tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78620757345070835992023-11-16T08:19:45.879-05:00The True Adventures of Berry GirlThese are the epic tales of one girl on a quest to run a family farm.Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-16429936537173285402018-09-23T13:47:00.001-04:002018-09-23T13:47:02.844-04:00This Too Shall Pass<div>
Just under 2 years ago we experienced Hurricane Matthew. It's a storm that lives in infamy as Florence will. It will be a hurricane that others are compared to, like Fran, Floyd, Isabel, Irene, Matthew. Around here we ask, did your house flood during Floyd? During Matthew? When I was in Oriental this past week they asked the same, did it get up that high during Irene? Matthew was devastating for our community, and it crippled our fall season as our maze was standing in chest deep water. It looked like the corn was mostly still standing, so we thought hopefully when the waters receded we would be alright. We were wrong. There was so much debris in the water (if you haven't experienced it you cannot imagine the power of water. Incredible.), and when it settled it ruined the maze. We're talking rafts two feet thick filled with my neighbors corn stalks, old tires, buckets, more drink bottles and cans than you can count, tree limbs and branches, you name it we found it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew</td></tr>
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After it was over, we sat dumbfounded that this was our new reality. Of course we knew it was possible. Our farm flooded in Floyd. Yet that was supposed to be a 500 year flood, and here we were experiencing a worse one not 20 years later. The Husband talked about building a berm across the part of our farm that floods and many solutions to stop the waters from inundating our place. I disagreed. I look at the Outer Banks, where people are trying to force something which has been transient for hundreds of years into something solid so they can build a house or a road on it, and every storm that comes the water and wind decide differently and open new inlets or erode more of the beach. It's a shame for us because we love the beach and enjoy going, and it's a shame for homeowners trying to fight nature, but that's just what these coastal islands were meant to do (now don't get all offended. I am in no way saying we shouldn't have beach houses or beach communities. I'm just saying the islands were never meant to be permanent). That example led me to believe that our only option was to never plant or build anything beyond our little hill that we couldn't stand to lose. We can't stop the flood water. The only thing we can do is try and work with it. He eventually came around to my way of thinking.</div>
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But this was the problem with that solution, the best corn land is in the flood plain (corn is a crop that can't withstand droughts as well as cotton or even soybeans, and in our area we can have dry summers, so our heavy wet-leaning river land is great for corn, of course). So our idea to never plant the corn maze back in that field created another problem...where do you put it? Last year we put it up in what we call the front field. Well, we were late planting (our goal is always July 15) which wouldn't have been a big deal in the heavy wet flood plain but up on the lighter-soiled, drier front field the corn couldn't make up the time. Then the grass came in. The seed were donated and we weren't sure it was round-up ready. We sprayed a couple test plots and it nearly killed the corn so we decided not to spray the entire field and the grass almost choked out the corn. It was a disaster. Eventually in places it got up high but for the most part the maze wasn't waist high. Some people liked that because of the claustrophobic nature of corn, but it also turned people off because corn mazes are supposed to be tall and high, and impossible to get out of. It was a major disappointment for us and we were determined not to have a repeat in 2018.</div>
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Well 2018 has been a weather shi* storm (excuse the language, I'm just a cusser). During strawberries it was so wet and hot it ended the season early. Then June and half of July we got no rain at all. 0 inches of rain. That's a critical time for crops. Most everyone we know lost their corn crops (because not only does it need a lot of rain, but the temps must be right when it's pollinating or it won't), we had a sweet corn crop never make an ear. It got so bad even the dang grass wouldn't grow. And then in the middle of July someone turned the faucet on. We were glad at first because it was about the time we planted the maze and we needed rain. We moved it from where it was last year to an area to the side where we'd had it before. The land was wetter in places, and we like to rotate crops as much as possible. We had the best stand we'd ever had. Everything looked great. And then it wouldn't stop raining. The corn looked great, the pumpkins started to suffer. We fertilized. The grass became uncontrollable. We sprayed. We fertilized. It kept raining. We couldn't get in the field to do anything, everything started to drown. Plants need water, but they also need air. The pumpkins drowned. The corn faired better. Then right before Florence our nearly daily rainfall stopped and we went a week without anything, then just got an inch, then another hot dry week. Our crops had not developed the root system they should, because when you're getting fed every day without having to try you get lazy, an the same thing goes with plants. The roots didn't have to dig as deep to find water so when the dry times came again the corn didn't have deep roots and suffered. The result was the corn was uneven with a thinner stalk. It chose this time to tassel. And then Florence.</div>
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When we thought it was going to be a cat 4 we just assumed we'd all be wiped off the face of the Earth. A cat 4 plus 15 inches of rain? Apocalypse. That would be like it Floyd and Fran got together and Florence was their daughter. Then it didn't strengthen where they thought it would and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But we were still forecast to get 15-20 inches of rain. We weren't that worried about the wind. We had a brush up from Irene in 2011 that blew the corn mighty bad. We left that weekend to get strawberry tips and when we came back I was amazed. The pull of the sun had caused the corn to stand back up and we pulled out a great maze. We'd had other brushes, but our corn had always been young and green enough to pull through. Our biggest worry was flooding. We knew we'd lose the sunflowers. The wind would bruise the flowers and the flood would take them out. We had to move Herbert. Wind wasn't really our concern. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hurricane Irene's Maze</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stalks were bent from where they'd laid down but the maze overall survived fine.</td></tr>
