Category: Neighbors

Common Courtesy, Community, Emotional Health, Family, Grace, Neighbors, Simplicity, Spirituality, What Can I Do

I Missed It!

gregoryjoel

November 13th was World Kindness Day. It obviously fell into the Black Hole of business that has marked the last couple of weeks. Imagine my relief when they said that World Kindness Day is to be celebrated through November 18th. Kindness is always right on time…

What a better way to celebrate the day than to take the counsel of Mr. Rogers (Fres Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood fame):

“There are three ways to ultimate success:

The first way is to be kind.

The second way is to be kind.

The third way is to be kind.”

– Mr. Fred Rogers

Autumn, Community, Environment, Events, Faith, Farmers Markets, Food Equality, Food Justice, Gratitude, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Regeneration, Service to Others, Simplicity, Social Justice, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers

Just An Update

gregoryjoel

Greetings to you all. I haven’t written much this month. I’m still trying to process the Election night results. I had thought people might’ve grown tired of the circus that is forty-five and now forty-seven-elect. I’ll leave that to the pundits to deal with. The farm doesn’t much care about politics. It just keeps on being Opal’s Farm – food grows, people are fed, and life goes on.

Things have just been incredibly nuts at the farm (in a good way mind you). Every time I think its’s going to slow down the “to do” list gets longer. We are having bumper crops this Fall, and the weather has been absolutely wonderful, making me somewhat sad when the day is over. It’s just too nice not to be working.

We held the Second Annual High Strides Against Diabetes 5K and Fun Run and the after-party last Saturday. We had such a great time with awesome food and fun. Next year, the race will be held in Dallas at Joppy Momma’s Farm. We alternate years for the race. Kim High, the Founder and Farm Manager for Joppy Momma’s has a great team that did so much to make this a successful event. I, on the other hand, should not have Event Planner on my resume. This was so much work! Thank you Kim, Joppy Momma’s, and all the folks from Dallas who worked so hard to put this together. It’s already time to start planning for next year!

We had a special luncheon at the farm with our friends from Houston, the Black United Fund, Inc. this Saturday. We discussed ways we can continue to grow and empower our communities to grow all over this great state. We believe in taking care of each other and building our communities through the medium of good healthy food that we all need so desperately. It was a honor and a privilege to host the event and we’re looking forward to our future collaboration.

The biggest thing going on at the farm right now though is the amazing amount of fresh produce we’re growing this Fall. We’re experiencing record yields and beautiful, fresh wholesome produce. We’d love to see you at either Cowtown Farmers Market or at Opal’s Farm Stand (at the entrance to the farm) every Saturday morning, rain or shine, from 8 AM until Noon. We accept SNAP-EBT benefits at both locations and be sure to look for our weekly specials.

We’d love to see you at the farm. Volunteers are always welcomed and appreciated. We’d never have the success Opal’s Farm has seen if it weren’t for all the volunteers who have helped us grow over the last six years. We’d love to have you come out, get your hands dirty , and enjoy the great Fall days with us.

Community, Connection, Creation, Down On the Farm, Environment, Faith, God's Economics, Gratitude, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Regeneration, Relationships, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Simplicity, Spirituality, Thoughts From the Porch, Urban Farming

The Gang is Back

gregoryjoel

July is almost over, and this may well be only the second time I’ve posted this month. We’ve been unseasonably cool (and wet!) off and on this summer. We are below our twenty-four triple digit days average. We’re enjoying the cooler weather, since August is right around the corner. It’s the hottest month of the year here so anytime it’s below a hundred degrees it’s a pleasant cool summer day…

The national news and the upcoming General Election have garnered the public’s attention over the last couple of weeks. I’d love to chime in on that front, but lately I’ve found I simply need to concentrate on what’s right in front of me and turn off the political noise that surrounds me – for my own sanity. I still plan to exercise my civic duty and vote – which I hope each one of you does – but I need to step back, turn on the music instead of National Public Radio, and spend my days working and enjoying the beauty of the farm, friends, and family.

We get to see some beautiful birds at the farm. A Great Blue Heron couple has made their nest somewhere on the overgrown sandbar south of the farm. Snowy Egrets frequent the banks of the Trinity looking for fish and small marine animals. We have a Cooper’s Hawks that lives close by (that eliminates the bird threat to our tomatoes) and even a Bald Eagle that comes around (although extremely infrequently).

