MISC MARKET NOTES

At some point in life we become more conscious of making and cherishing good memories. One of my best recent memories was laughing and crying till it hurt while my son shared YouTube videos with me.

So what’s that got to do with the Market?

Well, the videos were basically about us. He had found a channel that involved pretty much everything we’re about:

Sustainability
Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Natural Healing
Organic and sustainable foods
Avoiding Toxins
Etc.

And . . . it was pure satire. So much straight faced satire that if you didn’t realize it was satire it could be really REALLY offensive.
So today I want to introduce you to ReallyVeryCrunchy. For me this channel was a refreshing opportunity to laugh at myself without compromising any principals. In fact I doubled down on learning to make sourdough after seeing it (see photo below if you don’t believe me – it came out of the oven last night.)

This video about selling GIRL SCOUT COOKIES is a great place to start.

My personal favorite is the VALENTINE’S DAY short video.

Grier Acres: Hi everyone Harry and Jeannie are overwhelmed as usual but HAPPY.  We purchased a 100% Kiko goat herd from a rancher in Albany Ga who was retiring.  1 buck and 13 does.  That brought our herd up to 23.  Our original plan was to only breed one of the does that was old enough and let the 12 doelings get to 1+ year of age.  All 13 arrived on our farm on September 16, 2023.  Goats have a gestation period of 150 days +- 5 days.  Well 150 days from September 16, 2023 is February 13, 2024.

February 12 we had twin doelings delivered, and February 13, we had a single buckling born.  Who’s the baby daddy?  Is he the buck that arrived with the does or is the baby daddy another buck that was still in Albany?  DNA tests will tell.  (yes with a 100% New Zealand Kiko registered herd, we get DNA tests.)  At any rate, the twin doelings, Speckles and Ames are both healthy and doing well.  They are smart and intuitive.  Blue, the buckling, is rock solid and growing at .55# per day.  He can keep up with his mother anywhere she goes.  We’re excited to have him on the farm regardless of who “da baby daddy is”.   (inset photos here)

Males are always so PRETTY and Blue is no exception.  Goats are doing extremely well and we are so relieved this particular kidding is over.  However, lots more kidding coming.  LOL.  
Garden:  We’ve been collecting natural fertilizer throughout the fall and winter.  What can’t be used in our own garden will be made available for sale.  Jeannie has plenty of poop from both chickens and goats.  The chicken poop is not hot as it’s been aged for quite a while.  Let us know if you need any poop for your compost.  Harry has told Jeannie the poop is not valuable to others.  So….if you want to help Jeannie prove Harry wrong ring us up.  Tell your friends.  Lol.  

Also if anyone needs mullen let us know.  We have several spots on the farm where it naturally grows.  

Jeannie’s nursing home resident chickens are laying (a little).  She has 10 hens and 3 have finally begun laying.  We aren’t holding out for the other seven, hence the term nursing home chickens.  Sigh….

Cold weather means wood for the fireplace.  Harry is earning his keep by keeping the fat lighter split to help start the fireplace.  If you are needing some fat lighter, we will be doing table sale bundles in Dothan when you pick up your weekly purchases.  Please feel free to forward anyone to the market who might benefit from this wonderful smelling starting wood.  

Avalon Farms:

So excited and a little anxious! I’ve never grown strawberries before. Silly me, didn’t realize they bear so early. They should be ready by the end of March. (Maybe sooner! I’m watching them closely.) They’ll be available in the market ASAP.

Thankfully these were planted back in October. (Before the leg issues.) It is nice to spread the farm labor out.

THIS & THAT

The state recently reported that our state grocery tax will NOT go down another 1% this year but will remain at the 1% reduction we received in 2023. This is because the reduction is tied to the state Education Trust Fund (EFT) which did not meet projected growth. For more information you may read THIS ARTICLE from 1819 News.

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. 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!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Editor’s Note – We couldn’t say it better ourselves so we’re sharing Longears-n-Herbs grower information to introduce the newest member of our market family. Information about soil health and the use of their products is so helpful even if you don’t garden . . and of course there are the other wonderful products. So please get to know Danise a bit through what follows.

