WELCOME SCRAPPY CHIC!

If you’ve seen the beautiful fabric items in the What’s New box of the Market Page they are from our newest Vendor. We’re glad to welcome Vickie aboard and look forward to more of her creations.

“A lot has happened to bring us here and we are so thankful!  First we moved close enough to be buyers from this wonderful market, then the opportunity came to be a vendor! I am a “Repurposer.”  I love taking things headed for disposal and making useful items for home and family.  I crochet rugs and baskets and bags primarily from recycled, repurposed fabric remnants.  Thank you for the opportunity to show you my treasures!”

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

Mt. Moriah Farms What an eventful week here on the farm! We have three new additions! Vivian and Blossom both kidded out and their babies are doing fantastic! Vivian had twin bucklings and Blossom had a single buckling. We named them Cupid, Casanova, and Felix! At a week old (as long as the kids are progressing in growth without any issues) we start pulling them off the moms in the evening and put them back with the moms after the morning milkings! We then use the milk we get to make our 100% goat milk soaps! This does several things… First, it ensures the kids are used to being handled; secondly, it starts the weaning process; thirdly, it keeps the mom’s milk production up. The moms will start to naturally wean the kids off and the milk supply will start to go down. Since we milk them for 9 months out of the year we want to keep that production going! Enjoy the pictures, they are cutie pies for sure!

AVALON FARMS Wendy sends word that she won’t be listing again this week as they as still in Virginia dealing with a family medical emergency. She thanks everyone for their prayers.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

WELCOME MT. MORIAH FARMS!

“Hey y’all! We are Mt. Moriah Farms located in Dale County, Alabama. We are so very excited to join!

Let me tell you a little about us! We are a family owned farm. My parents started the farm back in 2009 and things have grown to what they are today! As I was growing up I had a huge interest in livestock. Over time I took it over, becoming the manager of all things outside animal wise.

Last year my parents decided it was time for them to retire and they sold the farm. A few months later I got married to an amazing firefighter and took the farm name with us! We have Nigerian Dwarf goats, a couple of bee hives and a small flock of chickens. So we’re working to slowly grow the farm back again!

We hope you will look into our products and give them a try!”

Mia Foster Scott

Editor’s Note – Mia and the Mt. Moriah folks have been friends and participants at M@D events for many years. It’s a blessing to have them as part of our weekly activities now and they look forward to continuing being a blessing to our Market family.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

WHAT FARMERS DO IN WINTER, PART II

Thanks for the great feedback on last week’s peek at our farms. Some more of our folks are sharing.

Grier Acres:
At Grier Acres we pull soil samples for the pecans, the garden, and the blueberries in January.  After we get the results, we usually pick up 2 tons of organic chicken litter fertilizer from our source in Florida .  What doesn’t go on the pecans goes in the garden. 

We will clean up the garden area, and fix the electric fence surrounding it.  Necessary repairs are made to the ram pump and the irrigation system.

Hive checks are also done in January/February. The bees will continue to be fed until the spring nectar flow begins. 

We try to do some of our prescribed burns in January and February, weather permitting. 

Our goats usually kid in January, February, or March so we’re busy with them and the does as well. 

Routine equipment repairs and maintenance are done during the winter months in preparation for the upcoming year.

Duck Nugget Farm:

Winter time blues don’t happen at Duck Nugget Farm. This time of year our ducks continue to lay regardless if the temperatures are too cold for us.

Winter is the time to do repairs on equipment, tractors and property fence lines. It is also the time when the flock is expanded and new or different
breed of birds are added to the farm. We currently have 70 plus eggs in the incubators at different stages with plans to increase the numbers within the next month. Babies have started hatching this week and will continue till spring.

We’ve raised our entire flock from eggs since the start and have never purchased live birds, preserving the quality of the flock. Our ducks and geese have roots from Alaska to Florida. For Duck Nugget Farm winter is baby growing season. With that comes all duties and the hours to get them from the egg to life with the flock and be self-reliant. Most often its busier during the winter than the rest of the year.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

WHAT DO FARMERS DO IN WINTER?

As it turns out – LOTS! While it’s normal to have fewer fresh vegetables available during the winter months, we thought you would enjoy a peek into the work that makes it possible for us to offer wholesome sustainable foods all year long. Enjoy!