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Friday morning at 6 I woke up to an alarm on my phone about a flood warning (by the end of the storm I wanted to burn that phone. Dang tornado and flash flood warnings constantly at 2 and 3 am. I don't think I slept a single night through) and I heard a weird noise outside. I looked out of our window to see the greenhouse plastic flapping int he wind. We'd worried about that plastic since it was getting old, but what can you do to save it? We hurried outside in the half light of the morning as the wind gusted and we got wet through cutting the remaining plastic to save the structure of the green house and so that it wouldn't fly across the farm and land in someone else's yard. It was then I started to worry about the wind. We ended up losing a tree, and when we went to the farm again later that day (The Husband isn't the type to sit at home) the maze was flattened. I'm sure it was a combo of the super saturated soils plus those wind gusts we got most of the day on Friday. Our poor weak corn just couldn't stand up to that kind of punishment. Once the wind was past here came the water. This time we were fortunate that we didn't get as much, it didn't linger as long, and only a tiny fraction of the actual maze flooded. Our worry now was it drowning from too much rain (we had 19 in our gauge) and no where for that water to go but sit in the field. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maze on Friday</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maze on Sunday, we were hopeful at this point because it had come up some.</td></tr>
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We decided not to get up in arms about the maze just yet. After all the sun didn't start shining really until Tuesday and we knew it needed sun. All week we watched and waited, sure it would come up. Then yesterday we decided to walk out in it and see just how bad it was. Well, there are areas that have come up to maybe chest high, but for the most part it was waist or lower. We had to face reality and scrap the maze. Morale was pretty dang low around here yesterday morning. We'd babied that maze and kept up hope for weeks, and now this one storm out of our control has ruined it all. Three years in a row our maze has not been up to our standards. Another pumpkin patch lost. They'd been so promising. So pretty. Gone. It's so hard to try year after year, to plan and hope and try and do and work so, so hard and have it unravel right in front of your eyes. We wanted to give up. Why bother? What does it mean to pour your every hope, all your free time, into something and have it fail? This farm has become so ingrained in my being, it's like an emotional attachment to the land, and it's failed me. For a moment we lost hope. Maybe we should just give up on this thing. And then I thought about all of the people around us, all the people who live in these communities who have lost everything. This could have been my house. What if I had a brick and mortar place under 8 feet of water? What if the only part of my house you could see was the roof? What if I'd had to have been airlifted from it? The toll of their loss weighed on me and I realized while we were dejected and disappointed we were so fortunate. I can't imagine losing...everything.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saturday checking out the maze, and realizing it wasn't going to come back up.</td></tr>
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That's what puts it perspective for us. We are so relatively lucky. It could have been so much worse and is so much worse for so many others and my heart just breaks for them. Will this fall be the fall we'd hoped it was? No. But does anything turn out the way you expect when you're planning? No. We will make it through this. We started brainstorming immediately. What can we add in place of this? What else can we do? And by the end of the day I started getting excited again, ready for fall and all it will bring. We'll still have a small maze that we're cutting through the tallest bits of the field but it will be more like a 'kids maze' than a real corn maze. We'll still have a good fall and our community and others like it will pull through this and come through the other side. This too shall pass and tomorrow is another day. </div>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-36007922336940175862018-03-11T21:49:00.000-04:002018-03-11T21:50:26.818-04:00Ode to Winter<br />
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I know a lot of people like Spring because of the flowers and warmer weather and I know a lot of people like Summer because of the long days and flip flops and Fall's great because of the crisper air and football and pumpkins...but to me, the best season of all is Winter. </div>
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I've loved Winter since I was a kid. I can't really explain why I've gravitated to cold stark Winter. Maybe it's because I love cold weather and snow (just maybe not in almost mid-March). Maybe it's because I like rooting for the underdog and liking things most people overlook (and lets face it, around these parts most folks are all about flip-flops and nine o'clock bedtimes). Maybe it's because I love comfort soups and stews and I can get by with cooking them more in the winter (The Husband is not as big of a soup and stew fan, but there is one I make every Saturday night that he absolutely adores: Shrimp Chowder. Recipe to follow). Maybe because it's so festive with Thanksgiving (my personal fave) and Christmas and New Years (and my birthday). Who knows? Maybe I'm just wired wrong or something.</div>
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Now that I'm grown (yikes!) and have started farming Winter brings a whole new meaning and I think I love it even more. We close the farm at the end of fall and let out a collective deep breath. I like to marinate on what we did this past year until after Christmas, and then we start planning. It's the calm before the storm of Spring where we can decide what we want to do and what we want to add and plan it all on paper and have this wonderful idea of how we want the year to go before real life and the weather and time constraints mess it up. It's the time where we can do a bit of traveling (mostly to meetings and conventions but it's traveling just the same. This year we got to go to Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe!). It's the time where we can make plans with our kids and family without it having to revolve around what's happening at the farm this week. It's a time where I can catch up on housework and cook things that take longer than thirty minutes. It's a time of renewal and a time of hope. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9rIHWHtbPHSlsKQ3u-m8wikzkYBZ8kX4gMaYo3-1nnTHOAL8ud0YhaaS8QnJ6XLjv0wOIjxAMq4pd9qoL8tkCt8-ZbI5eAuhCEmnsy7tfflPWu_tt90SB6GaE2A-axPNTOXAtGCrr0k/s1600/20180106_205521994_iOS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik9rIHWHtbPHSlsKQ3u-m8wikzkYBZ8kX4gMaYo3-1nnTHOAL8ud0YhaaS8QnJ6XLjv0wOIjxAMq4pd9qoL8tkCt8-ZbI5eAuhCEmnsy7tfflPWu_tt90SB6GaE2A-axPNTOXAtGCrr0k/s320/20180106_205521994_iOS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?" John Steinbeck</td></tr>
