Silent Sunday: The Babe Goes to Market!

Off to Market we go...

This week has begun our official harvesting for the season!

Tomorrow will be our first Farmer's Market for this season.

We'll have Early Mac's and Paula Red Apples.

People love the Early Mac's for the bite they get when munching on one!

We'll also have Starkrimson Pears and Seckel Pears.

Seckel Pears are also known as 'Sugar' or 'Lunchbox' Pears because they are small and taste like you've just plopped a dolop of sugar in your mouth! They sell out fast!

What's your favorite Pear vareity?

Food, Inc.

Who is planning to tune in this evening for the television premier of Food, Inc. ?

I've seen it. I liked it. Some things were real eye openers. Some things didn't surprise me.

Regardless of whether or not you would ever be willing to change the types of the food you consume, i.e. red meat, becoming vegan, etc..., at least watch this with an open mind and consider where you purchase your food from.

At the very least, I hope you watch and are inspired to buy as much FRESH local food as you can. And I don't mean local as in your local super market. (Watch and you will see what I mean) Local as in your local farmer's markets and CSA programs. Those types of avenues.

Like I say on the Orchard's website,

'Eat Fresh, Be Healthy, Buy Local'

Kitty Kare Taker!

Momma Cindy and her 6 kitties are back home here on the farm. Cindy is still on daily meds and the kitties keep getting crusted-shut eyes which means I have to 'pry' them back open with a warm wash cloth and then swap some ointment on them.

They are getting so big and brave...fighting with each other and walking all over. They are even starting to eat wet food. Momma Cindy scarfs hers down, but she is very picky and still sick so she gets a special wet food mixed with a milk substitue type of solution that helps her gain weight and produce more milk for her kittens!

I'd love to see Momma start putting on more weight and getting a healthier coat, but I know that will come with time and will be easier for her once she is done nursing.

I recieved my order today from Amepix! I ordered a sticker that I posted in a previous blog and these buttons!! I chose these so we can wear them at the farmers markets :) hehehehehe - I am SURE my husband will oppose ;)

Saturday Fly By Etsy Finds

I use the time fly by in my blog post title because I feel that is what I am doing. This week has been so busy and haven't had much time to blog, or read all the blogs I follow :( And so naturally, I didn't get to my Etsy finds until last evening and I'm still waiting to hear from a few artists on their permission to feature them - so stay tuned. I will add the new finds to the post throughout the next 48 hours as I hear from the artists!

Also, for those Clevelander's, check out Slow Food Northern Ohio's Blog. They have a post on how you can help support the Coit Road Farmers Market....so if you're in that area & interested, check it out!

Speaking of Farmer's Markets, we are patiently [anxiously] awaiting to hear from the ones we submitted to for the 2010 season! And, check out this awesome Farmers Market related shirt I found on Etsy! It's by Pursuits of Happiness and I love it!

I cannot wait for warm summer nights when we can use these! We woke up to snow and ice yesterday :/ UGH. This hand made garden lantern is from Onewintrynight. There is tons of cool stuff in this shop, but my brain is on warm, summer mode right night so I chose this!!


Maybe I should have titled my post 'warm summery mode'! Seems my brain is still there for my next favorite find of the week, this Cami Dress from Plum Pretty Sugar. She has all kinds of summer goodness clothing I want to wear NOW! And you can follow Plum Pretty Sugar on Twitter or Facebook.

And then I came across this on Etsy! Some of you may or may not know my fascination with anything 'witch' which, I assume, stems from my love of Halloween! This is a kitchen witch that is to bring good luck into your home :) Growing up my mom had a kitchen witch, but hers was actually scary looking! I tired to find one on my trip to Salem, MA a few years back, but they all seemed so commercialized and less genuine....if that makes sense. You can find this at Reid's Weeds on Etsy.

I wish I can make my eye into a camera and snap a pic every time I blink at something as wonderful as the way the sunrise is coming up over the orchard right now! Perfect!

I have to go get ready for the farrier to come trim the horses hooves....I thought about taking pics of the process for my blog, but he's Amish, so I don't know that they allow pics of themselves...that could be awkward!

Check back later as I add the rest of my Favorite Etsy finds of the week!

Favorite Farm Finds on Etsy!

