ENJOYING THE SEASONS’S BOUNTY

Seeing pears listed on the Market Page made me remember the box I have in the kitchen waiting to be canned. One reason I’ve put it off is that there are many more to be picked and I prefer to do it all at once rather than a few here and there.

We are tee-totalers at our house, but if you search the deep recesses of my cabinets you’ll find part of a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum. It’s how we do pears here! I tried “Spiced Rum Pears” several years ago and we fell in love! I used honey as my sweeter to make a light syrup, added 1/8 c of spiced rum and a cinnamon stick to each quart. The first time I canned them this way we let them sit about 6 weeks before trying them. The Mr. liked them so much we’ve put them up that way ever since.

We’ve put up both muscadines and scuppernongs as well. I juiced them the first year only to have my hands break out from handling the skins (oxalic acid reaction). The next year I washed and threw them whole in the jar, added sugar and covered with water before processing. It didn’t have that dark rich color like straight juice, but sure looked pretty in the jar and tasted good when we opened it for Thanksgiving. I’ve still got a few jars of the thick strong juice saved for medicinal purposes.

These late summer blessings are easy to take for granted as they grow so well year after year here in the south, but they are so versatile there’s always something new and tasty to do with them.

MISC MARKET NOTES

Additional New Products This Week

Pastured Pork from JBW Farm Fresh More info directly from JBW below

Also New this Week: Tumeric Leaves from Alabama Homestead _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pickup for this week’s orders is Friday, August 11 SKIP a Week Order August 19-22 for pickup Friday, August 25 SKIP a Week Order September 2-5 for pickup Friday, September 8 SKIP a Week Order September 16-19 for pickup Friday, September 22 SKIP a Week Order Sept. 30 – October 3 for pickup Friday, October 6

FROM OUR GROWERS

AVALON FARMS:

Sometimes you have to adapt to the situation. This is my temporary grow light set up for some broccoli and cabbage starts. Yes, that is 2 cases of canning jars and a gallon vinegar jug for height/weight support. Ha ha

It’s too hot in the greenhouse to start these seeds there, so the guest bedroom doubles as a germination chamber. They’ll be moved outside, to some yet undetermined location, to grow for a few weeks. Then into the ground they’ll go.

JBW FARM FRESH:  We are so very excited to finally have pastured-pork available for sale! Our pasture-raised pigs are raised on the pasture and in wooded areas where they are able to eat a diverse diet of plants, insects and nuts. They roam large areas and are very happy doing so. Pasture-raised pork contains higher levels of nutrients than commercially raised pork. It can also contain up to twice the amount of vitamin E and three times the amount of Vitamin D contained in confined pigs! We would love for you to give our pork a try and let us know what you think of it. Order here and follow us on our website, as well as on Facebook and Instagram!

MOUNT MORIAH FARMS: It is so hard not to let myself get overwhelmed with the constant “To-Do” List on the farm. Some days, I really think about how easier life would be without so many things relying on me to be on my “A Game”. It has caused me to step back and ask myself, “Why am I doing all of this?” The answer I give myself is not just one reason, it’s several. Most important to me, I’m doing it so that my family doesn’t have to rely on stores being open to provide for us. Secondly, I don’t want personal farms to end in my generation, I want it to continue on with my kids. Lastly, I do it because God gave me a passion and heart for it. It’s tough work but rewarding. I share all these personal thoughts to say THANK YOU for supporting our little farm, and letting us continue to be in business!

MISC MARKET NOTES

JBW FARM FRESH:  2+2 = 4 … Of course folks everywhere are trying to convince me that it’s something else. This year it has been quite different from previous years. Plenty to learn and plenty to watch. I have seen something that I have not seen since I was a kid… vigorous JUNE BUG activity!

As a kid, I remember June Bugs in the month of June and thought that June was the only month they were present. Well, I have learned that is not so. June Bugs are at work, many other months besides June. When I was a kid I remember June Bugs in cow patties (Cow Dung) and they would just be working away. Last year, I began to see that again on the farm and this year they have EXPLODED. They are almost completely covering the place where cow patties lay, with soil carried up from under the dung. 

