Cane Creek Farm

Kate’s Blog: today i am thankful…. for cheerwine and sun drop for fiona…

Il était une fois — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:21:24 +0000

today i am thankful….

for cheerwine and sun drop

for fiona & billy and toby all visiting the farm last week

for elizabeth entrusting all us 20-somethings with the farm while she is at the river

for the peach-honey preserves that nick just made

for oscar’s new pigpen

for moonlight when i milk rosie each evening

for whoopie pies….though i am eating them with an alarming frequency

for the gardens that hailey has created

for the river being just 6 short days away

for it being in the 90s today….80s tomorrow and not a single 100 degree temp in sight on weather.com

for this sunrise ride saturday morning; just me and nick in elizabeth’s old vw bus packed with meats, veggies, and flowers for market

for having a garden of flowers to pick from whenever i want them….this has truly always been a fantasy of mine.

for how much life can change in just one year

Hailey’s Blog: I think I just broke my toe?!

Hailey — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 03:24:00 +0000

Okay possibly not ;) - but I stubbed it 45 minutes ago, and it's still throbbing! Oh well... toes are overrated anyway, right? On non-toe related fronts, life is really looking up. I'm finally feel better (yahooooo!) and have accepted that some days, you really just can't work in this heat (especially when the index has been up to 105). My folks were here for a few days this weekend, as well as my little sister, Chloe. It was really great to see them, and my parents really helped a lot out in the fields. After a few hours out in the sun, my mom got really fussy and insisted that she buy me a "sun shirt," i.e. - a long-sleeved shirt that is breathable, dries quickly, and has an SPF of at least 30. Although I was initially resistant to this ENDLESSLY dorky idea, I gave in and I think that she may actually have a point after all. I've also been pumping the water, putting electrolyte tablets in my drinks, and chewing on these completely awesome electrolyte gel bars made by Cliff. Anyhow, news on the farm is: that our tomatoes are still chugging along, although it looks like their peak has passed. I think we should still have a few more weeks of harvests over 200lbs, which is great, as some other farms have already stopped harvesting their heirlooms. Our melons are also passed their peak, which is a little bit sad since we normally have a much longer harvest. With our disease problems, as well as some water pressure issues earlier in the summer, plus this ultra intense heat, we're definitely going to lose our plants early. This makes me sad, but what I'm learning is that with farming - you win some, and you lose some, and all you can ever really do is just the best that you can do. Peppers, okra, and eggplant are still coming in fabulously, as well as zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers. We've also started to plan our fall garden! Stay posted for more on that. Well, it's 11:22PM and I'm still up in the shop. I just spent several long hours cleaning and sorting the veggies form the 3 markets we do each weekend (Greensboro Curb Market, Carrboro, and Saxapahaw). Now everything's nice and clean, and I can happily head on home. Thanks for reading, and catch you soon!

Kate’s Blog: i did something today that i don’t normally do. i cooked….

Il était une fois — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:32:22 +0000

i did something today that i don’t normally do. i cooked. we were planning on having a big picnic with the jordans but it was too hot (103!!!) for baby everly so they had to stay home.

not ones to let good food go to waste toby & nick indulged me and partook in my little picnic (but indoors, accompanied by the a/c)

i have to document this since, as i have said, i never cook.

our menu

rosemary & thyme crackers with fig & honey goat cheese

gazpacho with tomatoes and garlic from the farm sprinkled with our fresh peppers

tomato & eggplant & onion & parmesean tart

and of course for dessert

farm peaches, chocolate chip cookies, and vanilla ice cream

i love using all of our veggies and fruits from the farm to cook. it is by far the best perk of living here.

