Hope – Page 22 – gregoryjoel.com

Autumn, Community, Connection, Creation, Donations, Down On the Farm, Environment, Faith, Fall, Fighting Poverty, Food Deserts, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Food Waste, Gardening, Gratitude, Hope, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Nutrition, Opal's Farm, Peace, Pets, Preparation, Regeneration, Relationships, Seasons, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Spirituality, Tarrant Regional Water District, Transformation, Trinity River, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers, What Can I Do

Fall Makes an Appearance

October 11, 2020October 11, 2020 gregoryjoel

Good Morning Everyone! I’ve been seriously lacking in updating everyone on Opal’s Farm over the last month. Fall is particularly busy this year with planting and expansion into the next 1/3 acre of the farm. We’ve made some amazing progress with the help of some dedicated, hard working volunteers and our amazing friend Charlie Blaylock with Shines Farmstand.

Fall is a special time of year at the farm. The days are a bit cooler, which makes work all the much easier (and fun!) and the changing season brings new life to dormant summer plants (the tomato pepper plants are loaded). The purple hull peas apparently produce more in the Fall than in the Spring!

The late summer plantings of cantaloupes are going to be ready this week. Jamison the Farm Dog is doing his best and working hard to keep the field mice and river rats from getting to them first.

The Fall plantings are growing and going. We took the first radishes of the season to market this Saturday. The Japanese turnips and beets should be close behind.

We may be unbelievably busy, but we always have time to enjoy the peace and wildlife Fall brings to the farm. Monarch butterflies are more frequent, the turtles sun themselves more frequently on the banks of the Trinity (unfortunately so do snakes! Don’t worry though: they stay by the river!), and the egrets are everywhere these days.

We’ve also had a beautiful pair of visitors over the last couple of weeks. Two Great Blue Herons have been frequenting the farm. They are truly majestic. They’re the largest herons in North America (and tend to make Jamison a bit curious and bark a lot…) and we feel blessed they’ve chosen to hang out at Opal’s Farm.

We’d like to take a moment to thank the Tributary Café on Race Street. We began selling okra to the café a couple of weeks ago. Last night, they asked us to set up for the Race Street night out hosted by the Riverside Business Alliance. We met some great neighbors and shared the bounty of the farm with many. We now deliver on Wednesday’s to the adjoining riverside neighborhoods for a $2 delivery fee. You can always call the farm to see what’s available and place your order. We’ll have that set up online soon.

As always – we’d love to have you come out to the farm to volunteer or just visit and say hi. You can always donate directly to Opal’s Farm by visiting our website at www.unityunlimited.org or our Facebook page.

Acceptance, Activism, Belief, Choices, Citizenship, Community, Courage, Emotional Health, Faith, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Hope, Persistence, Quotes, Social Justice, Spirituality, What Can I Do

“Sometimes we have to do the work even though we don’t yet see a glimmer on the horizon that it’s actually going to be possible.” – Angela Davis

October 9, 2020 gregoryjoel

Citizenship, Climate Change, Common Sense, Communication, Community, Down On the Farm, Environment, Faith, Fighting Poverty, Food Deserts, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Food Waste, Hope, Landfills, Litter, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Persistence, Regeneration, Service to Others, Simplicity, Social Justice, Spirituality, Transformation, Trinity River, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming

An Important Day for All of Us

September 30, 2020 gregoryjoel

Today is a very important day — the first ever International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste! “Globally, around 14 percent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail” … “When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce this food – including water, land, energy, labour and capital – go to waste.” In the United States, 30-40% of the food supply goes to waste, while millions of people remain food insecure. (from our friends at http://www.thefarmlinkproject.org)

We combat food waste every day at Opal’s Farm. Nothing leaves our farm unless it’s the man-made trash we collect from the Trinity River (and what the wind blows in!). Everything is either sold, donated, or composted. We collect food that would normally be thrown away from outside sources to build our compost, increase crop yields, and feed more community members.

What we do to combat waste may seem insignificant, but when it’s combined with what you do and what you do and what you do, it begins to affect overall food waste. On this first ever International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, we ask you to join the fight. We can all make a difference!

Will it be this?