3LC Apiary:

• Review the remaining winter stores in each hive;  this includes both visual checks of the upper hive boxes and weighing of the hives each month.
• Check for varroa mite loads and treat hives that are too high with a natural organic acid treatment.
• Repair hive equipment and build new hive equipment
• Watch flight activity at the entrance of each hive to see if the bees are bringing in pollen in the late morning when temperatures exceed 50*F;  this is a sign that the queen is still on the job.
• Clean out and refresh oil pans under the screen bottom board – this is also a good check on mite loads and overall bee colony activity based on what is falling through the screen into the pan

D’s Jellies: On cold days, we stay inside where it’s warm. If we have warmer days, we enjoy sitting on our front porch. In February, new potatoes will be planted in our garden.  I begin looking for canning jars for my Jellies.  We make plans for the rest of our garden as well as for bedding plants for pots and our garden shed flowerbed.  January and February are good months for planning! 

Avalon Farms:
Crop planning (what, when, where, how much and how often)
Seed buying 
(Both of above require lots of seed catalog reading and comparing.)

Infrastructure
- building additional wash station
- building greens washer/bubbler

Cleaning and maintenance 
- need to sanitize walk-in cooler
- organize barns and storage

Lots of thoughts about how to realistically improve operations and production.

Researching and trying to learn new things.

Spend as much time as possible sitting in the sun on the porch. It’s so nice to actually enjoy the sun light as opposed to the summer heat.

Rest. Make lots of plans. Dream of weed/bug free gardens.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

MORE CURES FOR BEATING WINTER BLUES

Last week we looked at causes and a few cures for winter blues. This week we’ll conclude this topic with some more great tips.

8. Express Gratitude: Doing for others and being grateful is emphasized by most long-standing religious traditions and spiritual practices. It creates a surge of feel-good brain chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.
According to gratitude expert Robert Emmons, PhD, gratitude may work by reducing underlying negative emotions such as regret, envy, frustration, and resentment. One common way of developing a habit of gratitude is by journaling, and some find that sharing those grateful thoughts with others even better. A practical way to do this is to put pen to paper and actually write actual thank-you notes for any gift or act of kindness or hospitality you received during the holidays.hese neurotransmitters are essential for making you feel motivated, energetic, and interested in life.

9. Stop Idealizing the Holidays: Stop comparing your last holiday to the idealized holidays of your childhood, the movies, or what you imagine others are experiencing. The actual holidays are short, only a few days out of the year and should not color your feelings when they’re over. This is where meditation can really help.

10. Clean Up Your Diet. For many inthe US, the carb fest starts on Halloween and continues through New Year’s Day, quite literally a 3-month-long sugar binge that contributes to mood swings, irritability, and brain fog.
Replace unhealthy processed foods with plenty of vegetables, high-quality protein, and mood-boosting healthy fats like those in nuts, avocados, fatty fish, and coconut.

11. Cut Yourself Some Slack. IBe patient with yourself and know that, just as surely as spring follows winter, your post-holiday blues will fade with the change of the seasons. And speaking of cutting yourself some slack … Save yourself some heartache and skip making any New Year’s resolutions.
This is not the time to heap on unrealistic expectations — only 8% of those who make resolutions achieve their goals.
This doesn’t mean you should not take steps towards improving your health, but there is no point setting yourself up for failure when you’re already feeling down.

If these things fail to lighten your mood you may wish to consider the following:

12. Light Therapy: By far the most popular, well studied, and successful treatment for winter blues is the therapeutic use of light. Light therapy involves sitting close to a light box for 30 minutes a day, usually shortly after waking up.
These boxes generally provide 10,000 lux (a measure of light intensity) which is about 100 times brighter than typical indoor lighting, but only 1/5 the brightness of a sunny day. 
During your session your eyes must be open, so you can use this time to read, eat, chat on the phone, or catch up on work. The light helps lower the abnormal high melatonin levels that people with winter depression often have.
The Center for Environmental Therapeutics  recommends using white light rather than colored or full spectrum light. If you choose a fluorescent lamp, pick one with a screen that filters out UV rays which can harm your eyes. If you are working with a health care professional, follow their instructions on how long and when to use your light box.
Note: Do not self-prescribe light therapy if you have bipolar disorder as it can trigger mania.

13. Consider a Dawn Simulator This is a  little-known remedy that works much like light box therapy. A dawn simulator is basically an alarm clock that works by gently waking you with light rather than sound. It mimics natural sunrise by starting with a dim light that gradually brightens over 30 to 45 minutes.  It is reported to be much easier since your “session” is over by the time you get out of bed!
Research shows that using a dawn simulator not only improves well-being and mood, but also increases mental performance, by modulating cortisol and melatonin production. 