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Well, we have some exciting changes coming to the farm and a few new things we want to try and it all looks good on paper right now and we're very hopeful it's going to be great. Now it's time to take that collective breath in, because we're in the last gasp of Winter here and Springs coming fast, and that means it's time to get out and get to work!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter." Rachel Carson</td></tr>
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As promised, here's my Shrimp Chowder recipe. It's loosely based on one I found <a href="https://saramoulton.com/2017/02/smoky-fish-chowder-2/" target="_blank">here</a> by Sara Moulton (I'm a PBS nerd). It's super easy and pretty quick to make, filling yet not heavy, and perfect for Saturday evenings at home.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Shrimp Chowder</b> (I’d say it makes enough for a family of four
or two very hungry adults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re feeding
a crowd, I’d double.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 pound of shrimp (I go Atlantic Seafood on Royall and get the bag of already
peeled and de-veined ones, because I’m lazy like that)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 pound bacon (I really like Heritage Farms bacon even
though it’s pricey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has amazing flavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, any bacon will work.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 t butter<o:p></o:p></div>
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4-6 good hand-sized potatoes, I like the red ones.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 stalks celery<o:p></o:p></div>
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½ onion<o:p></o:p></div>
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1-2 cloves of garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></div>
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3-4 tablespoons of flour, depending on how thick you want
it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 cups of stock (I’ve used chicken, vegetable, or seafood,
but currently I’m obsessed with making my own chicken stock so I’ve been using
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll include that recipe too.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 cup water (if I was using broth instead of stock I’d use 3
cups broth and no water)<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 cups milk<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 cup half-n-half or heavy cream, whatever you have.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Old Bay to taste<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 good pinches of dried thyme.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Salt and pepper to taste<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cook the bacon, I’ve done it all in one pot but I like to
use a separate pan because the bacon grease can scorch if you have your heat
too high and then you’ll have black bits in your white chowder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Set the bacon aside and pour half to ¾ of your
drippings in your soup pot and add the butter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once it’s melted add your chopped celery and
onions and a good shake of salt and pepper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since I don’t like celery and onions and will pick them out I leave them
big but you can cut them as small as you want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Soon as they’ve softened some I had the flour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I use two or three heaping soup spoons but it’s
all what you want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let that cook a
couple minutes until it starts to barely turn brown and I add the liquids. Once
that’s combined I put in the potatoes, again, cut to how you like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to go bite sized or a little more because
the smaller they are the faster they cook and after I’ve cooked that bacon I’m
starving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add the seasonings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like a lot of Old Bay so I probably put a tablespoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once everything’s cooked through I add my
shrimp and cook it until it’s just pink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes I cut the heat off before I do this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The longer they cook the more like rubber
tires they will be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cut up a strip of
crispy bacon and top with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>YOU HAVE
TO HAVE THE BACON.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes the chowder. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Chicken Stock</b> (I got this idea from Pioneer Woman, to give
credit where it’s due)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 small chicken (or the leftover bits and carcass from one
you’ve baked)<o:p></o:p></div>
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½ - whole onion chunked<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 stalk celery chunked<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 large carrot chunked or 5-10 baby ones<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1-2 cloves garlic, mashed<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Water<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Put the chicken in the crock pot and stuff the vegetables
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only really cut them so they’ll fit
in my crock pot and I mash the garlic with my knife and peel it just to help
release the flavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I’m cooking this
to make chicken soup with I add salt and pepper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it’s going to be strictly stock I don’t,
so I can control the amount to seasoning when I actually make my dish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I either do this right before I go to bed and
cook it on low all night, or right when I get up and cook it on low all
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have done it at lunchtime for chicken
soup and cooked it on high all afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is no right or wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
will make a stock so good and thick and flavorful you won’t go back <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the bottled stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s amazingly easy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-44516217451717736072017-08-16T15:35:00.001-04:002017-08-16T15:35:39.207-04:00Dove Season<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was a kid these were the three harbingers of fall: Uncle Pat started picking corn, we had the annual
Harvest Sale at my church (shameless plug the harvest sale is at Providence UMC
in Mar Mac on Sat. Sept. 9 from 4:30-7:30, eat in or take out, BBQ and turkey,
the best you’ll ever eat at a church function.
