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Farm activities just "one step" in the dance
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On Saturday Live Earth Farm's Discovery Program held its second annual "Sheep to Shawl" event. It was wonderful to see how many people came to enjoy a day on the farm, to witness the shearing of our small flock of sheep and to engage in the many hands-on activities set up to help us understand the process of turning wool into products we enjoy like warm sweaters, rugs, fabrics, hats or quilts. Besides the sheep, visitors got to enjoy the other animals we raise -- chickens and goats -- and understand their role on the farm as well. The pictures and Jessica's story below will give everyone a good sense of the event.

It was a very fitting Community celebration to honor Earth Day; everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially the children bringing their spontaneous sense of wonder and exploratory playfulness to the land. Ever since we started Live Earth Farm, Celebrations and Events have been an important element of the seasonal dance. They reward us, the farmers, and the entire community with a wonderful connection to the Earth. So, check out all the events we have planned for the season and make sure to mark your calendar to come and celebrate with us.

- Tom

  

What's up in the Fields: A lean spring, but good things coming
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- Tom

LEFDP First Event of the Year: A Look Behind the Scenes 
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Up to the very last minute on Saturday morning I was still receiving RSVPs for the Sheep to Shawl event beginning at 11 that morning. When I printed the attendance list for our parking professionals, there were 157 people on that list. It was made up of an eclectic mix of both CSA members and non-members of all ages. What brought us all together was an interest in sheep and fiber arts.

For LEFDP, it was an all-hands-on-deck event.  We were so lucky to have a few volunteers from the greater community, and we could not have done it without those fiber enthusiasts and our very own LEF Apprentices.  While I spent the week collecting materials and RSVPs, organizing the layout and the personnel, the LEF Apprentices "cleaned up" the farm and put all of the infrastructure in place. It is amazing how much time and man power some of those tasks take. Putting up signs to guide people to and around the farm alone is a two person, two hour job.  We placed 40 hay bales, 7 tables, and 3 tents in various areas around the farm, and made 18 quarts of lemonade. We organized produce for a farm stand and materials for the hands-on activities at 8 different stations.  We had the help of 25 different people to make this all happen, and my impression was it was a great success.

We hosted as many people (if not more) at this year's Sheep to Shawl event as we did last year, but it felt a bit less hectic.  We spread the stations around the farm more and we were better organized, having the experience of one year under our belts.  We were all so pleased to rekindle relationships with members and non-members alike, after the long winter of little contact.  It was a great kick-off event, and we look forward to the many more Community Farm Days we have planned throughout the summer.  Thank you all for supporting both Live Earth Farm and the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program.

Jessica Ridgeway

Director

Live Earth Farm Discovery Program (LEFDP)

Pictures from Saturday's Sheep to Shawl
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Photos courtesy of member Helmut Salmen, plus a few from Tom!

Bruce Wool shears the sheep.

Yet another happy CSA member
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Email received April 22nd at the farm:

Hi Guys!

Nati's CSA; talk about connections - what a small world we live in!
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Last week I included a story about Nati from Puerto Rico (click here to read, if you missed it), who discovered our farm's newsletters on the internet several years ago and has read them vicariously ever since, as there was no CSA where she lives... until last year. She was so excited that she emailed me to tell me she was picking up her very first CSA box ever. She told me a bit about the women who run it - Tara and Olga, and how thrilled she was to finally have a CSA of her own to participate in.

Now the small world part kicks in! Lynn Selness of Summer Meadows Farm, our neighbor here in Watsonville (who has a goat share program where you can get raw goat milk and cheeses) wrote me later last week with the following:

"You won't believe the coincidence this week, I read the article in your newsletter about the woman waiting for the CSA to come to Puerto Rico, what a sweet story, and guess who visited me from Puerto Rico this week -- same week -- this is too strange!  The woman Olga who started the CSA recently in Puerto Rico! She was visiting family here in Prunedale with her mother and a friend and so much wanted to visit farms in this area to see how it is here, so she found me and such a lovely visit we had; they were so warm-hearted and told all about farming there. Her mother was a vegetable grower for many years (and actually had had her own small CSA for the last few), but now her daughter Olga was gathering organic produce from her and other farms and running a larger CSA, distributing and organizing the customers, so her mom can just grow without all that work of having to grow such a large variety of things herself, can just grow what she enjoys. I took a sweet picture of the 3 of them, they were dressed so colorfully in bright reds and prints, its pretty... I am so amazed at this coincidence, isn't this strange!"

Here is Lynn's picture of them: that is Olga's mom Silka, seated, Olga Casellas on the right, and their friend Tara Rodriguez -- who is Olga's CSA partner (don't think Lynn realized this) -- in the middle. 

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(click here for cost and scheduling info)
We'll be engaging campers in creative expression among our 100 organic acres of fruits, vegetables, farm animals, and wild spaces. During the week campers will plant, harvest, and create in the kitchen and beyond; make cheese, make masks, print, paint, and sculpt with natural materials.