Category: Gratitude

Communication, Community, Down On the Farm, Events, Faith, Farmers Markets, Food Justice, Gratitude, Health, Heroes, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Nutrition, Opal's Farm, Service to Others, Thoughts From the Porch, Urban Farming, What Can I Do

Coming Soon…

gregoryjoel

Thanks to everyone who braved the cold to come to Cowtown Farmers Market Saturday. I guess we needed the reminder that it’s still January in Texas and not to get too comfortable with the seventy-degree days that have marked much of this Texas winter. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, our last frost date is March 21st, so we still have a couple of months of winter to go. Just because it is winter doesn’t mean that the farmers market and farm stand won’t have any great produce available though. It’s a great time of year for root crops like beets and carrots or greens like collards, turnip greens,  and salad mixes!

I’d also like to ask anyone who volunteered at Opal’s Farm last year to please get in contact with me. As many of you know, our Volunteer Coordinator left in November without notice. She failed to send the updated volunteer list. I know most of our corporate partners, but I would love to have everyone’s contact information to keep you all aware of special volunteer events as well as the new Opal’s Farm monthly newsletter starting in February.

We’re getting closer to the Grand Opening of Opal’s Farm Stand at our new location at the corner of Rosedale and Evans in Historic Southside. We’ll be there with bells on February 14th, Valentine’s Day, from 1 PM to 4PM.

Please remember that Opal’s Farm Stand is an authorized SNAP retailer and offers the Double Up Bucks program to stretch your SNAP dollar even further for fresh local produce. We’re excited and can’t wait to serve our neighbors in Historic Southside.

We’re so grateful to Texas Health Community Hope for administering the Double Up Food Bucks program here in DFW and the statewide program administrator, the Sustainable Food Center. They’ve been a fantastic partner to both us and other urban farms in Fort Worth. Look for several coming events such as cooking demonstrations and nutritional education in the coming year.

Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash

Tomorrow, January 19th, is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and once again, Texas Health is having groups come out to the farm to volunteer and help us get ready for Spring. We are so thankful to the Texas Health employees who come out several times a year, but especially on this important day when we honor the legacy of Dr. King through serving our community.

If your company would like to schedule a volunteer day, please let me know as soon as you can. The Spring schedule is starting to fill up. We love and appreciate all our volunteers and the amazing work they help us do!

Community, Down On the Farm, Gratitude, Hope, Neighbors, New Year's Day, Opal's Farm, The Holidays, Thoughts From the Porch, Uncategorized, Unity Unlimited, Inc.

New Year’s Coming Fast

gregoryjoel

It’s hard to believe that in a few hours 2025 will be behind us. It’s been a long year for so many folks, but we’ve made it to 2026. It’s my prayer that the New Year brings joy and a renewed spirit of hope for everyone. May we come together in that hope and joy!

We’re looking forward to 2026. We’re making some big changes with the farm and Opal’s Farm Stand: one of which is a new location for the farm stand to better serve our neighbors. I’ll be announcing those changes in the coming days.

Happy New Year from all of us at Opal’s Farm and Unity Unlimited!

Photo by Leeloo The First on Pexels.com
Birthdays, Children, Family, Generations, Grandchildren, Gratitude, Relationships

A Better Christmas

gregoryjoel

I was going to write my annual end of the year wrap-up from Opal’s Farm today, but I got a bit sidetracked – which happens a lot, especially this time of year. The holiday season is a mixed bag of emotions for me. I experience the joy of my grandkids and a deep sadness that their father, Jeremy, isn’t here to celebrate with them. It doesn’t help that Jeremy was born on Christmas Day either. Moreover, my father, who was our “Mr. Christmas”, has been gone for almost twenty years and Mom passed in 2017. My sister and her husband live in Georgia and I really miss her. There’s no one from my family to celebrate with except the grandkids and my daughter-in-law. Grief tends to hit hard this time of year. Holidays aren’t my favorite time of year, but my grandkids remind me there’s still joy in the season. Sometimes you have to find new traditions to move forward.

My grandkids and Uncle Adrian, my oldest son, have a Christmas tradition that started after Jeremy died. Every Christmas morning, at nine AM, we meet at Ol’South Pancake House – a Fort Worth Institution and one of the only places open – to have breakfast together. It’s hard to coordinate family time with all the in-laws (and out-laws) that we decided to start our own tradition and everyone can plan around us instead.

We headed to the cemetery to leave flowers and birthday wishes after breakfast. My oldest granddaughter, Baillie, was with us this year. Her relationship with her dad was strained due to his addiction. She neglected to go with us in the past but joined her brother and sister this year. The atmosphere at both breakfast and the cemetery was much lighter than in the past, leaving room for real Christmas joy.

Aside – We often go to the mural of Jeremy painted by his business partner, Jay Wilkinson. The mural is located on the outside wall of Hop Fusion Brewery in Near Southside (the brewery is also home to several of Jeremy’s murals). Sometimes I, or we, need to sit have a conversation with the twenty-foot-high Jeremy…

Life is like that – joy in the midst of grief, light in the midst of darkness. I thank God daily for both ends of the spectrum. It may not make sense to everyone, but this is the best Christmas gift I could receive.

Christmas, Community, Down On the Farm, Gratitude, Hope, Opal's Farm, Peace, Service to Others, Texas, Unity Unlimited, Inc.

Christmas Wishes

gregoryjoel

I think it’s safe to say that we won’t be having a white Christmas this year. Not that I’ll miss it, mind you, but it’s unusual to be working in shorts and a T-shirt on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow may well be the warmest Christmas since records have been kept, but it is Texas after all.

Photo by David Orsborne on Pexels.com

I wanted to take a moment before I head off to a family Christmas Eve to say Merry Christmas. I hope that each of you have a day filled with joy and hope for the coming year.

Whether you celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday or simply a festive time for Old St. Nick, it’s a time for giving to others and sharing in the peace and joy of the season. From all of us at Unity Unlimited, Inc. and Opal’s Farm, we wish you all the merriest of holidays.

Communication, Community, Composting, Conservation, Down On the Farm, Environment, Food Justice, Gratitude, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Service Organizations, Service to Others, The Holidays, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming

Early Christmas!

gregoryjoel

It’s almost Christmas and I haven’t done well in keeping our friends up to date with Opal’s Farm this December. I guess you could include October and November in that as well. It’s been a hectic Fall! Our unseasonably warm weather and only occasional cold spells have been great for the farm.

Thanks to the Conservation and Environment Fund at North Texas Community Foundation we’re looking forward to a great Winter and an even better Spring. Christmas came early for Opal’s Farm when we were awarded a grant from the Conservation and Environment Fund at North Texas Community Foundation. We’ll be adding new pollinator habitats throughout the farm, improving soil health with better composting, and expanding our production area so that we can feed more of our neighbors while taking care of the land we’ve been so graciously been granted by the Tarrant Regional Water District.

“North Texas Community Foundation drives meaningful change through charitable investment. The Foundation helps donors meet the needs of our community by providing tax-efficient strategies to support the causes they care about most. At the core of everything we do is a network of generous individuals, families and businesses intent on shaping the future of North Texas for good, forever. Learn more at northtexascf.org.