June Bug activity is such in the cow patties, that they are virtually regenerating it into the soil. They dig in and under and take the dung down into the soil. This helps the soil provide the plants with usable, regenerated nutrients from the dung, to grow vibrant, strong, healthy plants. We have had June Bug activity begin to increase on our farm as we begin to limit the use of commercial fertilizer, weed killers, and chemicals. 

With that said, it’s amazing what can be done through proper animal management, without the use of commercial fertilizer and chemicals. We welcome the June Bugs onto our farm and request that they are actively working to regenerate our soils as many months as they will! To sum it all up… 2 many chemicals + fertilizers are not good 4 our farms!!!

MOUNT MORIAH FARMS: We have added another wonderful soap to our collection! OAK BARREL CIDER… The fragrance is actually one of our long standing, popular soy candle scents. A distinct oak note pulling through a classic cider fragrance makes this scent unique, warm and universally appealing. Notes of apple & mulled fruits are hinted. Go ahead and get this and you certainly won’t regret it! 100% raw goat’s milk along with good for your skin oils, who can beat that?

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

UPDATED Recycling Reminder: THANKYOU to those of you who recycle your mason, pickle, sauce, etc jars through M@D. Our vendors are especially grateful for the ones that contained their products as this helps keep their costs down, lids and all. Mason rings can be reused many times. The flat part of Mason lids can be recycled to all sorts of art and craft projects so we welcome those too. For those who donate their clean jelly, sauce and pickle jars, those lids can safely be resealed once.

AVALON FARMS:

One of my praying mantis helpers keeping an eye out for bugs. It was on my windshield, so the sky is reflected.

Hot. So hot. Rain. So much rain. Fungus. Thriving weeds. Veggies that are doing the best they can under the circumstances. But that’s farming.

Sorry I had to discontinue the lettuce. It started bolting (flowering) and that makes it bitter. I’ll be starting seeds for transplanting late August. Hopefully it will be available again by October.

Working on “the plan” for Fall/Winter and Spring. Lots of seeds to start to transplant out later. Napa and regular cabbage, heading and sprouting broccoli, spinach, other greens I haven’t decided on yet. Direct seed turnips, radishes, beets and maybe chard.

Just have to keep moving.  It gets a little complicated keeping up with what’s growing/producing now and moving forward with “the plan.”

JBW FARM FRESH: Did you know that 85% of the ground beef sold in America is sourced outside of the U.S.? Were you also aware of ground beef being incorrectly labeled “Product of USA”? Beef can be labeled that way as long as the meat was processed in a U.S. based Inspection Plant. The beef can be brought from other countries and still be sold as “Product of USA”. Here at JBW Farm Fresh you don’t have to worry about that at all. We are 100% American, Grass Fed & Grass Finished Beef. We are your local farmers. It is a lot of hard work but so very worth it. We do it for our families, for our community, and for the land. If you haven’t tried our ground beef, you are definitely missing out! Try some this week!

MOUNT MORIAH FARMS: The herd has grown! We have several new additions and we are just so excited! These summer days are not for the weary, let me tell you. The early morning milkings to beat the heat are definitely my favorite. As most of y’all know, the breed of goats we raise is Nigerian Dwarf. We absolutely love them. We have been raising them since 2013 and hope to continue on for a long time. They are very affectionate, enjoy attention, and form bonds with both their herd and people. They produce the highest butterfat content of any other dairy goat. Their milk is also higher in protein. Since butterfat is what gives milk its sweet flavor, it’s the sweetest, richest milk of all the dairy goat breeds and holds the most beneficial properties for skin repair!

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

Overheard from a young mother: “ Today my oldest didn’t want the youngest to help him with a chore causing my youngest to almost cry because, “I’ve only gotten to do that chore once!”
This can only mean we’ve entered the Twilight Zone period of summer. Stay safe, everyone.”

Emotional support . . . WHAT? Apparently someone noticed the stressful heat in the Market Shed on Fridays and took action to help us cope.

