Ms. Opal was on NPR’s All Things Considered today to celebrate and tell the story of Juneteenth!
Category: Down On the Farm
Empowering You
I hope everyone is staying hydrated and healthy now that summer seems to have started in earnest. We’re hanging in there and keeping the summer crops watered to keep bringing you fresh, healthy, LOCAL produce (you can’t get much more local when you’re right next to downtown!).
We have so much to pass on to you all. June has been an amazing month already and Juneteenth is right around the corner. One of the Juneteenth events you shouldn’t miss is the Empowering You – Education, Health, and Job Fair to be held tomorrow and Saturday at the Trinity River Campus of Tarrant County College. See the attached flyer for details and while you’re there, come see us at the Opal’s Farmstand.
Spring Visitors
Our tomatoes are in! They loved all the rain this Spring and the May sun was the perfect topper for a great first week of tomatoes. We’ll have big harvests over the next few weeks so come out and see us at Cowtown Farmers Market and Opal’s Farm Stand.
I had company at the farm this week. We think she’s one of the coyote pups from last Spring. (Sorry I’m such a lousy photographer but I was on a running and vibrating tractor!) This young lady came and spent most of the day with me as I made way for the last succession planting of watermelon and cantaloupe. She stayed about ten feet away all day but was fascinated by the tractor. She kept a sharp eye out for any field mice that ran out as I prepared the beds.
I’m so glad we have a symbiotic relationship with the wild animals that come to the farm. Moreover, I’m really happy they feel safe enough to be there. It speaks to me of the peaceful spirit that exists there. Have a great week!
The Presidential Medal of Freedom…
I get to take Sunday off once again. It’s been another rainy weekend here in Fort Worth so it’s far too muddy to get any serious work done at Opal’s Farm. We’ve been blessed by an abundance of rain this Spring, but it’s slowing the planting process. Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful for the rain. Nothing is better for the farm than nature’s irrigation. The plants love it. I need to get the rest of the seed in to fully enjoy this wonderous time of year. The three-to-five-day rain cycle has really slowed things down.
I must apologize for not having the farm stand active yesterday. Opal’s Farm is in the transition period between early Spring and Summer crops and couldn’t harvest as much as normal. Everything sold at the Cowtown Farmers Market earlier in the day (and a special thanks to all the folks who braved the drizzly overcast day to come by). Please know the farm stand will be there next week with more fresh produce.
I must thank our Assistant Manager, Joey Hughes, for braving the rain and the mud all week to prepare and plant more beds. Joey is overseeing the biointensive section of the farm this year. He’s doing an amazing job expanding and keeping the section growing for our community.
I’d also like to give a shout out to our Volunteer Coordinator, Stacey Harwood, for doing the farm tours for all the kids and the parents who’ve visited the farm over the past few weeks. The farm is something near and dear to her heart and it shows in her excitement to tell everyone about Opal’s Farm.
We finished the week in a big way. Our Executive Director, Dione Sims, accompanied Ms. Opal the Washington, D.C. where she was invited to the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday. Nineteen people were awarded the medal. Ms. Opal was in some awesome company the included Phil Donahue, former Vice-President Al Gore, and former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, among others. We applaud and offer our congratulations to all the recipients, but especially Ms. Opal Lee, our visionary and “Grandmother of Juneteenth”. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the country, and we can think of no one more worthy of that honor.
(* side note – you can watch the ceremony on https://www.c-span.org/video/?535394-1/2024-presidential-medal-freedom-ceremony )
Finally, this may not be a farm event, but I must tell you that I was able to go see my grandson, Lucas, perform in the District Orchestra Concert at I.M. Terrell Academy on Saturday afternoon. I’m so proud and I’m thrilled that he made district. Moreover, he played at a place special to me because that’s where Ms. Opal graduated high school and it’s such an important place in Fort Worth history. Thanks to Fort Worth ISD for its investment in expanding I.M. Terrell High School and honoring its historical significance.
The sun came out as I wrote this so I’m thinking it’s time to get busy. Have a blessed Cinco de Mayo and come see us at Opal’s Farm!
Shop Local!
Greetings from Opal’s Farm. We will not be at Cowtown Farmers Market this week. The busy Spring planting season came to a bit of a halt this morning. The rain that came in overnight has been great for the farm and not so great for “being under the weather” physically. We will be there next Saturday morning and hate missing the Spring Festival this weekend. Bring your umbrellas and join the fun at Cowtown Farmers Market today!
I can’t stand to miss our family and friends at the market. Over the last five years, Cowtown Farmers Market has truly become family. It’s the highlight of my week. There’s something special about our market and the farmers and vendors who come each week to bring fresh local produce, meats, honey, and all kinds of other local products. I’ve learned so much from the knowledge freely shared by the farmers and friends there.
I grew up in Fort Worth but spent many days at my Uncle Carl’s ranch in South Texas or my Uncle Roof’s dairy farm up towards Boyd. I tend to be more of a carnivore when it comes to diet. That remained the case until I came to Cowtown. You see, Cowtown is unlike the way most folks shop for groceries. People actually stop and talk to one another. No avoiding hurried and harried people with shopping carts and frustration with checkout lines. You won’t find one self-checkout stand at the market; although people may line up because one of our farmers has something special that week (especially when peaches, tomatoes, and blueberries come in).
I’m no vegetarian, nor am I knocking those who are. I still love meat, but Cowtown helped me broaden my food experience. Customers have shared their many ways to cook the fresh produce we bring to market each week and I’ve tried them all (well, most of them anyway). I’ve incorporated many of their recipes into my diet. I even like greens now (except for kale – you all like it so we’ll keep growing it for you – I’m not there yet…).
I hope you will all head out to Cowtown Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Get to know our local farmers and vendors. Cowtown is a producer-only market. All the farms are within a 150-mile radius of Fort Worth. Everything is truly local. No one is a reseller – getting their produce from a distributor or wholesaler. In other words, we don’t have field tomatoes in January or Brussell Sprouts in August. Learning to eat what’s in season is not only respecting the Earth’s rhythms but benefits overall health as well.
Food is one thing we all have in common. It is to be savored and enjoyed by family and friends and so should shopping for it!
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