Uncle Pat’s in charge of the pigs and that sauce is to-die-for. See me for tickets 😊),
and on Labor Day weekend dove season came in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I grew up on an almost mile long
state-maintained dirt road with no other houses on it (except for the migrant
workers Uncle Pat had when he raised tobacco).
All summer long we’d be surrounded by wheat, soybeans, and yes, corn. It’s a bird paradise. Hunting was a part of my life, my step-dad
went, my step-brother, my uncle, my granddaddy, my cousin would even come from
Chapel Hill and go…it was/is a big thing for my family. We always had a dove hunt on my uncle’s farm,
but when he became involved with Quail Unlimited it became massive. He started planting sunflowers for them (and I
fell in love with those beautiful yellow blooms of sunshine). The fields around our house sounded like a
war zone or something, all these men in camo shooting like crazy at these poor
beautiful birds. We couldn’t walk
outside without orange on. And for
Sunday lunch my mama would fry them and smother them in gravy. Those poor beautiful birds were pretty dang
delicious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcum-ABN09TeaO3nVsWfYS9aQYSXjibNx7XVBKRhhApfwaMe18vp7-gGnkCYH1EAUdobPLPJweNMAo3dva6VK-Gg_bLYYBFBr3PUDcAkSYP4mg54rL9llXoZohuBOHEFK9TmUQDdmORFA/s1600/mourndove-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcum-ABN09TeaO3nVsWfYS9aQYSXjibNx7XVBKRhhApfwaMe18vp7-gGnkCYH1EAUdobPLPJweNMAo3dva6VK-Gg_bLYYBFBr3PUDcAkSYP4mg54rL9llXoZohuBOHEFK9TmUQDdmORFA/s1600/mourndove-3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">This is NOT my picture, but for those of you who aren't sure what a dove is, this is a great picture of them.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ever since we started opening our
farm to visitors we’ve had people ask about hunting it. In the past, it’s always been a family
thing. The Husband and his three close
cousins hunted it. It’s always been a
good place to hunt. We have a swamp on
the side favored by ducks. We have a
river that abuts the back of the property that the deer and such run down. Anyone who’s come to the corn maze has seen
evidence of their tracks through the maze.
The Husband’s always been turning over the idea of leasing out the
hunting rights or hosting hunts on the farm to bring us in some additional
revenue. We have this amazing resource
here that we have to make a payment on every year, why not use every
opportunity to do it? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszx4k5gVl7HzTXM6Pc0WIti-v-o2_l4iufPHCYa61__kVlgjiWth0N4c3jASlsU1fMuFNbUcu6DOrHF5OGxkabHs6yf0zSUFpeD1MjX5q9C38itTsMDqaArlVYx6amjU_Ahnn7B2pIy4/s1600/20916898_10209504672966017_1240156261_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszx4k5gVl7HzTXM6Pc0WIti-v-o2_l4iufPHCYa61__kVlgjiWth0N4c3jASlsU1fMuFNbUcu6DOrHF5OGxkabHs6yf0zSUFpeD1MjX5q9C38itTsMDqaArlVYx6amjU_Ahnn7B2pIy4/s320/20916898_10209504672966017_1240156261_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">They love hanging out on this fence. The Girl says they want to play on the playground</span>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">Honestly, I’ve always been a little
tentative to go the hunting route. First
off, I’m not a hunter. I can understand
the peace and solitude that people get from hunting and I enjoy the meat, but I
think it has to be the most boring thing in the planet. I went deer hunting a few times. You get up at the crack before it’s light in
the cold and go sit in a tree for hours being super quiet and still possibly to
see nothing. I just don’t see the
appeal. Second off, it’s a huge
liability. You’re going to let people
with loaded guns ready to shoot them on your land. What if there’s an accident? Third, my plate is so full trying to organize
and market our fall activities, plus my house, plus my kids, plus just life in
general, I just don’t know how I can fit anything else on it (my wonderful CSA
helper Melissa said to me yesterday, you need an assistant. Yes, yes I do. I just can’t afford one). However, the birds have been CRAZY on the
farm this year. Even I’ve noticed that every time I ride to the farm I scare up
at least 20 dove if not more and that’s just by riding by on my truck. The combination of the sunflowers and a wheat
crop we weren’t able to harvest (don’t ask, it’s a sore subject) has made the
perfect environment for a dove. Not to
mention since we’ve lived here (7 years) they’ve not been hunted on this farm,
so they haven’t been conditioned to avoid it.