God created the land for us to use, tend and nurture for future generations. Our agricultural lands are dwindling and there’s no more being made. Family farms are folding. Urbanization is taking over. Younger generations are moving away from our heritage into bio-farming. With zero waste and sustainable trends rising, our mission is to foster sustainable agriculture. We are committed to helping agriculturalists (farmers/gardeners) be good stewards of our land and restoring our agricultural foundation which was entrusted to us by our forefathers.

BIOSOIL and SOILCARE – Reviving our depleted soils with patented live microbes that create the perfect environment for plant/tree growth and health. Regenerative agriculture is leading the way in higher quality crops, veggies, fruits, etc. with higher yields.
Consistent use can delete fertilizers all together for more beautiful produce whether in ground crops, potted gardening, fruit trees, etc. From the household gardener to the large acreage farmer, these products work and save money.

REBOOT and BALANCER – Our pet and livestock products, REBOOT, REVIVE and BALANCE the PH in the gut. A healthier gut in livestock and pets reduces need for antibiotics, healthier pregnancies, reduces allergies (that are so related to the gut!) The Balancer can even be used as a topical spray on wounds for enhanced skin repair. Both Balancer and Reboot act as Prebiotic/Probiotic microbes.
Endorsed by the American Grass Fed Beef Association.

Longears-n-Herbs also creates Herbal Tinctures available to support many of the body’s systems. Most of the herbs used are locally grown, others are acquired through organic herb farms. Lessening my family’s dependency on synthetic OTC drugs and prescriptions led me to clinical herbalist school to educate myself on more natural ways of supporting normal, healthy bodily function. “Then God said, ’ Let the earth sprout vegetation, herbs yielding seed, fruit trees bearing fruit after its own kind, with seed in them, on the earth, and it was so…and the earth brought forth….and God saw that is was good.” Genesis 1:11-12

Mount Moriah Farms: We just welcomed another doeling onto the farm. She was born on valentine’s day and we named her “valentina”. We will be keeping her as her mother is a wonderful milker! We have been working on adding some new products for sale. One of them Being our “Baby Bottom Cream” The ingredients in this super simple cream are all natural and effective. Zinc oxide is great for adding a barrier between the wet diaper and the skin. This gives the body a chance to heal on its own, without moisture and other not-so-pleasant things interfering with the process.Bentonite clay has amazing healing and detoxifying benefits. It absorbs moisture and removes toxins and impurities. It also fights bacteria. I love using it on my little one, knowing that there are no chemicals in it!

Avalon Farms:
I’m back! Well, sort of. Ha Ha 

There aren’t any vegetables yet, but all our tasty jams, pepper jellies, pickles and praline pecans are available again. 

Still experiencing some pain in left leg. But SO much better than before. I’ve been able to start working outside for short periods of time. Also have to build up normal strength after being idle for 2 months. Diagnosis is basically nerve compression in lower back and left hip, causing crazy pain. Fun times. With continuing physical therapy and slow careful physical activity I am improving.

Thank you for checking on me and especially for all your prayers. Making a little progress everyday.

Wendy

THIS & THAT

Good News! The Alabama Senate recently voted 32-0 to ban laboratory grown meat in Alabama. 1819 News has a great opinion piece on this issue if you wish to learn more.

Social Media Fun: Hopefully by the time you get to this little paragraph you’ll have time to become one of the first 1000 followers of a great little Instagram account called StrangeThingsInAlabama. Its a fun compilation that covers events, people, places, history and great stories in our state. Your editor is anxiously waiting to see if there’s one about the world’s smallest museum in Seale or the Haunted Chicken House up in Chulafinnee, both right on 431. Who knows what other oddities may lurk on our familiar state highway!

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. 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!

MISC MARKET NOTES

And here we are two weeks later with a glorious spring like day – I hope you have enjoyed it as much as possible. Since it’s official that Sand Mountain Sam saw his shadow we should be able to enjoy more warmer days going forward.

