April and early May sped by like our little lambs, skipping and frolicking in the green, green grass of Spring. Our little guy, Bhaltair has grown up! He was still getting a Hattie snack occasionally, but has weaned off the milk replacement and spends his days in the field with his gang of sweet woolly friends, sleeping, grazing, and cavorting with them all. He still lets Maggie our red German Shepard, kiss him whenever she gets the chance.
The pears and apple trees have bloomed and the fruit is setting nicely (although the tent caterpillars are really bad this year), and our bewitching Rose Dragon is just opening her many-petaled eyes to survey the newly planted Hearth Event area. Warm Valley is alive with birdsong, and flowers and I am in awe of the beauty around us and full of gratitude for this place we call home.
Apple blossoms on Warm Valley Farm
Our first Spring Faire and Mother’s Day Pop-up was a fantastic success! Very special thanks to Lisa Seehof of Archipelago Botanicals for partnering with the farm for the event, and for all the beautiful plant selections and ceramic pot yumminess , she provided, as well as her amazing support of the farm.
Huge thanks to Cindy Morgan from Nest for her incredible flower display on the old Hearth chimney, also to Gillian Jones and her tarot readings. She got rave reviews! And to Kiel Sloper with his forged metal art and garden pieces, they were fantastic. The biggest thanks of all go to our wonderful customers and friends who joined us on the farm for Spring celebration.
FYI we plan to do quarterly pop-up events. We are plotting the next one for this Summer. Stay tuned for dates and participants!
The chimney adorned - Floristry art by Cindy Morgan of Nest
Summerhouse with Lisa Seehof’s plants, pots and gifts
Mother’s Day Pop-up with Archipelago Botanicals plants & pots
Wednesdays in Warm Valley
Our new hyper-local farmer’s market 3pm - 7pm, has quietly started up and is slowly gaining traction. This Wednesday we will have three vendors:
Gillian Jones Tarot readings (Everyone that has had a session with Gillian has raved about it.)
Emily is back with her delicious Babypower Micro-greens ~so scrumptious!
And new to us this week is Shannon with Tangled Orchard Epicure - serving up pies and deliciousness on the farm.
Farmstand and Shop
Warm Valley Farm is just starting to harvest veggies fresh for the season from our fields. In the farmstand we have organic free range duck eggs, farm-grown grass fed lamb, and succulent Mangalitsa/Berkshire pork, and our own veggie and flower starts.
Barn Swallow Vintage is open 4 days a week with storied gifts and wonderful treasures. We are accepting unique vintage home and kitchen goods, art and antique furniture for consignment. Call or stop in and ask Annie for more information.
Hours:
We are now open 3PM - 7PM on Wednesdays
AND our regular weekly farmstand and Barn Swallow Vintage hours are: 11AM - 4PM Thursday ~ Saturday.
We are considering adding Sunday to our schedule… Let us know your thoughts on that. We look forward to seeing you here on the farm. Thank you for supporting our farm & local small businesses on Orcas!
The Hearth Event Space:
We will be hosting our very first farm-to-table dinner with Chef Avery of Matia on Saturday August 26th. Tickets are available through The San Juan Islands Museum of Art. This is in support of artist Zev Robinson who has an exhibition THE ART AND POLITICS OF EATING ~ June 8 - September 11, 2023
Learn more: https://www.sjima.org/exhibitions/the-art-and-politics-of-eating
Bookings: Please inquire dates will be available soon.
Summerhouse Events and Classes:
We are gathering ideas and just starting to schedule classes. More to be announced soon! Here is a sampling of our class ideas:
Seeding, planting and harvest
Cooking class - Harvest and make your meal, with a local chef
Floral arraigning
Succulent pots and plantings
Altar making
Wreath making
Decoupage
Artist Misty Stone art class + sessions
Understanding Knot tying
Seed Saving
Foraging
Mind/body/sprit classes with teachers
Summer Farm Camp for adults - 4-5 day immersive classes on the farm
OCPA (Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture) is wonderful to host again this year. Bruce and Roxanne are excellent site managers. We have an incredible and dedicated crew, and our intern Ash is a total treasure, so is our volunteer Chloe, who is helping with Annie with the shop. We are SO lucky to have them ALL.
Annie’s Spring poetry musings:
Evening:
Evening spreads her sultry skirts
They swirl and flutter down
Like swallows coming home to roost
Spangles rise above the dark horizon line
And sparkle against her velvet skin
Like jewels winking in the dusk
As alluring as the scent of lilacs
Opening like tiny stars
Tendrils of intoxication drift in the breeze
Silken darkness spreads across my tongue like wine
Drowning in the fading light
Gradients of blue
As Sapphire turns to midnight almost too soon
Then evening tilts her head and invites the night
And I drift off transported lost between the two
Awash in flowered scent and stars and the soft breath of you
Nightsong
These soft evenings we hear…
The night song of the frogs
They seem to sing of joyous couplings and moon-filled nights
Their chorus intermittently raises and falls
As clouds obscure the moonshine
Deep in the dark
The Barred Owls say “Who Cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?”
Their haunting call drifts on the night air between the mossy stands of trees
Then they silently glide above
the open valley spaces, hunting for their tiny warm scampering meals
And in the predawn light, the Robins sing up the sun
And the Flickers, those f-ing Flickers
Drum an earsplitting staccato on our metal roof
Shouting I’m here, this is mine, IT IS SPRING
Until one of us leaves our warm bed, to sharply clap them away