I’m sitting here enjoying my morning coffee and typing this extremely slowly so please bear with me. Thank goodness for spell check and autocorrect! I’ve been plagued with numbness in my hands for the last year or so due to a cubital tunnel issue. I’ve spent many days walking around shaking my hand to get some feeling back in it to continue working – and no, I don’t have a nervous tick. I went on Friday morning for surgery to decompress the nerves and I’m pleased to report that my hand hasn’t been numb for the last couple of days! You have no idea how wonderful it is to sleep through the night without waking up with a throbbing hand. I’m having to wear a sling for a couple of days to aid the healing, hence the one-handed typing.
My doctor said the recovery is short, but I needed to stay home over the weekend to let things settle down and avoid tears or post-op infection. Therefore, I was unable to do the Cowtown Farmers Market and Opal’s Farm Stand yesterday. I’m so sorry I missed you all. I can say that I’ve truly enjoyed the air conditioning and spending time with my beautiful wife this weekend! Now if I can just convince the puppies not to nose my arm while I sit here.
The heat is finally coming on strong this week so veggie production will slow down as we finish out the summer. The tomato production is rapidly declining so please get your summer tomatoes as we might not have many until Fall. We’re finishing out our pumpkin patch for the Fall, and several new beds are coming in so we hope to keep having our produce available through the summer doldrums.
We may not be at Cowtown Farmers Market every week. If we don’t have enough for both markets, we will be sending everything to the farm stand at Rosedale and Evans. We’re also changing our summer hours to keep everyone safe in this Texas heat. Beginning next week, Saturday, June 25th, we’ll be open from 9:00 AM until Noon. A big shout out to Jay and Vicki for manning the farm stand this summer. We have been so blessed by their help and support. Please let Jay know if you’d like to volunteer, either at the farm stand or Opal’s Farm. Feel free to contact me to get you set up on the volunteer’s text thread.
Finally, a huge shout out goes to Amir for irrigating for me yesterday. This weekend was not a good time to go without water for three days (I get to go back for light work on Monday!) Opal’s Farm is so blessed with all our volunteers and friends. Please stop by and see us soon. We love and appreciate our little community.
The news has shown stories on ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids across the country ever since January 20th of last year when mass deportations, allegedly of “the worst of the worst”, began in earnest. The reality is that only three percent of the over 600,00 people deported had violent felony convictions and approximately seventy-three percent had no criminal record whatsoever, but hey, that’s a story for some other time.
I’ve watched the often cruel, inhumane, and illegal ways average immigrants are targeted and arrested simply for going to work or dropping their kids off at school, paying taxes, and contributing to their respective communities. I watched in horror, as did we all, the murder of American citizens at the hands of mercenary, masked ICE agents in Minnesota. I’ve known that similar raids are carried out in my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas but such things are not newsworthy in the “most Republican city in the state”. Therefore, they’ve occurred quietly, in the dark, away from the public eye.
Last Saturday morning, the news became real for me. I stopped at the local QuickTrip for gas, a bag of ice, and my morning sausage biscuit. It was early Saturday morning and quiet for the normally busy OT station. There was a SUV with Oklahoma tags parked all by itself on the far end of the lot. It didn’t appear to be occupied, but it hit me as strange to be sitting out there all by itself. I went in, took care of my business, went back to my truck, and saw the SUV charge across the parking lot and rear-end what looked to be someone’s work truck with a loud crash. In front was another SUV that blocked the driveway. The collision caused damage to both SUVs and the truck. Four other SUVs surrounded the scene. Lights came on – they’d been off prior to the collision giving no indication it was law enforcement – from each of the SUVs and eight to twelve ICE agents clad in combat gear with guns drawn swarming the vehicle. A Fort Worth police car had pulled up behind the ICE agents to observe the raid.
One agent busted through the driver’s side window, and they pulled a middle-aged Hispanic man from the driver’s seat and threw him to the ground. He offered no resistance to the agents that immediately handcuffed him and rushed him off to one of the other SUVs. Then the passenger, a younger Hispanic man – also handcuffed – had several ICE agents surrounding him, patting him down, and escorting him to another waiting vehicle. The agents began to mill about looking like big heroes, congratulating each other with big smiles, and patting each other on the back. By then, two other FWPD vehicles had pulled up. The two Fort Worth police officers stood there laughing and watching the whole affair.
It took me a moment to find my phone and start videoing the scene. Unfortunately, videography is one of my challenges and it wasn’t clear. I tried to take several stills as well, showing the faces of the FWPD officers involved and two or three of the unmasked ICE agents. I may not have their names – not that they would give them to me since masked thugs prefer anonymity – but I’m damn sure going to post the few faces I did see. I’m not the best photographer, especially with the trembling hands of an adrenaline rush, but by God I’m going to let them know that someone sees them and cast some light on their dark activity.
I try to treat everyone with common courtesy, dignity, and respect regardless of our differences. That’s become increasingly difficult with MAGA acolytes and the constant threats to the democracy and freedom I’ve been blessed to enjoy. Seeing this Gestapo-like behavior, over a decade’s worth of assaults on “the other”, assaults on our democracy and the rule of law, and the constant lies of a hateful, felonious narcissistic pedophile became a deluge that breached the dam of any self-control I’ve held onto. I was pissed
I didn’t hesitate to let them know I was filming their chickens*** bullying. The “F” word flowed freely as did “Nazi mother****ers “. I let the FWPD officers know they were no better as they stood there laughing. It wasn’t my best moment, but I was so angry to see their pompous, self-righteous BS that I simply had to call it as I see it.