Sunday my husband counted fifty in fifteen minutes out of the back of
the berry shed and 2 customers mentioned they saw 30 while they were standing
there taking pictures. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4QYT6kVJZKAVeiHXDbnTJxDIKfBwT6t7fkNz6zgLpc3CiNgHoDaCJW_ECM5Dtva1grpx6VOxTO5et7of0Xg3AumV_HFisz8hDTv6FYI5fUhbVP-qEPIyvleBLjfFYjVpmS8dXTL4Njk/s1600/20891489_10209504672806013_1893021863_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="927" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4QYT6kVJZKAVeiHXDbnTJxDIKfBwT6t7fkNz6zgLpc3CiNgHoDaCJW_ECM5Dtva1grpx6VOxTO5et7of0Xg3AumV_HFisz8hDTv6FYI5fUhbVP-qEPIyvleBLjfFYjVpmS8dXTL4Njk/s320/20891489_10209504672806013_1893021863_n.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I felt like I was working for National Geographic trying to catch this one on my poor phone. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">So this year we’re hosting our
first ever dove hunt. If it goes well
maybe we’ll open the farm up to duck and deer hunting. Hopefully it will. We’ve got a good lunch planned and a couple
tickets sold so far we’re optimistic. If you're interested in joining us, call JR at 919-738-2928 or shoot us an email at odomfarmingcoinc@gmail.com. We'd love to have you out!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqyQuBLfh1iqEIOohfaYA9BVDIzGwjYWhWtH1hyK_51loXpeCa-_Xv7t2foO9ag_wLcSLWX2iP9Mn9ic9KJeKShpT0QuN0tpAoPnfVulGgmsfE1Vvc5MMOYdvDiLkvmm8NkWF5dHC0QzE/s1600/20864557_10209504672926016_849428495_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqyQuBLfh1iqEIOohfaYA9BVDIzGwjYWhWtH1hyK_51loXpeCa-_Xv7t2foO9ag_wLcSLWX2iP9Mn9ic9KJeKShpT0QuN0tpAoPnfVulGgmsfE1Vvc5MMOYdvDiLkvmm8NkWF5dHC0QzE/s320/20864557_10209504672926016_849428495_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And I had to include a sunflower picture, just because!</span></td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-18287008535866399132017-05-18T22:08:00.001-04:002017-05-18T22:08:30.763-04:00#tastythursdayI don't want to become a food blogger. With my discriminating palate and crazy schedule I can't ever count on when we're having Japanese takeout or shrimp alfredo or fried chicken (which, honestly we don't have too much because it doesn't matter what I do or how I cook it I NEVER get every piece done through. Instead I batter and fry boneless skinless chicken thighs. It's not the same, but it's daggone close to me). <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However in support of my #tastythursday segment on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ofcinc) I thought I'd cook tonight using a couple of the things from the CSA boxes this week and see how it went. I get so many recipe requests I figured my little sheets might not be enough so I decided last year to start #tastythursday on the farm's Facebook in an effort to get people sharing about what they'd cooked this week. Admittedly (like a lot of the things I do), I started with great intentions that fell off when I got busy (I tend to have a one track mind and if I don't do it RIGHT THEN I'll forget. I was voted most forgetful in high school even. Of course the more stressed I get the worse it gets and I have to admit, I've been pretty stressed lately). But I thought it was a good idea so I've brought it back this year. I missed last week, my apologies, but I'm on top of it this week so here's my attempt at food blogging.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tonight The Girl was graduating aka being promoted to the next class at her preschool, so I knew I had to get started cooking earlier than normal so we'd be on time (I'm five minutes late everywhere and it grates on The Husband's nerves). I decided on grilled boneless skinless chicken thighs marinated all day in Italian dressing, a squash and onion grill packet (thanks Melissa Vera for the idea!) and a cheesy potato grill (PTL for Pintrest!) packet. The chicken is pretty self-explanatory. Easy, light, delicious. You can't go wrong. The cheesy potatoes I just cut up maybe 2 lbs of potatoes (I peeled mine because I'm picky like that) into cubeish shapes that were on the small side. I salted and peppered them and added a little Cajun seasoning, then put them in a packet with a tablespoon of bacon grease and 2 of butter (I never claimed they were healthy!), cooked them maybe 20-30 minutes on the grill and then peeled back the foil to add cheese. If I'd had any thawed out bacon I would have added it instead of the bacon grease. If I'd have thought about adding dry ranch dressing mix I would have. Next time my friends, next time! For the squash and onions I cut up two squash since really it's just The Husband who eats it and half an onion. I tossed it in the same as the potatoes, salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. I added a clove of garlic that I just smashed and peeled, a tablespoon of bacon grease and two of butter. I put the packet on the grill and cooked it for the same amount of time as the potatoes. Basically, I put them on about five minutes before the chicken and when the chicken was done I pulled them off. Now if you're not picky like my family you could mix the squash packet with the potatoes and I bet it would be wonderful, but we're weird so there you have it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu68QQ8IfJlcXlgP0e-7eDCSpcv0if2GlUStbjp14MKnU2MVFRZLEq9Gjyo5XT5WaUraGg6arr9crsMpeX6fdG9bd74HX78vN78HgFxCYRKQfdK5Tfck4T1kvd4jFrnJDXNU7KPkIXzro/s1600/18601248_10208814760918647_76690129_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu68QQ8IfJlcXlgP0e-7eDCSpcv0if2GlUStbjp14MKnU2MVFRZLEq9Gjyo5XT5WaUraGg6arr9crsMpeX6fdG9bd74HX78vN78HgFxCYRKQfdK5Tfck4T1kvd4jFrnJDXNU7KPkIXzro/s320/18601248_10208814760918647_76690129_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