“Hi There,
I am so glad you found me. I am an out of work ESC (emotional support chicken). I have been looking for the perfect human to go home with . That human is YOU! I’m super cheap to feed and will never charge you by the hour. I will listen to your without interrupting, and I’ll never judge you or put you down. Let’s face it, I am pretty dang cute too. I love being photographed and will travel with you wherever you go. Just keep me in your pocket, or purse and take me out whenever you need cheering up. “

Recycling Reminder: We are so THANKFUL for those of you who recycle your mason, pickle, sauce, etc jars through M@D. Our vendors are expecially grateful for the ones that contained their products as this helps keep their costs down. When possible, we ask that you return the lids as well. Pickle and sauce lids can be reused ONCE. Mason rings can be reused many times and one vendor collects used ones for art and craft projects.

Upcoming Schedule: We announced previously that we will switch to a bi-weekly schedule starting the end of this month on July 28. Specific dates are listed below and we may possibly extend that schedule depending on product availability. As our seasoned customers know, crops are subject to weather, bugs, all sorts of things. Meat producers are at the mercy of processors, etc.

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

A small experience this week reminded me of something important. I went in for a “maintenance” chiropractor visit. So when Doc asked me how I was I told the truth. Between a few bad experiences and a nasty injury I wasn’t exactly in peak condition. The sweetest thing – he put his hand on my shoulder and prayed for me. HE PRAYED FOR ME. I immediately felt bottled up tension release which made addressing the physical issue go oh so much easier.

Sometimes we know what baggage we’re hauling around, sometimes we don’t. But regardless of known or unknown, IT AFFECTS US! Mental, spiritual, & emotional stress can zap the joy out of life and lead to more lasting physical problems if left unchecked and/or undealt with.

Mainstream medicine tends to ignore this facet of our common humanity – they deal with diet, exercise, tests, treatments, results, and trying something else if “that” don’t work. This is OK in many areas, but in some illness, especially ongoing medical problems it completely ignores any issues that may lay beyond the scope of tests and lab results, namely those issues that make us human, our mind, heart and emotions. Many alternative medicine disciplines do recognize this.

A young friend introduced me to the podcasts of Virginia Dixon a few years ago. He had met her in the course of dealing with his mother’s cancer. I’ll never forget his words – “This information came too late to save my mother’s life but it has saved the rest of the family from her fate.”

It was enough to interest me and I listened to her podcasts, all 8 of them on Spotify that year. The podcasts were HUGELY insightful into how our heart, mind and body is connected and when any one is out of sync it affects the other parts. I recently decided to listen to them again only to find there are over one hundred now so I’ve barely scratched the surface of this wealth of wisdom!

R.E.S.T. Stands for “Relational, Emotional, Spiritual Truth” and according to Virginia is the single most important component for healing the whole person.

Even if you are in perfect health and just want to understand our common humanity and all the wonderful moving parts that make up our personalities, relationships and thought processes, Virginia is a rich source of information. Her podcasts are available on both Spotify and her website at virginiadixon.com

Looking Ahead: Starting late July we will return to a bi-weekly schedule for the months of August and September, and possible into October. As we approach those dates we will publish a more specific schedule but for now please know that July 28 will be our last Friday for pickup before the schedule change.

JBW Farm Fresh: Things are progressing out here at JBW Farm Fresh. Our first load of grown out pigs have been taken to the processor and we are very excited about adding pastured pork into our freezers! Keep an eye out on our social media for updates!

Mt. Moriah Farms: Transfer your skin with our goat milk soap… 

Dry skin? Our Spicy apples and Peaches bar has a lot of shea butter in it which is very moisturizing 
Oily skin? our Activated charcoal bar removes the excess oil under the pores
Eczema? Our oatmeal, milk & Honey bar is widely used to help soothe the irritated skin, lightly exfoliating the skin, and the honey brings restoration 
Psoriasis? Our pine tar bar Pine tar soap has been found to have antiproliferative and keratinisation properties, which can help reduce the proliferation of skin cells that contribute to the buildup of psoriasis plaques, thereby reducing the severity of symptoms.
Acne? Our lavender essential oil Bar is the one we would recommend for oily prone acne and the Peppermint EssentiaL Oil Bar is the one we would recommend for Dry prone acne.