15. Music: Winter is not the time to listen to melancholy music. Focus on upbeat tunes that make you happy. And dance! It’s great exercise.

15. Talk it Out: Consider Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) a try if none of the above works. Also known as “talk therapy,” it seems to be more effective in the long run. During therapy, you’ll learn how to overcome your tendency to hibernate and challenge negative thought patterns that contribute to your seasonal malaise. 

A wonderful alternative to a therapist is to engage with people you love. Of all the excellent advice listed above this is the one we recommend most. No doubt there are others who also need a change of scenery, the kindness of a friend, and with the surge in January illness, maybe even a pot of chicken soup.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

CAUSES & CURES: BEATING WINTER BLUES

Wouldn’t it be lovely to start the New Year feeling energized and ready to take on the world? Unfortunately that’s not the case for most people. Even children get winter blues and while there is no medical consensus as to what causes this, there are theories and proven effective ways to deal with it. While nutrition is one of many factors involved we thought the topic timely and important enough to tackle.

Causes
Abnormal Neurotransmitter Levels: The theory is that a lack of sunlight affects the workings of the hypothalamus which, in turn, affects the formation of neurotransmitters, chemicals that brain cells use to communicate with each other. People experiencing winter depression typically have low levels of serotonin (the happiness molecule), and high levels of melatonin (the need to sleep molecule).
They also tend to have lower levels of dopamine and norepinephrine. Both of these neurotransmitters are essential for making you feel motivated, energetic, and interested in life.

Circadian Rhythm Dysfunction: One study that followed patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), an extreme form of winter blues, concluded that this disorder is similar to jet lag. It’s thought that people with SAD release melatonin too early or for too long a period during the winter, contributing to their lethargy.

Vitamin D Deficiency: For much of North America and Europe, the UV index reaching 3 or above only happens during the summer months which may explain why an estimated 77% of Americans have subpar levels of vitamin D. This deficiency may be responsible for the depression and anxiety some people experience during the winter months. The only way to know how low your vitamin D level is and how much vitamin D you need to get it back to normal is to get your vitamin D level tested.

Other factors:

Genetics: It’s thought that there is a genetic component to seasonal blues since it often runs in families, especially those with a history of depression or substance abuse. Interestingly, some researchers believe that winter depression might be a survival mechanism that helped our ancestors survive harsh winters. Just as bears, chipmunks, and hedgehogs hibernate in the winter, it’s possible that some of us have an inherent tendency to semi-hibernate during the darkest months to conserve energy.

Post-Holiday Depression: There’s a subcategory of winter blues known as post-holiday depression. For some the holidays are fraught with pitfalls that can leave one feeling down: eating badly, drinking too much, sleeping too little, and neglecting normal exercise.. Both financial and unresolved family issues can worsen this.

How to Beat Winter Blues
Thankfully, winter blues usually subside on its own with the warmer, brighter days of spring, but there’s no reason to wait until then to feel better. These proven remedies can have you feeling happier and more energetic.

1. Eat a Serotonin-Boosting Diet. If you’ve got winter blues, you may find yourself craving and eating more sugar and refined carbohydrates than usual. A healthy diet should emphasize vegetables, fruit, lean protein sources, and healthy fats, but you don’t have to completely give up eating carbohydrates. In fact, there’s one dietary “trick” that raises levels of mood-boosting serotonin — consuming carbohydrates on their own, separate from protein.

2. Take the Right Supplements:
FISH OIL may be the #1 supplement for treating winter depression. Iceland is one of the northernmost countries in the world, yet has one of the lowest rates of a serious form of seasonal depression known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The secret is believed to be their huge consumption of fish — 225 pounds per person per year! That would be a challenge for the rest of us, so taking a high quality fish oil supplement is recommended.
VITAMIN D When healthy adults with winter blues were given 10 to 20 mcg (400 to 800 IU) of vitamin D, their mood improved considerably.
TRYPTOPHAN is an amino acid that’s the precursor of happiness-boosting serotonin. Research has found tryptophan to be as effective for depression as antidepressant drugs. It is most effective when used with LIGHT THERAPY.
ST. JOHN’S WORT is specifically helpful for winter blues, but should be used with caution as it has many side effects and interactions.

3. Practice Meditation – this ancient practice has been proven to help.

4. Get Cozy. Scandinavians don’t look at winter as something to be endured. They embrace it, and one of the ways they do this is by getting cozy. The Danish call it hygge (pronounced hoo-ga). It is a time to slow down and enjoy being at home, reflecting, and spending quality time with friends and loved ones. It’s simply a matter of changing your mindset to embrace, rather than resist, winter.