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</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8G3TujtqdP-Oa1IvFNPk8kne__TEsk0WsWy0Y-TjU17UgtmM6vITUAn_JoLF_NdZX8GgNjkDVQv2clHmsU6YkOts08EYsdTgDLl6DH7OH676jMCQWSYHa9-BuljxnhGgYwPd8wGEgxI/s1600/18555105_10208814760998649_93437182_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8G3TujtqdP-Oa1IvFNPk8kne__TEsk0WsWy0Y-TjU17UgtmM6vITUAn_JoLF_NdZX8GgNjkDVQv2clHmsU6YkOts08EYsdTgDLl6DH7OH676jMCQWSYHa9-BuljxnhGgYwPd8wGEgxI/s320/18555105_10208814760998649_93437182_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
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You know how you have those nights where it doesn't matter what you do supper (The Herrings call lunch dinner and dinner supper. Welcome to the south) is a fail. Well, tonight it was anything but. Everyone ate it like it was the best thing they'd ever ate at The Husband kept saying it was the best thing he'd eaten in a while (which, honestly I could take a couple ways but I'm going with compliment). I think I've found how I'm going to cook pretty much everything all summer. I hope you try these. I thought they turned out pretty good. And if you have any stellar recipes you'd like to share feel free too! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn2-qmIDOiA4FvcJ0OdJP-xRYZLfmajQjmk9xsxAjCv4j_5iEkFRwvjZ8JhFK5z7oeBvOIUXQQ-v7eRNnkTuRflpC1jQoYmaDk9OKxmvoGVFoPXR_tQoKA7XhaGlQusJhwVKPCdC6Lwg/s1600/18578464_10208814760838645_242496655_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn2-qmIDOiA4FvcJ0OdJP-xRYZLfmajQjmk9xsxAjCv4j_5iEkFRwvjZ8JhFK5z7oeBvOIUXQQ-v7eRNnkTuRflpC1jQoYmaDk9OKxmvoGVFoPXR_tQoKA7XhaGlQusJhwVKPCdC6Lwg/s320/18578464_10208814760838645_242496655_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'graduate', and her trusty side-kick. Matching clothes totally unintentional.</td></tr>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-89433984875962108272017-05-03T16:49:00.001-04:002017-05-03T17:10:18.929-04:00Week 1Okay y'all, last week I blogged about the Matthew flood and literally A DAY LATER we had another one that was probably 90% of what Matthew was, so, with rain forecast again this week I have promised I will not talk about our second major flood in six months and I will not. I will post pictures and let them speak for me.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPl9Eeyebl1MCWVML-pMUgP99HEc5hbcul6thy85-OhD-S_AS4ZLzCNqLmvUHaBUdT97jjw7sIZ5iJrtvXhyzfFORFucDsqRatzdyPTfhLMYw3FRO_vhAwp-BuCEce_HNeZV_NZVGSRq8/s1600/18191029_10208656327717916_2039129486_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPl9Eeyebl1MCWVML-pMUgP99HEc5hbcul6thy85-OhD-S_AS4ZLzCNqLmvUHaBUdT97jjw7sIZ5iJrtvXhyzfFORFucDsqRatzdyPTfhLMYw3FRO_vhAwp-BuCEce_HNeZV_NZVGSRq8/s320/18191029_10208656327717916_2039129486_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was taken Wed. evening as the water rose.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzblGo0SqVKsUC8xVFCPNKch7w528KUtitf2s4C_QAxe29KVQgHJ4_LTYFPsr02NRUpGN0FNWwSl7NmG0S4jDpiORYamiEZL-Pr9B-9pIMlLWjZwcJq67bL6Qqsu3V5pLjltvST0Zg5iw/s1600/18217543_10208656435520611_1516737165_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzblGo0SqVKsUC8xVFCPNKch7w528KUtitf2s4C_QAxe29KVQgHJ4_LTYFPsr02NRUpGN0FNWwSl7NmG0S4jDpiORYamiEZL-Pr9B-9pIMlLWjZwcJq67bL6Qqsu3V5pLjltvST0Zg5iw/s320/18217543_10208656435520611_1516737165_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thursday morning we woke up to Lake Odom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnfaXszcYRVaJHU9g3qns3PMaQCeU959vPvjBaf-aZwHAkt9R7AS9vKg2tHZMGCrkzMGuv9-dklDTGdkVaCMhdjZ6_2S6rNaAfGnMCxT2qEbsw3x3DDmYd5tTVn-IjjJh2F8LbKaR2uU/s1600/18191160_10208656435760617_737316349_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqnfaXszcYRVaJHU9g3qns3PMaQCeU959vPvjBaf-aZwHAkt9R7AS9vKg2tHZMGCrkzMGuv9-dklDTGdkVaCMhdjZ6_2S6rNaAfGnMCxT2qEbsw3x3DDmYd5tTVn-IjjJh2F8LbKaR2uU/s320/18191160_10208656435760617_737316349_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water at it's height covering the back yard. It was only a few feet lower than the Hurricane.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStCvz6h7SaKu6Li0mmJNsoNCQQjXu5jea15gQ9AQ7v3pPPgMdgiGIvnpyYN9lbDgqI6Q1B4VpJAjShYCBt0kigYRv1ePB86D15TDDC54OD-M1P10DoWqsriVIMtNVmrTI0VJ4EtqoZys/s1600/18198037_10208656435600613_1196772478_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStCvz6h7SaKu6Li0mmJNsoNCQQjXu5jea15gQ9AQ7v3pPPgMdgiGIvnpyYN9lbDgqI6Q1B4VpJAjShYCBt0kigYRv1ePB86D15TDDC54OD-M1P10DoWqsriVIMtNVmrTI0VJ4EtqoZys/s320/18198037_10208656435600613_1196772478_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The canal of water flowing across my neighbors land from the little river onto ours.</td></tr>