Kate’s Blog: i’ve been terrible at keeping up. back from new england…

Il était une fois — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:45:59 +0000

i’ve been terrible at keeping up. back from new england and i’ve missed my best friend’s birthday, i’ve barely spoken to my parents, let alone my friends. emails and messages and questions and letters are stacking up.

life is a little hectic….good hectic…here on the farm right now. things will be quieter starting friday and then i will get back to all of you.

for now, please take this little baby turkey sitting on my bath as an apology for my absence.

love love love

Kate’s Blog: headed back to my dear farm tonight. we have toby in the car…

Il était une fois — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:56:09 +0000

headed back to my dear farm tonight.

we have toby in the car and fi & billy are meeting us there. good times to be had this week.

tomorrow i will sit down and answer some of your questions about life on the farm, so if you have any others please do email or send it to iletaitunefois.tumblr.com/ask.

love love love.

Hailey’s Blog: lessons in faith.

Hailey — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 04:10:00 +0000

[the photos in this post are credited to Luck Photography, and were taken a few weeks ago at the farm. thanks, sarah!]

It's been a hard week here at the farm. Since feeling ill last week, I just haven't been able to bounce back in the way that I normally do. Even a week later, I feel weak and tired easily, have had trouble sleeping even though I'm exhausted, and just generally feel sort of spent, and out of (full) commission. It's hard to feel sick, no matter the circumstances, but it's been an especially painful week for me as I've struggled in vain to get all of my work accomplished while feeling so physically down. I think I'm beginning to feel better, as I try to rehydrate my body and pump myself up with electrolytes so that I can begin this new week with the full force of my passion, hard work, and dedication. However, in all honesty - I'm really feeling worried!! There's so much to accomplish, and I feel weary from both physically and spiritually, still slightly battered from the frustration of getting barely a thing accomplished this past week. However - the flowers are blooming, and my corn is just beginning to form its husks. Tonight, rather than focus on my concerns or fears, I'd like to think about the concept of "faith." I've recently started to explore Quakerism, but am generally not a religious person. However, I think of faith as something more than just tied to the Divine, but rather a fundamental trust in the magnificence, connectedness, and eternal hope of the world. This is a kind of faith that I've needed this week, and still need so fully in this present moment - faith that there is a rhyme and a rhythm to life, and to the work that I throw myself into each day. The two following poems express this sentiment so beautifully. I hope you'll find solace in them, just as I certainly have.

Faith ~ David Whyte I want to write about faith about the way the moon rises over cold snow, night after night, faithful even as it fades from fullness, slowly becoming that last curving and impossible sliver of light before the final darkness. But I have no faith myself I refuse it even the smallest entry. Let this then, my small poem, like a new moon, slender and barely open, be the first prayer that opens me to faith.

Little Summer Poem Touching the Subject of Faith

Every summer

I listen and look under the sun's brass and eveninto the moonlight, but I can't hear

anything, I can't see anything -- not the pale roots digging down, nor the green         stalks muscling up,nor the leavesdeepening their damp pleats,

nor the tassels making,nor the shucks, nor the cobs.And still,every day,

the leafy fieldsgrow taller and thicker -- green gowns lofting up in the night,showered with silk. 

And so, every summer,I fail as a witness, seeing nothing -- I am deaf tooto the tick of the leaves, 

the tapping of downwardness from the banyan feet -- all of ithappeningbeyond any seeable proof, or hearable hum. 

And, therefore, let the immeasurable come.Let the unknowable touch the buckle of my spine.Let the wind turn in the trees,and the mystery hidden in the dirt

swing through the air.How could I look at anything in this worldand tremble, and grip my hands over my heart?What should I fear? One morningin the leafy green oceanthe honeycomb of the corn's beautiful bodyis sure to be there.

-- Mary Oliver

Thanks for listening, sweet ones. I hope that this week finds us all brimming over with faith in the power of each passing moment, and in the basic goodness that is accessible within it. G'night!