5. Get Some Physical Exercise. Don’t take the idea of spending time curled up in front of the fire too far. It’s important to stay physically active. Exercise is one of the most important things you can do to stay happy all year long as it releases all the good brain chemicals: serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and endorphins. If exercise outdoors is not possible, exercise indoors with your yoga mat or treadmill near a nearby window to get more daylight, if you can.

6. Plan Something to Look Forward To. If you’ve always wanted to try a particular hobby, now is an excellent time to get started. It turns out that purposeful activities like knitting, sewing, woodworking, arts and crafts, and home repairs can focus your mind, thereby improving mental well-being. One study found that over 80% of knitters with depression reported feeling happier when they knitted due to an increase in their dopamine levels.

The heart of winter is also an excellent time to build anticipation by making long-range plans like next year’s summer vacation. Oddly, it’s been found that people who travel actually get a greater boost of happiness from the anticipation of the trip than from the trip itself. So even if you have to delay your trip, you’ll still get a happiness boost now just thinking about it.

One great way our Market vendors build anticipation is by poring through gardening catalogs planning your spring garden strategy.

7. Cross an Item Off Your “To-Do” List. Even a task as small as clearing out your junk drawer can increase your dopamine levels. Low dopamine is linked to apathy, boredom, and general lack of zest for life.

Next week we’ll share some more coping strategies.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

WE’VE BEEN BUSY DURING CHRISTMAS BREAK

What a great way to start 2022! This has been one of our goals and now that it’s done we need your help getting word out that Market at Dothan is now able to provide Fresh, Local, Sustainable and Year Round food for more people in our community. We only ask that you please remember to mention it in conversations with others about local foods.

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods

FOOD FOR THE SOUL

We talk about food for the body most of the year around here. With this being the last newsletter of 2021 we thought we’d talk about something less temporal.

There’s something about Christmas that seems to drive our emotions. For some it truly is the most wonderful time of the year, and on the other end of the spectrum it can open deep wounds. While we hope and pray it’s wonderful for all of you, we can’t ignore that’s not always the case. So this part of our newsletter is dedicated to equipping you to deal with all aspects of the holiday season.

Dave Ramsey offers 13 great tips to reduce holiday stress in this great ARTICLE. The section about focusing on CONNECTIONS with others is superb.

Be sure to watch the 5 min video at the start of this slide show produced by IN HEALTH. Some of these recommendations mirror Ramsey’s.

In this list MAYO CLINIC wisely starts with acknowledging sadness and /or loss you may have experienced. The suggestions for breathers are great.

HUFFINGTON POST identifies things that can trigger anxiety and depressing during the holidays including trying to do too much.

Lastly (falling under the category of taking a breather!) a book recommendation by one of your Market Manager’s favorite authors, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth behind the Birth of Christ by Timothy J Keller. THIS PAGE contains some excerpts.

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

This is our last order cycle for 2021

Pickup for this week’s order is Friday, Dec. 17. WE WILL BE CLOSED DEC 18 – JANUARY 8, 2022 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

AVALON FARMS: We have made our escape to a mountain hideaway near Chattanooga. No worries, we’ll be back Tuesday in time to receive our onion transplant shipment. Those will be the next project.

Before leaving, the garlic beds were made and amended with: bone meal, alfalfa pellets and processed chicken litter fertilizer. Each little clove was tucked in for Winter. They will send up green shoots in a week or so, but don’t worry they can take our mild Winters with no damage.

There are 2 varieties of spinach growing. I’m hoping they will be available first of the year. For fun I planted a red stemmed variety in addition to the standard green. It worried me the other day, I thought they were turning brown! It was just the red color starting to develop in the stems. Silly farmer : )

Have a wonderful holiday! Safe, warm and dry. Grace and Peace to us all!
Wendy
Avalon Farms

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NEW & RELISTED Satsumas – Avalon Farms ~ Cabbage – Avalon Farms Broccoli – Avalon Farms ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

This newsletter will be short and sweet as it’s been such a BUSY day for the majority of our vendors. It’s quite possible that many listings will not be updated at 5 when this goes out so if you are one to place your order early, please check back tomorrow and Monday in case something has been listed that you want.

It was So Good to see so many of you at Open House today. Thank You for taking time out of your day to visit! We couldn’t have ask for better weather, a better place or better company!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods