Sunday, October 27, 2013

Just enough, just in time

Some days this life is hard,  full of tough continual work,  bad weather,  low wages , manual labor,  all the downsides of farming.  It isn't all glitter and glamour,  it's hard work.

Sometimes the darkness seeps into your soul with frustration,  despair,  tiredness,  negative emotions that make life hard.

Yesterday was such a day...  An unusually tough delivery day.  By the time we returned home we were dead tired and Drained emotionally.  Then,  just when you want to sit down for a second to breath,  the clock reminds you....  "it's time to milk the  goats"..... So you head out in the cold darkness to continue on....

But... Then...  A spark.  Our God watches over us in amazing ways.  He cares about our feeling as much as our future. He knows our limits and respects them,  carrying us through the tough times when our own strength fails.

Yesterday was an example.  At the end of the  day when the thoughts hit ...  "why are we doing this?"...  An email arrives out of the blue that provides the answer.  Another family much like ours,  fighting for the lives of their children,  searching for answers and health that is so elusive.  They need help,  just like we did 4 years ago.  Their story touches our hearts and brings a glowing warmth of "Oh...  THATS why we do this." 

Suddenly the frustration turns into motivation and the farm isn't big enough,  the work becomes child's play.  There is a purpose.

Farming is not a job,  it is a mission. A life mission,  a labor of love. 

Whenever we forget that...  HE reminds us... And we start afresh,  renewed by the knowledge that this makes a difference in someone's life.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Male blaptica dubia molting into maturity

This week we finally have adult blaptica dubias!  We found 3 mature males,  ready to mate and produce lots of natural high protein bird feed :)

Below is a picture of the fourth male...  We caught him in the act of molting into his manly mature skin. 

This bug project is getting exciting!  I predict that,  barring any accidents,  we will have a large second generation of roaches and mealworms getting ready to scale this into the next phase.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Interview by respectful revolution

We were recently honored to be interviewed by Gerard of the Respectful Revolution.  The full video of the interview will be released in spring.

We support what Gerard is doing,  traveling across America seeking out the people working from their hearts and passions.

Here is the initial interview intro.
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=440209722764531&id=197267847058721&set=a.204809062971266.45253.197267847058721&__user=707044432

Big news

One of the biggest single projects are Little Sprouts Farm is about to be unveiled.  It is something we have been working on quietly for months. It is something that will allow us to extend our reach to many more people,  in unique ways,  to bring healthy foods to their lives.  The most exciting thing is that this is a project that you can take part in!

Stay tuned......

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Mealworms... Live protein for birds

What do birds eat in the wild?  Bugs and seeds.  Common feed has seeds,  but what about the bugs?  Our answer is...  Grow your own!

Here is the starts of our new mealworms farm.  It will expand greatly,  these are just the initial breeders.  In a couple months these little fellows will be the founders of a huge community.  Our goal us to raise enough worms to feed all our chickens about 30% of their diet.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Our Story in the Mail Tribune

We recently did an interview for an article in the Medford Mail Tribune. You can click the image below to read the full story.



http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131002/LIFE/310020301/-1/LIFE05

Interview in the Locals Guide

We were recently honored to do an indepth interview with a local publication, called "Locals Guide".  You can click on the image here to read the full article.




http://ashland.oregon.localsguide.com/little-sprouts-farm-bringing-the-farm-to-you-with-healthy-humane-traditional-foods-delivered-to-your-door

Grape harvest

What fun we had harvesting grapes recently!  Thank you to the Schmidt family!

Heirloom veggies are amazing!

Heirloom is the way to go!  Forget hybrids...  Heirlooms far out perform and hybrid we have ever tried!

Check out kaelyn with her find of an 11 lb beet!  The amazing thing is this huge beet is totally edible!

Heirloom....  The way things ought to be!