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The first week of the 2017 CSA is behind us and it was, well, I'm looking for a better word than disaster and coming up short. Maybe a semi-disaster. A couple months ago Wayne UNC Health Care (formally Wayne Memorial Hospital) came up and asked us if we'd be interested in doing a farmers market there at the hospital. We jumped at the chance even though we'd never done/weren't terribly interested in doing a farmers market. Honestly, you work and work and work to produce the produce (see what I did there ;) and sell two squash...money wise it's never seemed like a huge win for us. However I thought it'd be a great chance to get the word out about our CSA and would be a good opportunity. Finally about a week and a half before we were set to begin I got the green light from the board. So yesterday my new employee Melissa (of <a href="http://adventuresfrugalmom.com/" target="_blank">Adventures of Frugal Mom</a> fame) set off. I was not prepared. Last week was super stressful because of the flood, then Monday I was horribly sick due to the perfect storm of something emitting pollen and mixing with those crazy winds (I have no voice today. The Girl got up and said 'what happened to your voice? Did it float away? Maybe she has some lingering flood PTSD?). In an effort to be efficient, I got the bright idea to 'lets pack some deliveries' at the farmers market while we're waiting for customers, so we dragged all out product from the farm with us, then down to the farmers market location (the sunken outdoor patio connected to the cafeteria), then we didn't use as much which meant I could have put that much more in my boxes but I couldn't, because people were already picking up at the farm and it wouldn't be fair. Not to mention we didn't start deliveries until 3, which is waaaay later than I would like. It was a huge mistake on my part that left me feeling horrible last night. I emailed my customers and within minutes I had messages of support back which lightened my mood so much and made it where I could sleep last night (couple years ago I took a MBTI test for the Karl Best Ag Leadership class and got INTJ, when I make mistakes I tend to agonize over them until I come up with a solution). Another instance of us having the best customers on the planet!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmb0sTK0jjtAtqoNnOPXHB8tanUal42BrxBRiXjZ14gguuS6LAILt_i8DhH06A1O4La70b7Q1kYUMMUwyutvFVZD7-wyF0XyPhFcNYgGBNRqm7AVRn_ov4SUlwTaqRvo6KcWstDAWxMA/s1600/18280891_10208701997459631_1848158304_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmb0sTK0jjtAtqoNnOPXHB8tanUal42BrxBRiXjZ14gguuS6LAILt_i8DhH06A1O4La70b7Q1kYUMMUwyutvFVZD7-wyF0XyPhFcNYgGBNRqm7AVRn_ov4SUlwTaqRvo6KcWstDAWxMA/s320/18280891_10208701997459631_1848158304_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Odom Farming Company TO GO</td></tr>
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But, now I know what not to do and what to expect at the farmers market, which I think was a success. Everyone was excited for us to be there and we were excited for the opportunity. We have a new plan of attack for next week and I only see good things in our future, even if we started off on the wrong foot. In the words of Scarlett O'Hara...tomorrow is another day!Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-75416067198000603452017-04-24T22:39:00.001-04:002017-04-24T22:41:31.031-04:00Water<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m going to make a blanket statement here. I feel like of all the resources in the
world, water is the most vital, and with our changing climate it will only get
more so. Without it you cannot survive. You cannot grow food. You cannot take care of yourself. It can be your biggest blessing and your
worst enemy. As I sit here and watch
this rain fall today, I know it has been both to me. We've had years where our location to the swamp and river have proven vital to our survival. We've had years where I just wished I could spread a tarp over the field and keep the water off the plants. Farmers say a dry year will hurt you but a
wet one will kill you. I believe
it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
This is the Hurricane Matthew post. I’ve sat down five or six times to write
it. I tried last fall and couldn’t. I tried after Christmas and couldn't. How do you sum up a disaster that big? How do you convey the feeling in your heart
when you drive up to your farm and see it under water? We were blessed that our home was not
hurt. We were blessed that our families
remained unscathed. We had a lot of
things going for us, but we had one big one going against us. I know to a lot of people what we lost seems
like nothing. It was just a corn
maze. It was just a field of corn. You can plow it up and plant again. At least it wasn’t a building. At least it wasn’t your house. No, it wasn’t and believe me, I am beyond
thankful it wasn’t. But it was still
important to us. So here’s our Hurricane
Matthew story. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All that week we watched the weather. It’s a compulsive habit of mine to check the
weather every time I get on the computer.