We love Phil and Sam and our other cultural icons that encourage us to wait out winter weather, but there are actually other actual “things” in nature that tell us what to expect. Phillip Carter whom many may remember as a local extension agent is now a State Bee Inspector recently wrote, “Despite some very cold weather it appears that it hasn’t slowed the honey bees down very much. Here in the southern part of the state we are seeing plenty of drone brood so they are already gearing up for swarming so be prepared.” In bee language this means that the bees are gearing up for warm weather.

While observing the inside of a honeybee hive done only by a few, there are other easier and more accessible ways to watch for spring. Old Farmer’s Almanac says to simply observe the buds on a tree. This editor had a college assignment to do just that. While there was still snow on the ground we had to choose a 6 – 8 inch section of a tree of our choice and draw it once a week for 6 or 8 weeks. By the end of the assignment I couldn’t wait to see how my little twig had changed in such a short time.

Lastly, in our household we are content knowing that the forces that govern our weather patterns are pretty much beyond man’s control. We all know about sunspsots, but how often do we stop to realize that solar flares affect the temperature on planet earth? Heat from those events cannot travel through space to warm the earth but that infrared radiation . . . oh yeah. Given recent solar activity (remember that some cell towers went out temporarily a few weeks back?) should we be surprised for an earlier spring?

Folklore, observation or hard science, we’re thankful for the change of seasons regardless and rejoice in the beautiful days to be a part and partner with God’s creation.

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. 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!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Two weeks ago we were enjoying a blessed warm day and and today well . . . blessed COLD! May as well try to be positive about it! It seemed like a good time to check in to see what some of our Market vendors are doing these winter days:

Steve of 3LC Apiaries has been giving his bees supplemental syrup to help them get through the winter. He always leaves ample honey on his hives to accomplish this but they’ve consumed so much during previous cold snaps this winter that they risk starvation without intervention. This food will be consumed during cold weather and not stored as honey.

Amanda at Casablanca Ranch reports that their cattle have been eating extra during the cold weather which means giving them extra hay. They also have to make sure pipes don’t freeze so the animals have plenty of water. Sometimes this means busting up ice in water tanks as well.

Dianne, D’s Jellies, is busy in the kitchen. Today she’s making Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and Butter Pecan Ice Cream from her cookbook, D’s Farmhouse Kitchen Recipes! She will be making Blackberry and Mahaw jelly in the near future from frozen produce grown on her farm. They are looking forward to growing more peppers this year as their famous Pepper Jelly is completely sold out.

Duck Nugget Farm reports that they have to be more diligent to protect their birds from predators in winter. They feed crows year round (did you know crows keep hawks away?) to protect their ducks, geese, and guineas, but with less crows around in wintertime those pesky hawks and owls still sometimes manage to steal a meal. Another protection measure has been to add wind blocks and structural integrity to the shelters where the animals are locked up at night. Besides the added security, they have planted clover and winter rye so their animals can forage on fresh food during the winter months.

Grows in Rows has seedlings going in the hot house!

Hortons Farm has been preparing to move bee hives to a more favorable location. The trees surrounding the original bee yard have grown so that the shade is affecting bee health. It’s too early to attempt relocating right now but we are preparing the new site.

Kathy’s Churpers has been working on rotating their chickens. They report seeing a LOT of deer close by their property including a doe with triplets recently.

Special shout out to Mia at Mount Moriah for the cutest photo (below) this week. No explanation needed about how she cares for her goats!

MT MORIAH FARMS:  Hello Winter! We currently have 9 does in milk and lots of little babies running around. Our first rabbit to have babies “kindled” out a couple days ago. I’m very excited to see what they look like. We have been busy working with troy university’s Small business division and i’m so excited about the opportunities this year will bring. We hope y’all have set some goals for this year and are working towards fulfilling them. Thank you for supporting local! 

AVALON FARMS: Due to life circumstances, I have put all of Avalon Farm’s products on hold. That means none of our products will be available for now. I hate doing that but I hate even more canceling your orders last week and don’t want to have to do it again.

Starting in mid December I started experiencing pain in my left leg when I walk or stand for more than a couple minutes. Have not been able to get a diagnosis so far and we’re just doing the best we can. 

Looking forward to a better Spring,
Wendy

Grows In Rows wanted to share some recent photos:

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. 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!