I'm so excited for my finds from this past week on Etsy! They are all things I have found with the theme "farm" in mind! Let's 'plow' right in...no pun intended!

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These adorable little barn farmyard friends are from Etsy Shop, Down in the Meadow! I had an opportunity to chat with Suzanne and she is lovely! She lives in South Africa with her husband and children; they have some fruit trees in their yard including figs and peaches!! Check out Down in the Meadow - Suzanne has some cute Easter things up now too :) Check out her blog too if you get a chance.
This photograph is a staple of 'farm' if you ask me! Don't these eggs looks gorgeous! Looking at this photograph from Etsy Shop, Willow Dawn, makes me second guess my decision to allow my husband to have chickens ;) If he could bring eggs in like this every morning, I might have to consider!! This picture also promotes buying local, which I am all about!
I love my kitchen. I love being in it and cooking! And I need a good mixing bowl; especially when I am doing up some kind of sweet like cookies! This beautiful mixing bowl is from Illyria Pottery. Take a chance to check out all the goods in this Etsy store! There are bowls, mugs...even sushi bowls :) Ok, so Sushi doesn't really scream farm.........

And, it wouldn't be a favorite Etsy Finds post without me posting a tote or apron, right? How about this awesome gathering apron :) So Cool! This is from Etsy shop, Frog Creek Cottage. I could surely use this once the gardens start harvesting, and for sure once the orchard starts it's harvest! If you have little harvest helpers at home, they make these aprons in their size too!
Now these are something new to me and really cool! Green too! They are Farm Fresh Dryer Balls from Farm Fresh Fiber. Eco-friendly, you pop 'em in the dryer and they take the place of your dryer sheets! This Etsy shop is also a small family farm; stop by their blog and show them some love!
And last, but certainly not least, what kind of farm theme/topic would be complete without a red barn! This wonderful watercolor painting is by fellow Cleveland Team Etsy Member Red Maple Studio! Amy, over at Red Maple Studio, lives in near vicinity of myself and she is also an equine lover!! I will have to have her over to the farm when the orchard is in bloom :) Amy also has a blog and you can follow her on twitter. If you Facebook, check her out there too!

Thanks for popping in today to check out my Favorite Etsy finds of the week! This was a fun 'theme'; I may just have to continue it on weeks to come! The horses are itchin' to get outside and my crazy kitty loving niece is begging to take a trip over to Kitten Krazy! Have a good weekend!

Farmer's Market Success?

So last nights Farmer's Market in Orrville was not, I assume, as busy as a Farmer's Market could be, but it was a good experience.

On my way there, I stopped to grab an iced coffee and some fast food. At the first drive-thru window where I needed to pay, the young kid at the window proceeded to comment on how man apples I had in my car...as if I hadn't noticed! Then, at the second window, the younger dark haired kid exclaimed, "Whoaaa [imagine this is young, male teen "far out dude" voice!] That is a lot of apples you have in there....ya get a good deal or something at a market or orchard or something?" I thanked him for my order and explained that I WAS the orchard and I was trying to sell them as I pulled away from the window!

I was a little hesitant when I pulled up to see that the only other people with booths set up were Amish. How can I compete with the Amish at a Farmer's Market!! No worries, more local farmers showed up shortly, none of which had apples to sell!

My mom brought beautiful flower bouquets she picked from her gardens as well as fresh basil, thyme, dill and chives. It was a nice touch to help draw attention to our booth.

I found that most of the "older people" who stopped by the booth knew of the apple, a Transparent, and most others had never heard of it and were actually surprised to see someone already selling apples! It was exciting to have some walk up and be excited at the apples at proceed to purchase 2 dozen for sauce making!

Mom had to stroll the lane of vendors to check out everyone's goodies...as well as see who was undercutting her on the price of the herbs ;)

And of course, anytime one of us does something new, it is never not a family party! The only one missing was my brother. My relatives visiting from California were anxious, I am sure, to go home and tell people they vacationed in Orrville, OH!

On a positive note, the apples that sold brought in approx. $20; certainly not a paycheck, but the experience was what mattered! I was lucky enough to have the hubs stay home to look after the dogs and make sure the horses got brought in and fed...and thankfully, he cleaned their stalls too! Now if I can only teach him to do the laundry......