Farm Musings and Updates:

Hello Friends of the farm! We find ourselves with one foot in Summer and the other somehow striding quickly off towards Fall. There is so much happening this season, and it all speeds by so fast! The turning of wet soil and tiny seeds into huge zucchini in the farmstand, and dust rising on the driveway is kinda miraculous.

Our lambs are now weened and independent, and happily grazing with the flock in East Field. There’s now more eating grass, than frolicking and capering in their springy-legged gang. The ducks are laying lots of wonderful eggs and having a lot to say. There is a great deal happening in the orchards (we are thankfully past the worst of the killer tent caterpillar invasion), the market garden and cut flower beds are growing fast, and the fruit set is excellent this year.

Our Westfield garden is just starting to push towards the vast harvests of August and September, when all is ripe, and we are scrambling to keep up with harvesting, processing, selling, and preserving all the local bounty. Think juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, tender sweet broccoli and and cauliflower, snap peas, fennel root, juicy watermelons, string beans and potatoes, and much more!

Our Incredible OCPA Team alongside our wonderful intern Ash, and best volunteer ever, Chloe (both total treasures) have all kept us afloat and growing through a few health scares this season. Joel and I are recovering, but the support we’ve had is deeply appreciated, and we feel incredibly lucky. We are taking care of ourselves on all levels.

The first batch of our beloved Barn Swallows has fledged and flown their nests, and their intrepid parents are preparing for their second brood. Our friend Eric Lum, from Lum Farm, is making his way towards us, one hay field at a time, He'll be here soon to cut and bail our hay. It’s always one of the high marks of summer. I am not quite sure how we will get it all put up this year as we are a bit gimpy, but I trust it will get done with some extra hired help. If you are local and want to help us buck hay, please let us know!

Shop Local:

If you haven’t already heard, Barn Swallow Vintage is accepting select vintage items, garden art, and home good consignment items. They need to fit the style and character of the items we carry in the shop. If you have some treasures you think would be a great fit, let me know and we can set up an intake. If you are unsure, then come visit and check out the shop and we can talk about it. We are open Wednesday - Saturday.

Our Wednesday Markets are starting to pop! Gillian Jones and her highly-rated oracle and tarot readings are fantastic. Shawna Villalvazo of The Bubblery has her handcrafted artisan soaps + skincare here most Wednesdays. We are actively talking with several more artists, makers, and food purveyors that we hope will join us soon!

Warm Valley Farm & Barn Swallow Vintage are open 4 (four) days a week
Wednesday 3 PM - 7 PM - Vendor Market Day
Thursday 11 AM - 4 PM - Farmstand + Shop
Friday 11 AM - 4 PM - Farmstand + Shop
Saturday 11 AM - 4 PM - Farmstand + Shop

In other good news, we may soon get to be members of the IGFC co-op, and will find out mid-July. Island Grown Food Cooperative is the USDA mobile slaughter unit that comes to the islands. We’ve been on the waitlist for many years. If we become members, then we will be able to be more confident in the ability to have regular slaughter dates, and will be able to raise pork again for the farmstand, stores, and local chefs.

We don’t want to risk what happened last year, which was a lot of fretting, and then a crazy long trip to Eastern Washington, just before the snow flew. It was stressful and expensive, and we were lucky to have had an option, but every time we put veggies in the compost, I think of them and miss that intrinsic part of the cycle on the farm.

Up-Coming Events:

Our first Farm-to-Table Dinner in our new event space with Matia this summer, will be Saturday August 26th. Tickets are still available. It is in support of The San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) featuring the artist Zev Robinson and his wonderful exhibit, The Art and Politics of Eating. It will be scrumptious! Get your tickets here: https://www.sjima.org/event-details/farm-to-table-dinner-orcas-island-at-warm-valley-farm-with-zev-robinson

We are participation in the The San Juan County Orcas Farm Tour September 29th, 30th and October 1st. We will host other vendors and makers as well as OCPA, and maybe even ice cold treats served up by someone everyone on Orcas loves. More details soon!

New Ways to Support the Farm

Donation Button on our website homepage: We are gratefully accepting donations for our:

Farmstand Fridge / Freezer - Fund:

Really needed: A commercial-grade glass-fronted fridge, and freezer for the farmstand. We would be so incredibly grateful for your help! You can find the donation button on our Website’s homepage.

One of the driving forces for this change is that our old residential farm fridge is dying. We’ve traditionally kept our veggies out on the display table, but our summers are getting hotter, and the just-picked-freshness of our vegetables and flowers starts to slip very quickly.

We have a rich life, but not a financially big one! So, we thought we’d ask our community of friends, neighbors, visitors, and benefactors for some help.

We looked into it and think the IKON one-section reach-in freezer, and the IKON one-door upright bottom mount reach-in refrigerator are good choices They are about $2,000 each, (or less if we can get them on sale). We believe that appliances that have environmentally superior refrigerant and are more energy-efficient, and have a warranty are the way to go.

Your help will support this local farm to feed our community, have less food waste, crisper vegetables, and fresher flowers, and you’ll be able to see our meat selection without having open the door, and paw through it.

Annie’s July Poems

Sailing Day on San Francisco Bay

Jib sheets dance to the

Eternal tug of war of summer

As coastal cool and valley heat battle

The pitch and pull

And it rises and lulls

Playing out in fat stacked fog banks

Then dissipating in fast disappearing acts

Us riding heeled and high

Then calm and smooth

The dance of elements

Caught up in sail and sheet

And salty smiles as we retreat

Homeward bound

~ July 2014

Independence

I’m sitting at a Cafe in Amorgos Greece with tears in my eyes

I’m watching swallows fledge. It moves something deep in me

A miracle of flight

And also what’s expected

Both the end of dependence and the beginning of a new life

~ July 7, 2019