard to see the borders of the fields today it was a so dense….. We have a very very large order to gather and pack Thursday, so all deliveries will happen Saturday this week, and the Red Shed will be closed for retail business Thursday (just this week though) because we need to get this special order packed and ready to go for Friday morning. Over the years here in Auburn, I have been very privileged to cultivate a mutually agreeable relationship with Bates college, the professors and their students. This order is a direct result of that relationship. I have had some wonderful students intern here with me to learn the ins and outs of agriculture. Some discovered early on that it was NOT for them, and others have gone on to incorporate ag in some aspect of their professional lives. AND, as much as they learned (hopefully)from me, I have learned so much more from them ! I keep in contact with many of them and some do return to visit and see what new developments have transpired. And, upon request from a customer, I inquired from our dairy gal if her milk and dairy products were pasteurized. They are not…… no wonder they taste so dang good! I really really enjoy her yogurt! Have you tried it yet? Orders for holiday turkey ( I have just a few live ones left) fresh duck and goose are now being accepted, please let me know sooner rather than later , I want to make sure we have all that we need. I do also have some 8 plus pound hams in my freezer available for holiday meals. Additionally Katie Made bakery will again offer up their pie list for pre orders ! So don’t delay , and as always, my grateful thanks and appreciation for all of you that help to support our fabulous local foods and excellent small Maine farms……….. Grateful for all of you Kath