MISC MARKET NOTES

After many weeks of mostly mild winter weather today (Saturday, Jan 6) is a breath of fresh air and this editor was counting on rain to justify staying indoors for desk work. So I’m dealing with both gratitude for warmth and open doors and discontent that I’m not outdoors doing something my body thinks I probably shouldn’t attempt, lol.

Most people go into a New Year with resolutions; they resolve to do something to benefit them personally or professionally. This never a bad thing, but it can be attempted badly resulting in failure. Failure leads to discouragement and eventually discouragement leads to “why even try?”

My own experience is that I always attempted too much at one time and expected too much too soon. Last year, 2023, I went a different direction and did something different by making myself accountable to an outside authority. It worked, but it took a whole year to actually see results. The key was little changes over a long period of time. Then the blessing showed up.

Change is like that – in the case of resolutions in order to be permanent, it needs to happen slowly over a long period of time.

So whatever your 2024 goals are, make your plan, call in help if you need to, break it up into bite size chunks and keep working your plan. Eventually you’ll look back and be proud to say “I DID IT!”.

D’s JELLIES: D’s Farmhouse Kitchen Recipes:  A Recipe Book with 180 recipes that are simply delicious. The recipes are easy to follow.  The Cookbook is perfect for someone who wants to learn to cook as well as for someone who wants to add a Cookbook to their collection. I was a Contributing Chef for Wiregrass Living Magazine for 9 years.   D’s Jellies – I am sold out of D’s Hot Pepper Jelly and it will probably be late July before Peppers will be ready and Jelly can be made. D’s Mayhaw Jelly and BlackBerry Jelly will be available in February.  Thank you to my customers who continue to shop with me. Dianne Herring

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. 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 A WONDERFUL WORLD

While this is NOT a Christmas song for sure, after a chance encounter recently with someone of a darker belief structure I realized that the Christmas message is about bringing HOPE to a broken world. This person openly had no hope, only fear, and after meeting him/her Louis Armstrongs rich voice brought this song to mind.

I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and for you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, “How do you do?”
They’re really saying
“I love you”

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Ooh yeah

To borrow from “Oh Holy Night”, this is a very weary world. So very many of us are weary of the increasing darkness that threatens to overtake. BUT, the HOPE brought by the Christ Child reminds us that it wasn’t always this way nor was it ever meant to be. And someday it won’t be. The LIGHT of the World still shines bright and His invitation is still “Come Unto Me.”

THANK YOU for allowing us to be part of your life this year. We count it a privilege to serve you and look forward to serving you in 2024. May you and yours have the most blessed Christmas and New Years season ever!

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!

Join us for Dothan Nursery’s Christmas Open House that’s sure to jingle your bells and make your spirits merry!
-The REAL Santa will be present from 10-12
-M@D Full Farmers Market
-12 Additional Local Vendors
-Live Music
-Mr. Coffee Bean
-Tin Bell Food Truck
-Evergreen Photo Bus
Shop from handcrafted gifts while you eat lunch, sip coffee, and enjoy live music. Say “ho ho ho” to Santa and don’t forget to check out the Photo Bus!
Grab your favorite people and come join us for a Christmas Open House that’s sure to make this holiday one for the books!

Specialty Jams and Jellies – many choices!



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Kathy’s Kluckers: We are excited to be participating in Open House and will have many things available that are not usually listed on the website. In addition to farming I create unique crafts and will have many kinds of fused glass wind chimes (Christmas. Beachy & etc). Also fused glass ornaments/necklaces angels & crosses & earings & many other pretties. We will have our freezer full of frozen chickens, turnips, Patty pan squash & more. We will also have fresh turnips & roots & dicon radishes (good to pickle or put in a salad). All parts of dicons are usable as the leaves can be used in Asian style soups.

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We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. 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!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Ever have days when your thoughts were all jumbled and you kind of struggled to make sense of it all?