Hailey’s Blog: thursday thursday

Hailey — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:28:00 +0000

Happy Thursday, and, in honor of my dear friend Kate's model of blogging, here is what I'm thankful for in my garden world today: for corn forming on the stalks in my three sisters garden, and the fact that the pole beans climb up them with no human intervention whatsoever. for zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers. for my delightful pup, Huck, who always greets me with such excitement and love. (ironically,) for my having heat stroke last week! this week, I'm drinking water out the wazooooo, which makes garden work in the sun a million times more enjoyable. for heirloom tomatoes - brandwines, german johnson, evergreens, kellog's breakfast, and more. for new crops coming up from seed - white beets, red beets, golden beets, chard, arugala, and a whole new crop of sunflowers. for the fact that I get to pull up our poor, disease-infected cucumber crop today! for Eliza, who is my family, and whom I love immensely. for fall gardens, for which I'm selecting seeds this very day. we're going to grow brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, beets, radishes, carrots, and more. for being forced to learn to not let the negativity of others affect my mood, or ability to accomplish work. for electrolyte tablets! :) for burgundy and multi-colored okra. for sunflowers yet again - always for sunflowers <3. We're coping with the struggles of the disease and blight problems as best we can - spraying with neem oil (which is an organic, plant-based fungicide and insecticide). I think that we'll most likely lose some plants, but the bulk of them appear to be growing and producing in a very healthy way. Today I'm feeling really joyful, despite some inter-staff conflicts, because a garden mentor of mine told Eliza that these are the best gardens that Eliza's ever had. These words make me swell with pride. I'm going to savor this feeling today while working in the gardens. Wish me luck!

Photo Post: Cane Creek Farm at Saxapahaw Farmers Market – 7/10/10

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:38:42 +0000

What a great evening. It was wonderful to see all of you out there last Saturday in Saxapahaw. The Big Fat Gap band played a lively and entertaining set. We chatted with friends, snacked on our delicious little golden bite-sized tomatoes, enjoyed a little goat cheese and local wine we purchased from other market vendors. Oh, and we sold the delectable bounty of our gardens. Eggplant, Okra, Tomatoes, Onions, Potatoes, Cucumbers, Zinnia Bouquets and more. Plus the usual mouth watering options of all natural grass-fed steaks and pasture raised heirloom breed pork.

Thanks to Sarah & Nate of Luck Photography for sharing the photos.

Kate’s Blog: nicky put some more pictures of the farm up on his picasa site…

Il était une fois — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:18:22 +0000

nicky put some more pictures of the farm up on his picasa site (click photo for link). lots of me holding insufferably cute animals, but that is life on the farm for ya.

here on the cape this morning, off to boston today for my dad’s follow up doc appointment and then back here for family and white russian q.t.

Farm Newsletter: July 2010

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:56:21 +0000

Straight nasty out there. What else can you say? The dog days seem especially sweaty this year, but the good news is that the animals are handling it better than any of us. Last night’s rain was very needed (in case you’re thinking that these newsletters are always about weather, know this- farmers yap/complain about only three things- weather, price of feed, and the government. We’re just doing our best to fit in!)

As frequent visitors to markets have realized, our beef supply has been trickling along for the past few months. But we’re now into loads of fresh beef and this should carry on through the rest of the year. So get the grills going, the beef is just wonderful right now. The pigs too are plentiful, so any barbecue cravings can be easily remedied.

As for the bird zoo- our guys weathered last night’s storm in great fashion. Our poults (baby turkeys) are growing up, the keets (baby guinea fowl) are getting bigger/louder, and even the gosslings (baby geese) are rocking out. In addition to the ducks and chickens around here, the bird sanctuary is a great visit for the kids. Lastly, eight lambs have dropped, and we’re expecting 2-4 more.

Thanks for visiting us in Carrboro, Saxapahaw, and in Greensboro for our markets. We’re now going to Greensboro most weeks (having said that, we’re not going tomorrow) and even have our own table (by the atm machine). We’d love to see more of you out here at the farm, so don’t forget our store hours- Thursdays 2-6 and Saturdays 10-4. It’s a pretty drive out here no matter where you’re coming from, and we’ll be happy to show you and the family around the farm.

And finally, our gardens have been great. Less tomatoes this year, but great varieties and healthy looking plants. Crazy varieties of eggplant, green beans (that start out purple), herbs, dwindling cukes and squash, okra, chard, peppers, onions, and garlic. And most excitingly, melons are just around the corner!

We hope all of our friends are well,

Cane Creekers