Katherine’s Kitchen: Bless the Lord! In the golden July sunshine Alabama’s tomatoes have been swelling with juice, and the basil has been crisp with rain. We bought some of those massive slicers from Avalon Farms, and of course we made our summer favorites; Insalata Caprese. . .

With such good weather for basil we have just been grateful that God provides us with the same richness he gave to so many Italians who introduced us to these delicious treats. Eating seasonally is being led by the Lord into “green pastures”.

Congratulations, you brought home a jar of sourdough starter! Now what? Take the lid off and put the cloth square over the jar and secure with a rubber band. It needs to be able to breathe while it sits on your counter and adjusts to its new home.

After it’s been at your home for a couple hours, if you see that there are bubbles in the jar and it has grown in size, its time to feed it for the first time.

1. Empty jar into a bowl
2. Measure 4 tablespoons or 2 ounces of your starter and put back in the jar
3. Add 4 tablespoons or 2 ounces of all purpose flour into the jar. I use King Arthurs brand all purpose flour.
4. Add 4 tablespoons or 2 ounces of warm bottled or well water. Chlorinated city water will kill all the good yeasts and bacteria in your starter and it will die. A very sad event.
5. Give it a good mix, place clothe back on jar and let sit on counter. Please note, I don’t use a clothe but a plastic lid that doesn’t fit tightly. When it has almost doubled in size, place the lid back on it and put in the fridge until you want to use it again. If it hasn’t doubled in size, feed it again following the above steps. If it developed a layer of grey liquid while resting in the fridge, don’t despair. That liquid on top is normal and even has a name! Its called hooch, just stir it into your starter and feed as described above.

Yay! You just fed your sourdough starter for the first time, you are now on your way to sourdough heaven!

Now that you have fed your starter, you have some unused starter in your bowl, that is your discard. It can be used to create many yummy things……pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, brownies, biscuits, cake, cookies, bread……you get the picture. There are many recipes online that use sourdough discard.
Here are a few things that I do with mine:

1. Pancakes – add 1 egg, 2 Tablespoons of flour, pinch of baking soda and a pinch of salt. Stir it up, if its to thick add a splash of milk or two. Cook as you normally would for pancakes
2. Waffles – almost the same as pancakes, but separate the eggs and beat egg whites until stiff, mix yolks into your batter then fold the stiff egg whites into the batter.
3. Pizza Dough – into the bowl of a stand mixer use the dough hook, add your starter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add about ½ cup bread flour and adding more flour or so water to develop your dough. When its done kneading, let rest for 30 minutes. Shape into your preferred pizza shape, spray or brush the dough with oil, add toppings and bake at 435 for 12 – 15 minutes. It’s done when the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Sometimes I will take my discard and feed it equal parts water and flour (I guestimate, sorry) then let it sit for a couple hours until it is a bubbly bowl of active sourdough starter. In doing this I am increasing the amount of starter I have to work with. I will empty it into my mixer bowl with the dough hook attached along with olive oil, powdered milk(about 1 tablespoon) and salt and slowly add bread flour until I have a nice ball of dough (I can touch it and it isn’t sticking to me, think same as yeast bread) that I then put in a greased bowl, turn it over (the dough so it is covered with oil on both sides) cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size. Carefully turn out on a piece of parchment paper which is on a baking sheet. Take a sharp knife and make a cut down the middle of
your dough about 1\4 to 1\2 inch deep, quickly, you don’t want to pull at the dough. Place in a preheated 375 oven and bake about 20 – 25 minutes. Its done when it sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom of your loaf. Wrap in a slightly damp tea towel until it has completely cooled down. Best if overnight, but I understand if you can’t wait. It will slice nicer, though if it has totally cooled down. Wrapping your bread in the towel will keep your bread crust softer and will also serve as a protective wrap for your bread as you eat it. If it lasts that long. Hee hee.