This Veteran’s Day has kind of been that way for me. I’ve been close to three veterans in my life – First my Dad who served as an infantry sharp shooter in the mid 1950’s before I was born. The second person was my Uncle Gay Taylor. He was much older than my dad and had cut General Patton’s hair while serving in Europe during WWII. Both Dad and Uncle Gay have passed on. The third person I was privileged to see this week, my Uncle Paul who served in Viet Nam. The fact that he’s home now is a testament to our family’s prayers.

A few years ago at a family gathering Uncle Paul was given a Quilt of Valor in a ceremony. It was a beautiful and moving tribute to his service and I’m thankful there are great quilters all over the country who bless our veterans by donating time, material and money to love on these men this way.

Which brings me to the last jumbled thought – I bumped into Quilts of Valor again recently at the Annual Quilt Show at Landmark Park. Our own Sherry Burkhaulter of Casablanca Ranch organizes this annually and if you’re even remotely interested in quilts you owe it to yourself to pop in there and take in the beauty and craftsmanship next year. It turns out there are local artisans who produce quilts to give local veterans and I guess the sum of these random thoughts is to THANK the veterans for what they’ve given in service to our country and to thank the quilters who take on the task to honor and bless them with their time and talents.

JBW Farm Fresh: Fall is a very important time on our farm. If we don’t focus on what is the highest priorities we can get off track very quickly! Goats and Sheep have a gestation period of 5 months, that means we have to be putting our breeding males in with our females now so that we will be on time for the spring season. 

We also have to be looking ahead for the winter months of grazing. Naturally, there won’t be a lot coming up. We have been overseeding some of our pastures with a variety of grasses that will come up when most of the year’s plants are dead. 

As you can see, we are constantly having to look ahead to the future, making plans and lists of what all needs to be done to be prepared. Several months ago we made plans for some changes to our storefront location. Just this last week, we saw some of those plans come to life! We hope that some of y’all have seen our new sign outside of our store on HWY 84W. If not, we would love for you to stop by and tell us what you think. About the middle of this month we are going to be getting in some whole hams just in time for the holidays! You can plan ahead and cook some 100% Pasture Raised Ham for THANKSGIVING!

Mt. Moriah Farms: HAPPY VETERANS DAY! I hope everyone has had a wonderful day. Growing up, we always had a cookout or some family outing to celebrate. We have/had a close family member in each branch and like to reminisce on stories that have been passed down. It is the core of who we are as a country and we do not want the love for our military to ever die down. Thank you to all of our customers or local farmers  who have served or are currently serving. We appreciate your dedication! 

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. 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!

MISC MARKET NOTES

Katherine’s Kitchen: Here in Katherine’s Kitchen, one of the only things that still grew happily away through the August heat was basil. I wasn’t getting any tomatoes from my home garden anymore, so I thought I’d try a home-version of the other ingredient in my favorite, Caprese salad. I started experimenting with cheesemaking! The trouble is, fresh cheese like fior di latte is banned for sale by our government. The other trouble is, I stink at cheesemaking. After three batches of lumpy, dry notzzarella, I caved in and realized I needed to go back to storebought cheese for a while. The basil is still delicious, fresh, and homegrown, though! Keep on experimenting and always thank God for the little gifts he still gives us.

Avalon Farms:

Persimmons are SO pretty hanging on the tree. They glow in the sun, looking like tiny pumpkins. I’m always surprised how crunchy and sweet they are.

Finally have a few leafy greens coming in. Kale and broccoli leaves are available this week.

Been crazy busy “jarring” lots of our specialty jams. There are approximately 500 jars of tastiness awaiting our customers. We’ll be attending several seasonal markets and festivals in the coming months.

CASE PRICES – We offer discounted case prices on jarred stuff. Pay for 11, get 1 free. Mix and match products. If you have any questions give me a shout at info@avalonfarms.us

Enjoy this glorious weather!
Wendy

Ode to a Friend Oh sweet friend, I hate to see you go! We’ve spent so many glorious mornings and early evenings outdoors together. Many a cool moment you’ve joined me in enjoying natures splendor and pondering the mysteries of life. And now you’re leaving for a year . . . how am I to cope?

October Gave A Party

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came,
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.

The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.

Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In hands across all round.

We look forward to seeing you next Friday at one of our pickup locations. 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!