Twice a year, usually during Spring and Fall planting, the Cattle Egrets, the Cowbirds as we always called them, drop in to eat the small insects that preparing for planting and turning beds usually brings out. They are much smaller than their Snowy brothers, and always come in groups – sometimes three or four groups on different areas of the farm and they’re always entertaining. Their little tan mohawk pops up and their jowls vibrate every time I come close.

Inevitably, there is always one outlier, one whose curiosity outweighs his fear, and always sticks around when the rest of the flock (which seems to be more like a gang!) flies away. He’ll follow me to see what’s going on and often looks at me as if saying “What’s up?”. I am under no illusion – I anthropomorphize our feathery friends – and it’s probably all in my imagination, but hey, I worked alone at the farm for a long time before Joey, Greg, and the guys came. I found my community amongst my wild feathery and furry friends.

One of the things I love about Opal’s Farm is the relationship we have with the wildlife on and around the farm. I take pride in knowing that our animal friends fit right into the environment we labor in. Each has an important place in how the farm operates – even what most consider to be pests. Don’t get me wrong: a pest is a problem, but nature has a way of dealing with them if we just let it take its course.

We have a ton of field mice at the farm. Most are field rats, but I call them mice because that’s what our volunteers would rather hear. There’s nothing more frustrating than picking a gorgeous watermelon or cantaloupe and finding a large hole in the bottom where a mouse had dinner. However, we lose more melons to two-legged predators than we do to mice and rats because we have coyotes, bobcats, rat snakes, and hawks that keep the rodent population manageable. When the ecosystem is in balance it takes care of itself.

We choose regenerative agriculture precisely for this reason. Nature does a far better job of keeping things in check than any chemical pest or weed control can ever do. It doesn’t have negative consequences either. Most of all, I get to enjoy it every day and be thankful to a creator that already took care of any problems I have in this regard. What a way to live life.

I’m getting ready to head to the farm again. I’m grateful for the rain we’ve had in July, but the reality is that it just isn’t enough during any North Texas summer. I’ll run the irrigation, prep a couple of beds, and hope my Egret friends drop by…

(An important aside – my wife’s father passed away on Friday. I’ll most likely be gone a couple of days this week. If you’re a praying person, please offer some prayers for my wife, Margaret, and her family.)

Activism, Choices, Community, Events, Faith, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Marginalized, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Public Policy, Service Organizations, Social Justice, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming

Rain, Rain, Don’t Go Away – Just Come Less Frequently

gregoryjoel

It’s raining once again so that means it must be Sunday. I am so grateful for the rain – the plants at the farm love it – but it can be a mixed blessing. I have the rest of the Spring planting to do before it gets too hot! Then again, I got to take a nap this afternoon…

This has been another great week at Opal’s Farm. We’d love to thank the Bank of America volunteers that came out Wednesday. I was in Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Growing Hope conference and was amazed when I came home to see the work that had been done. Thanks to Stacey and Joey for all their hard work and making the volunteer event a great day.

As I mentioned, I was at the Growing Hope conference hosted by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) in Fayetteville this week. It was an excellent conference reminding (and teaching) us of the importance of what we do as farmers and folks trying to change our local food systems.

I toured two different non-profit farms, Cobblestone Farms and Apple Seeds, and learned of our common mission to fight food insecurity and educate others – especially our kids – about healthy growing and real nutrition.

I also spoke with an amazing group of farmers and activists about the fight for food justice – not just food access and food security – but the justice that gives everyone a seat at the table (both literally and figuratively) to create safe, equitable local food systems. I’d love to give a shout out to all the folks at NCAT who put the conference together. It was one of the best conferences I’ve had the privilege of attending – full of new ideas and re-energizing me for the fight for food justice and equity.

Choices, Community, Connection, Down On the Farm, Emotional Health, Events, Family, Farmers Markets, Food Equality, Food Justice, Gratitude, Health, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Regeneration, Service to Others, Simplicity, Spirituality, Summer, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming

Shop Local!

gregoryjoel

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).

Photo by Nuzul Arifa on Pexels.com

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!