If you have decided you are brave and want to try a soft sandwich bread this is a link to the recipe I like for that: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/pain-de-mie/

Editor’s Note This document is permanently posted in the MarketatDothan.com website with photos! This is the link, https://marketatdothan.locallygrown.net/files/document/document/6751/original/Kathy_Stewart_Sourdough.pdf?1687630275, and it may be found in the Q&A section of the website.

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

As an official confirmed dieter bread is one of those things I’ve greatly cut back on as our mutual love for each other seems to grow and grow and grow . . . or at least I do.

So it seems kind of odd that of all the seasons of life I have been surrounded by and feel the increasing call to finally learn this skill. It started in April visiting one of the kids. My dear SIL sent me home with a hot loaf he made the morning I left. Seriously, this man makes 2 loaves daily – one for the family, one to share. Everyone on his street loves him madly.

Then THIS came to my house . . .

Not long after Katherine joined M@D with her unique Eikhorn Sourdough. And blissfully Robinson Homestead has sourdough starter available which means folks are taking up the same call.

Finally I learned a that a slice of sourdough adds very little to my daily fat/calorie count . . .

You see where this is going.

So sometime this summer after I’ve finished all the canning I’ll take the plunge. And I’m thankful Kathy Stewart, one of our growers, who doesn’t even offer bread products, created what follows in the rest of this segment. It has given me great hope that I don’t kill my Alaskan starter or make us sick.

Congratulations, you brought home a jar of sourdough starter! Now what? Take the lid off and put the cloth square over the jar and secure with a rubber band. It needs to be able to breathe while it sits on your counter and adjusts to its new home.

After it’s been at your home for a couple hours, if you see that there are bubbles in the jar and it has grown in size, its time to feed it for the first time.

1. Empty jar into a bowl
2. Measure 4 tablespoons or 2 ounces of your starter and put back in the jar
3. Add 4 tablespoons or 2 ounces of all purpose flour into the jar. I use King Arthurs brand all purpose flour.
4. Add 4 tablespoons or 2 ounces of warm bottled or well water. Chlorinated city water will kill all the good yeasts and bacteria in your starter and it will die. A very sad event.
5. Give it a good mix, place clothe back on jar and let sit on counter. Please note, I don’t use a clothe but a plastic lid that doesn’t fit tightly. When it has almost doubled in size, place the lid back on it and put in the fridge until you want to use it again. If it hasn’t doubled in size, feed it again following the above steps. If it developed a layer of grey liquid while resting in the fridge, don’t despair. That liquid on top is normal and even has a name! Its called hooch, just stir it into your starter and feed as described above.

Yay! You just fed your sourdough starter for the first time, you are now on your way to sourdough heaven!

Now that you have fed your starter, you have some unused starter in your bowl, that is your discard. It can be used to create many yummy things……pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, brownies, biscuits, cake, cookies, bread……you get the picture. There are many recipes online that use sourdough discard.
Here are a few things that I do with mine:

1. Pancakes – add 1 egg, 2 Tablespoons of flour, pinch of baking soda and a pinch of salt. Stir it up, if its to thick add a splash of milk or two. Cook as you normally would for pancakes
2. Waffles – almost the same as pancakes, but separate the eggs and beat egg whites until stiff, mix yolks into your batter then fold the stiff egg whites into the batter.
3. Pizza Dough – into the bowl of a stand mixer use the dough hook, add your starter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add about ½ cup bread flour and adding more flour or so water to develop your dough. When its done kneading, let rest for 30 minutes. Shape into your preferred pizza shape, spray or brush the dough with oil, add toppings and bake at 435 for 12 – 15 minutes. It’s done when the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Sometimes I will take my discard and feed it equal parts water and flour (I guestimate, sorry) then let it sit for a couple hours until it is a bubbly bowl of active sourdough starter. In doing this I am increasing the amount of starter I have to work with. I will empty it into my mixer bowl with the dough hook attached along with olive oil, powdered milk(about 1 tablespoon) and salt and slowly add bread flour until I have a nice ball of dough (I can touch it and it isn’t sticking to me, think same as yeast bread) that I then put in a greased bowl, turn it over (the dough so it is covered with oil on both sides) cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size. Carefully turn out on a piece of parchment paper which is on a baking sheet. Take a sharp knife and make a cut down the middle of
your dough about 1\4 to 1\2 inch deep, quickly, you don’t want to pull at the dough. Place in a preheated 375 oven and bake about 20 – 25 minutes. Its done when it sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom of your loaf. Wrap in a slightly damp tea towel until it has completely cooled down. Best if overnight, but I understand if you can’t wait. It will slice nicer, though if it has totally cooled down. Wrapping your bread in the towel will keep your bread crust softer and will also serve as a protective wrap for your bread as you eat it. If it lasts that long. Hee hee.

