Nurture

Open for all mothers to share, support, & grow.

We will meet the first Sunday of each month, 2-4 pm.

Babies welcome.

Adri (from Wheatberry Bakery in Amherst) and I are starting a support group for mothers, in Shutesbury.
The first meeting will be April Fool’s Day, 2-4 pm.

Email Sarah at  ediereina(a)aol.com or  Adri at   arbreadrie(a)yahoo.com  for more info and location. Thanks!

Birch Moon at Open Studios in Deerfield

Wednesday, NOV 30th  9 am-1 pm

  I will be at Heavenly Hues Wool Studio with my bodycare
(creams, salves, lip balm kits, stocking stuffers!)  in Deerfield

Where: 147 Mill Village Rd, Deerfield –North of Yankee Candle/South of Historic Deerfield

Please come see offerings from: Heavenly Hues Wool Studio (plant-dyed felt, yarn, roving & silk)

Birch Moon Herbals (natural body care ($3 lip balms, $10 creams, $6 spritzers + more) & lip balm kits $18 everything included!)

Call or email Sarah 259-1183 to pre-order for large orders or to make sure your favorite items will be available!

Also for more than 3 lip balm kits a pre-order would be helpful!  Thanks, Sarah

Free Ramblin’ Kids (upcycled wool slip-pers for babies & toddlers, pins, stuffed toys & other upcycled treasures)

Heavenly Hues will also be at Greenfield’s Mkt 12/3 or contact for an appt. See Birch Moon Farm and Herbals @ http://birchmoonherbals.wordpress.com
and Free Ramblin’ Kids on Facebook.

Want more info? Call Julie 768-8180 or Sarah 259-1183

Please excuse the dis-jointedness of this post – I am battling a new computer and am cut and pasting a lot here… 

Official OPEN hours are ending….

SO, if you need anything, like Olive Oil, olives, tomatoes, greens,
carrots, celery, cucumbers… call and set up a time that works for you!

To be clear, we are no longer open Wednesdays and Saturdays.
It’s time to close for the season.

We have lots left to eat/ sell, but it’s getting harder and harder to be available those particular hours.

Time to focus back on the family and preparing for Winter!

Hope to still see you around…  Happy Autumn, Sarah

Open tomorrow, Saturday 12-4

Hope to see you tomorrow, Saturday, from 12-4 pm!

We have carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, kale, collards, cooking greens, baby red romaine lettuce, olive oil, olives, fresh ground whole wheat flour (grown here!), as well as salves, lip balms, creams, tea blends and all the herbal stuff.

Bulk dried herbs we always have, and love to make custom tea blends. Most herbs are from Mountain Rose Herbs in Oregon, all organic, and some are grown here. It used to be the other way around, mostly grown here, but I just got in my stainless steel screening to dry the herbs on and need to make a new drying rack. I wasn’t satisfied before with the aluminum (yuck) or vinyl (contains lead) window screening that most people (including me before I thought about it) use. We really have to question everything, it seems, these days. But one thing at a time, then make a simple change. Live with it until it becomes habit, part of your world, then tackle another. It’s no help to anyone, the Earth, or yourself, to get overwhelmed!

By the way, did you see the Climate Reality Project yesterday? 24 hours of climate REALITY, from people all over the world, speaking live about what’s really happening weather and climate-wise, everywhere. Uncensored and live. I was glad a friend reminded us so we could watch for the last 2 hours, but you can view it here any time. Each hour seems to be similar, except the panel discussions about half-way through each. Al Gore’s speech was a great one, in English, easy. #24, the last one. Some (all?) others were translations of this, with additions here and there.

It’s time for us to take care of our Mother Earth, for without her, what will we have?

Shouldn’t this be a priority, above all else?

Priority above using electricity without thinking of what it means to be burning all that coal, or supporting those nuclear plants? Above driving around and shopping? Above all our ideas of what we “need” to keep our comfortable lives?

IDEAS: Consolidate trips, carpool. Hang your clothes to dry in the fresh air. Spring for one LED light bulb for your reading light or a commonly used light in your home.  Walk or ride a bike to visit a friend close-by. Buy food in bulk and don’t buy food in plastic packaging. If using your oven, also throw in some squash, or tomatoes and garlic, or shiitakes in butter, to roast for another meal – make more use out of the energy used. Make or buy a thermal cooker (uses 1/10 or less of the energy). Use less: less lights at night, no lights during the day if you can, …   I’m running out of ideas but I know there are more! Post a comment if you want with your ideas.

We can do this. We have to do this. Really, now. Beautiful things will happen.

Enjoy this lovely Autumn weather. Thanks for listening.

Learning to make handmade shoes

One would think there is enough to do on a farm, without adding other projects,
but adding projects just happens to be my specialty, so….

