***Volunteer day: March 12 and March 15 from 10:00 -2:00. Please wear work boots and bring gloves and a refillable water bottle and any snack you might want to keep you fueled. We do not have bottled water. If you are physically unable to help with manual labor, but want to come keep us company, you are absolutely welcome here. I cannot express how much Perriee and I love having someone else around while we work. ***

I feel like most can agree that this past week was pretty wild and weird. We had another big windstorm which always seems to suck up most of the air out of a day on a farm with big stuff that could turn into a sail at any moment. We only lost one clear panel on the duck run and had to readjust our low tunnels a bit, but the nerves throughout are always a little on edge during that windy weather.

My first day of farm school at the University of Kentucky was on Monday in Lexington and of course I left with more ideas then I had then when the day began. Perriee and I have already scouted a spot for a vineyard because…wine not? The most exciting thing was discovering that the couple we met the prior week who are looking for that thirty acres around here are in my class too! It was a beautiful twist of fate in this crazy universe.

We supported some local business around Flemingsburg by treating ourselves to a massage at Be Still Massage and by having a meal out at our local Mexican restaurant, El Caminante. Of course there was a touch of “market research” involved, in the unlikely event someone stayed here and needed a recommendation. Perriee applied for the RAFI grant because she is my hero, so we stopped to look at some greenhouses in town in preparation for that potential addition to the farm. You have to play to win, right?

The mission to use up all of this year’s dried flowers before summer continues. One of the wreaths I finished is made of goldenrod, sage, and sedum on a wild grapevine base. It is fluffy and full of herbal goodness. I am pretty stoked about this month’s subscriber giveaway too. It is my first attempt to make a dream catcher since I was in college way back in the 1900s when I was involved in the Native American Heritage Association at Radford University. I still have the two that I made hanging up in the parlor. Maybe I should hang them over the bed where they can help me filter my thoughts that run into the night.

Maple Fest at Turtleback Ridge Brewery on Saturday kicking off their new season. It felt like a bit of a family reunion seeing friends from far and wide who came out of their winter hibernation to come together at that magical place. We ate amazing food from Fodder, hugged more people than I can count and delivered a trunk full of stuff to people who we knew would be there, coming home with some goodies ourselves from friends who knew we would be there too. Even the dogs looked joyful. Of course, the beer was delicious, but the community was the real medicine that I needed.

Last but most importantly, Perriee’s grandma Odessa celebrated her 98^th birthday this week. Below is a picture we took in October at her insistence because she saw a picture of Perriee’s other grandma, Dear, from 2010 from the time I met her during our first trip to Chicago. She wanted to recreate it with us. To say I have been blessed to have married into her family is an understatement.

Seedling watch: The calendula is still tiny. And so begins our fretting of, why isn’t it growing yet? We up-potted some and I planted a few in the low tunnel to see what happens. The interweb says it should be bigger by now.

Celosia has been uppotted also. We will see if we can get some growth on these too.

Seed starting: I seeded a tray of lemon basil and some blue spice basil.

Important Upcoming Dates:

March 12: Volunteer day: move some compost, map out new garden beds, pollinator patch prep, cut honeysuckle, volleyball court prep?

March 15: Volunteer day: move some compost, map out new garden beds, pollinator patch prep, cut honeysuckle, volleyball court prep?

March 22: Find us at Blue Stallion Brewery 12-6 for Blue Stallion & Hollow Haven Bazaar Equinox & Ales! It is shaping up to be a really cool event!

April 19: 2^nd annual Earth Day at Loving Farm. We have a lineup of 3 bands: Violet and the Newsroom, Hogtown, and Highly Likely for a day of music, nature and friends starting at noon! Save the date!

PS: Here is my homework from class. I am probably going to leave it here for my own reference throughout the process:

Loving Farm is a small scale regenerative flower farm on Adena, Hopewell, Osage, Shawnee and Cherokee historical land. Nestled between a railroad track and Johnson Creek we welcome diversity of all types, whether it be people, plant, or animal and strive to work in balance with all. Our mission is to approach our business first from the perspective of love and strive to be a space for continued learning for us and all who pass through.