If you have decided you are brave and want to try a soft sandwich bread this is a link to the recipe I like for that: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/pain-de-mie/

Editor’s Note This document is permanently posted in the MarketatDothan.com website with photos! This is the link, https://marketatdothan.locallygrown.net/files/document/document/6751/original/Kathy_Stewart_Sourdough.pdf?1687630275, and it may be found in the Q&A section of the website.

Looking Ahead: Starting late July we will return to a bi-weekly schedule for the months of August and September, and possible into October. As we approach those dates we will publish a more specific schedule but for now please know that July 28 will be our last Friday for pickup before the schedule change.

JBW Farm Fresh:  More fences are going up and the herds are expanding. The ground is getting harder to push posts into so we are having to drill holes to place them into. Yesterday we finished doing the last of our filming for a video of life on our farm. A snippet of what the finished video will look like can be found on our Instagram or Facebook page! We cooked some of our short ribs in the crockpot and they were so tender and delicious. We still have a selection of those up for sale and highly recommend you to try them! 

Mt. Moriah Farms: This weekend is a special time to celebrate our fathers. Where would we be in life without those strong males in our life? I do realize not everyone is blessed to still have their fathers around, I am among those that are. My dad is the one who built our farm and also gave it our name, Mt. MOriah Farms. I do hope everyone who still has their dad around will take time to make them feel special on sunday. Also check out our new products we listed on here!

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 love our customers and love the wealth of knowledge and experience they are so willing to share to help others. What follows is from our own Sherrie T. who contributed to this unique website to both educate and warn about hidden environmenal dangers all of us are exposed it. We highly recommend you bookmark this valuable resource.

That’s the first thing you’ll see on the home page of the Fragrance Free Coalition. While there’s not a lot of information about the Fragrance Free Coalition (FFC) itself, it’s obvious that those involved put a LOT of thought, research and development into the poster that follows. Sherrie T. was one of those who poured many hours into its development. While the poster (below)is printable, each part on the website is interactive and when clicked on leads to pages and pages of research showing the dangers of things in our environment that can cause harm. The website linked above is fragrancefreecoalition.com.

JBW Farm Fresh:  More fences are going up and the herds are expanding. The ground is getting harder to push posts into so we are having to drill holes to place them into. Yesterday we finished doing the last of our filming for a video of life on our farm. A snippet of what the finished video will look like can be found on our Instagram or Facebook page! We cooked some of our short ribs in the crockpot and they were so tender and delicious. We still have a selection of those up for sale and highly recommend you to try them! 

Mt. Moriah Farms: As many of you know Mt. Moriah worked together as a family long before our family started going many directions. We thought you’d enjoy seeing that we’re working on training the next generation! Thank you for your support of our goat milk products!

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

June – what a month! Kids are finally out of school, parents are engaged helping them have fun while growing, gardens are yielding their bounty, people are getting married – all sorts of happy productive things.