I LOVE making shoes!! I’m just getting started, don’t really know anything yet, but I’m very proud of them, and excited to make more, very simple, simple shoes. I was never even a big shoe person, more of a functional shoe person – as long as they were comfortable, and inexpensive… then I sprung for some handmade shoes at the Shutesbury Farmers & Artisans Market (every Saturday morning from 8:30-noon) from Sharon Raymond and my whole outlook changed.  They fact that I could BUY shoes, made by someONE, a person, HERE, in Shutesbury, was just amazing, and I was very proud of my shoes.

So now I’m learning from Sharon, and just finished my first pair of adult shoes (mine! both pics above),
after making a pair for my friend’s sweetie son, with moon and stars (below)

My kids jumped right on board and are playing around with shoes made from natural materials like these birchbark shoes.

It’s such an interesting thing, making shoes. When I was little my mother taught me to sew, and I sewed clothes for my mice, and my dolls, and then later for me, and I’ve just started up again making skirts and pants. It’s really pretty easy once you know the basics, and easier if you own a sewing machine. But shoes was always something you HAD to BUY, right? I mean, who could make a pair of leather shoes, as well as the factory in China? ha ha.

I can even buy professional soles to glue on with toxic glue, but I’m not a pro and really am just beginning to learn, and I prefer the natural rubber, sewed on. My daughter is trying a pair mostly on her own, and they are coming out beautifully! She preferred to turn the leather suede-side out, and they look like delicious melted chocolate shoes (below). She’ll have them for her “inside shoes” at school. I told her to wait until I got home to glue them together (before sewing) but came home to find them done, ready to punch holes. Self-motivated creature.

Sharon’s coming out with a new book, or new books soon, and videos to follow, and I really encourage everyone with creative juice to spare to even just think about trying, about what you would make if you made 1 pair of very simple, functional, beautiful shoes or sandals. There are tools to invest in, not many, but some, like punches and a stitching awl. I was lucky to find leather at the flea market. But there’s shoes made of fabric. Wool. Felt. So many options. People could group together and buy tools to share, and come together once a week  for potluck and shoemaking – what a great Winter project.

Maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself. But the point is, I’m inspired. And excited. This feeds a part of me that I wasn’t taking care of before. A fun night-time project (that sometimes sneaks into my days in between canning tomatoes and freezing peaches).

Did I mention I turned our bedroom into a workshop?

PS. We are still farming as well and will be open this and every Saturday 12-4. And Wednesdays 4-6. Call or email if you need anything off-hours or off-days, we’re usually around, somewhere, doing some project….

Impt – our friend and the Tar sands pipeline protest

Hi again,

One thing I forgot (because I hadn’t read Wheatberry’s post yet) is that there is a demonstration in Washington DC protesting the Tar Sands Pipeline and our friend Ben Lester is going, if anyone wants to go with him (to get arrested) and stand up for this, it’s very important. I feel ashamed and rediculous for not saying an automatic YES! We’ll be there! but I have to figure it out with my family, as do you. Read their blog post for more info, and send him any words of support you can or better yet, join him!!!

http://www.localgrain.org/fieldsandfire/

THANKS!!!   Sarah

OPEN today, last corn, salad dressing

Hi everyone, corn season is winding down for us, the last of the Silver Queen is ready to be picked! It’s actually not especially sweet, but very flavorful and delicious – we prefer it to any other corn (but we’re also a little biased!)

We’ve been canning and freezing like mad – like squirrels getting ready for winter. I feel so lucky to have all this amazing food for our family. We’ve made tomato sauce, and frozen peaches, corn and blueberries. Lots that I haven’t gotten to – like ratatouille, pickles, pickled beets, green beans, but there’s always next year if they don’t happen this fall. I love that there’s always next year for all the dreams we don’t get to…

So today (Wed) we’ll be open from 4-6, with corn, tomatoes, arugula, mixed cooking greens, kale, collards (I have some good recipes for these that even people who don’t like kale love!), parsley, cucumbers, pick-your-own flowers, olive oil and kalamata olives (delicious!). 

By the way, for those of you who have already bought olives, they are brined in my family’s own organic wine vinegar (which unfortunately they do not sell, I asked…) so save that brine, mix it in the blender with shallots or red onion, garlic, mustard, fresh herbs, a little honey, maybe some regular vinegar (the brine’s a little salty) and slowly drizzle in some olive oil. Adjust amounts until you love the flavor! Once you figure out some good dressings you’ll never go back to store dressings. Our other favorite dressing  is (goat) yogurt, some soft goat cheese, garlic, shallots or small onion, a little brine or rice vinegar and parsley or basil (or sometimes mint and cucumbers). Very simple, easy – blend in a cuisinart or blender!

Hope to see you later today, and if we dont, hope you enjoy these beautiful summer days!  Blessings, Sarah