I don’t know anything about the guys they arrested. They could be some of “the worst of the worst”, but it’ s far more likely they were like the overwhelming majority of detainees and were simply off to another day of work to provide for their families, contributing to our community, and paying taxes like everyone else. It’s been my privilege to work with many immigrants over the years, with and without documentation, and I’ve never met any finer coworkers or friends. They possess the very values of God (no matter what name they use), family, and work we profess to want from all our neighbors regardless of status.
The constant chaos we see and hear on the news each day tends to push immigration aside. Please don’t let it. We celebrated 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence yesterday, a document signed by a bunch of immigrants to this country, in response to attacks on “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Our treatment of immigrants, of the other, is a premonition of how we will all be treated if we remain silent in the face of injustice…
It’s an overcast Sunday morning here in North Texas. Rain is in the forecast once again and with a little luck it will continue Monday. Another “rain day” would be welcome during this busy time of year. Another peaceful morning drinking coffee and getting some well-deserved rest and some writing time would be amazing even though this is one of the busiest weeks of the year.
Juneteenth is this Friday and Ms. Opal’s Walk for Freedom is at nine o’clock at Will Rogers Coliseum. Opal’s Farm will be there for the celebration with lots of great veggies. I’ve been told that, God willing, Ms. Opal will be there to ride in the comfort of air conditioning to lead the walk and celebrate her hundredth year. After all the miles she has walked to advocate for a day of celebration on June 19th, she has definitely earned the comfort of air conditioning on a Texas summer day.
Our Executive Director (and candidate for Texas Congressional candidate for Texas District 25) will be in Evansville, Illinois (one of our sponsor cities) for Opal’s Walk and then in Chicago for the Grand Opening of the Obama Presidential Center. We’ll all be walking together at the same time as many folks around the country and the world. Please come and celebrate freedom and unity with all of us.
Event Details
Date: Friday, June 19, 2026 Location: Walks taking place across the country
Walk Host Cities:
Fort Worth, TX
Evanston, IL
Cincinnati, OH
Los Angeles, CA
Grants Pass, OR
Washington, DC
Juneteenth has never meant as much to me as it does this year. The constant onslaught of bad news – an unjust war, increasing economic hardships for the majority of Americans, the daily attacks on our freedoms and democracy – can be overwhelming, bringing hopelessness and despair. Juneteenth is a reminder that we all have something to celebrate – our freedom and each other. It offers hope for what we were always meant to be. It’s truly a statement of “we the people”. It’s so much more than a holiday simply honoring the freedom of African American enslaved people. It frees us all from the oppression of fear and hatred that old ideas of class and racism that have weighed on us all. It’s a time to join in unity instead of the deep divisions that so many of us feel.
It truly is a time to, as Ms. Opal says, celebrate freedom from Juneteenth to July 4th. In this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, celebrating Juneteenth has never been more important – it’s about the freedom we all should have and enjoy. Please join us, whether in one of our host cities on in your town , as we walk together to celebrate unity and Juneteenth.
Happy Sunday morning my friends! We had a fantastic Cowtown Farmers Market and Opal’s Farm Stand yesterday. The predicted rainy Saturday turned out to be a beautiful summer day. It waited until the evening to start pouring down so Opal’s Farm received a huge blessing with God’s irrigation!
If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Opal’s Farm Stand you need to come by and visit. We’re at the corner of Rosedale and Evans (1109 Evans) every Saturday from 1 PM until 4 PM. We’ve been blessed to have other vendors asking to come down. Stephen from Tabor Farms is there frequently with an abundance of produce grown right here in Fort Worth as well as Demetria’s incredible herbal teas and salves to meet your wellness needs. We’ll be adding two new vendors in the coming weeks so please come out and join the fun.
Tomato season is well under way. First time market goers may want to come early as tomatoes tend to sell out quickly. There’s nothing better than a real tomato – locally grown 100% organically! A warning though, you may never want to eat grocery store tomatoes again…
Please remember that next Saturday, June 13th, from 8 AM to Noon, is Cowtown Farmers Market’s 40th Anniversary Festival. It will be a special day for all of us. We hope to see you there.
I haven’t posted about Opal’s Farm this month and for that I’m so sorry. There’s been some great news this month, but as is often the case this time of year, I’ve been extremely wrapped up in the springtime business of planting schedules, irrigation repairs, and farmers markets.
Most everyone knows about our staffing difficulties this past year. We’re slowly working those out. We’ve had some fantastic volunteer groups out this Spring that have helped keep everything on track for a successful harvest, but we’ve had some special volunteers step up to a new level to assist us in extending volunteer hours and making Opal’s Farm more accessible to our community. I’ll be firming up those details this week and letting everyone know soon.
We also had some great students from Ascend Middle School – Uplift Preparatory Academy – come out on Friday for a workday. They worked hard to finish last week’s harvest. It always gives me hope to see young people who want to help their community and help build the local food system. They are our future and we often don’t give them the credit they deserve for building the future.
I must apologize to our neighbors for the closure of the farm stand yesterday. My help was unable to be there while I was teaching Taste the C.U.R.E. at the farm. We will be there every Saturday afternoon from 1PM to 4PM. We also will be at Cowtown Farmers Market on Saturday mornings from 8Am until noon.
We’re excited to announce that our tomato vines are loaded, and we hope to have tomatoes coming next week. We’re just waiting for the inevitably slow Spring ripening. However, if anyone wants to order green tomatoes please let me know and we can set aside your orders to pick up at market.
Finally, I want to let everyone know that the Dione Sims for Congress campaign has rented the Opal’s Farm venue for a Community Fish Fry Fundraiser on Memorial Day. Here’s the flyer. We hope to see you there.
Date: Friday, June 19, 2026
gregoryjoel.com 