In the kiddo department – more and more research points to the fact that unrestricted creative PLAY is one of the best things for a child’s mental, emotional, psychological and physical development. Most of us adults have memories of long summer days playing outdoors building everything from sand castles to forts, using everything from sand (of course) to pine straw to hay bales. We developed creativity, teamwork and a sense of accomplishment doing these things. My own sons invented “things” for their elaborate games involving paint balls down in our woods. A mishap once, where a stray paintball brought the entire fire department and law enforcement to our place led to one of the best parental teaching opportunities to ever land in our laps. Looking back that paintball was ordained by God to help grow a bunch of boys into fine men.

In the garden department if you preserve any sort of bounty THIS IS YOUR SEASON! More and more people are venturing into canning, freezing, dehydrating, etc. Word has it that one of our M@D family has taken the plunge to invest in a freeze dryer! If food preservation is something you are interested in please know our M@D vendors are a rich resource with many years of knowledge and experience who would be glad to help you. And you don’t have to be afraid of a pressure canner! Some of our customers have given talks on the topic as well so all you have to do is say “HELP” and one of us is sure to have experience with your particular need.

Lastly, the WEDDINGS!. We were thrilled to learn of a customer who recently became engaged. (You know who you are (wink!)) We hope everyone you know taking that plunge will be perfectly matched and blissfully happy for many, many years.

Avalon Farms:

Ozark Farmers Market, Tuesdays 2:30 to 5:30
Poplar Head Farmers Market in Dothan, Saturdays 8 to 12

Come on out and meet the crazy farmer. Happy to answer questions. And there are FREE samples of all the jarred stuff. Looking forward to seeing your smiling face.
 

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

I recently read a short article about Brittney Griner, the US athlete who was detained and imprisoned in Russia last year. Without getting into the politics of the situation the article concluded that Griner has a newfound appreciation for her country following her release.

Sometimes it takes seeing how things are in other countries to appreciate the privilege of living in the US. No, it’s not a perfect country and we certainly aren’t a perfect people, but it’s still the best the world has to offer. My first epiphany about that occurred in 1980. My Mr. and I took our very young daughter to meet her grandparents in Haiti. HAITI. Haiti right after a hurricane went through where we got to see US Marines side by side with the Hatian army and holy smoley, was I ever glad the Marines were ours! That was just on arrival at the airport. Seeing how years of corruption and poverty affected the hope and the hearts of the people made my problems look small.

We would not have it so good were it not for the sacrifice of those who gave their lives in service of this country. Freedom is NOT free.

JBW: Exciting new happenings going on at JBW! This week we cut a hole in a wall at our store front, added more honey supers onto our bees, and also expanded our poultry program. We are expanding at the store to make room for a new cooler to hold pastured pork we will be selling at the end of summer. It is always so rewarding to see results of months of hard work and planning. The rain we received was well needed, the pastures are springing back up nicely. At JBW Farm Fresh, we are regenerative farmers. Our goal is to grow healthy soil, as well as healthy animals. Our cattle are 100% Grass Fed and Grass Finished. We adaptive graze through pasture rotation. We do that with multi-species animals (cows, sheep, goats, hogs, chickens, and ducks). We do not spray our pastures to kill forbes (weeds). We encourage the growth of forbes through proper grazing of our different livestock and poultry. We utilize their manure to renew life into the soil. We don’t want the soil dependent on us. The grass and forbes which grow from the naturally fertilized soil, have more nutrients and vitamins for the livestock. This gives our products the most nutritional benefits! 

Mount Moriah Farms: As of Friday this week, we have put our five dry (non-lactating) does in with the buck. Four of them have never had kids so we are excited to see how they do! We added a Great Pyrenees puppy to the herd as well. Her name is Moriah and her sole purpose is to protect the goats. Two of the hardest things raising any kind of animals is #1 Parasites and #2 Predators. It is so hard to not spoil her but she does have to be raised as a working dog and not a pet. Whatever we have on the farm must give back in some way. We have also formulated a new product ( very excited about this one) and will have it up for sale next week! We wish everyone a happy Memorial Day! 

Editor’s note: Call this a mini product review: We tried the sourdough bread from K’s Kitchen. THIS ISN’T GROCERY STORE BREAD. It’s thick and dense and delicious. We loved it.

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!