We watched the spaghetti plots and rainfall estimates. I was glued to every news outlet in Eastern North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center, and even those Facebook meterologists who are on iffy credibility at best. Worrying about the weather is something I’ve done my whole
life (honestly worrying in general comes natural to me. I got it from my granddaddy). One of my earliest memories was of
a tornado outbreak that occurred when I was four or five. I will never forget how hot it was that day
or how black the clouds were. I will
never forget coming out of my house into a drenching driving rain into a yard
that was flooded to my knees with hailstones floating on it (when it receded it cut a foot deep ditch in my yard). I will never forget the fear in my mama’s
voice as my daddy tried to get his truck up our dirt path, and the wind was
blowing so hard he had the pedal to the metal and it was barely moving (he, of course, thought it was great fun). I will never forget how scared I got for weeks
after every time it clouded up and how she used to have to make me play
outside (seriously, it was on my chore chart). That experience instilled a
great need in me to be prepared. From
then on I read every book in the Grantham school library about severe weather
to learn all I could so next time I would know what to do. I’ve also lived through Hurricane Fran where
the wind was so strong it blew our front door open and soaked the entire living
room and Hurricane Floyd where my uncles pond overflowed and crayfish crawled
on Herring Road and we were without electricity for two weeks. Still, all of my admittedly limited education and experience and
first-hand knowledge were no preparation for a storm with a mind of it’s
own. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHgnAWJSugPjCnxrm3daNke10EopEQoGi2RXDERefvxFT3oVf87t8u5s5lUspoYktf36B9oOLyavy2JrC04ZhXCG0zyce1J_1cNIHBL3UzOEmjT6MdUyTmjglH1jbbKR6Z9gX2ydajkI/s1600/18109672_10208638798239690_1179006549_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHgnAWJSugPjCnxrm3daNke10EopEQoGi2RXDERefvxFT3oVf87t8u5s5lUspoYktf36B9oOLyavy2JrC04ZhXCG0zyce1J_1cNIHBL3UzOEmjT6MdUyTmjglH1jbbKR6Z9gX2ydajkI/s320/18109672_10208638798239690_1179006549_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The back field where the corn maze would be after Hurricane Floyd, Sept. 1999</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcTUn9RQXcDZBsQSEweanW0k34Cg7QfoP6jDUIU8cPCuth7vE8rpllJ8_vRbZYKGb6V-d2ITHv1Jyn8u2A-qLwh1QNh1_oCuogzQ7h_X07jkP8pda_GLffCPRPr8xZmjKw0EIYG-_Z0Yw/s1600/18136911_10208638798159688_276062774_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcTUn9RQXcDZBsQSEweanW0k34Cg7QfoP6jDUIU8cPCuth7vE8rpllJ8_vRbZYKGb6V-d2ITHv1Jyn8u2A-qLwh1QNh1_oCuogzQ7h_X07jkP8pda_GLffCPRPr8xZmjKw0EIYG-_Z0Yw/s320/18136911_10208638798159688_276062774_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where the sunflowers were last year after Hurricane Floyd, Sept. 1999.</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
That Saturday it rained, and rained, and rained. I watched Facebook as people started to
report water in their yards but it wasn’t until that afternoon that I realized
what all this would mean. Our biggest
fear going into this was we’d miss a week of being open to deal with drying
out. We never thought we’d have the
flood of the century, 19 years after the last flood of the century. My husband is never one to stay put
(especially after the lights go out). He
was riding around even at 3 or 4 that afternoon (like an idiot).
At 8 he went over to the farm. He
reported it was crazy wet, but relatively unscathed.
At 10 he went and called me with a tone of calm command. He needed me to get ready to go out and help
him, the water was up. It was still raining and the wind was blowing. I got chilled to the bone as we rode over on
the trusty Gator. As soon as we crested the
hill where the building sat I burst into tears and a chorus of "Oh My
God’s". The entire back half of the
property was a rising river. Under what
is now the goat shelter we had lawnmowers and equipment parked. We had an irrigation pump in our pond and a
nurse tank slowly getting deeper in water from the swamp. We pulled it all out with
the trusty Gator. Thank God he was antsy and decided to go check on things. Then there was nothing
to do but wait and see how high it would go (and play Skip Bo with The Boy).
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It went up about six more feet from where it was that
night. The corn was still standing. We said a prayer and crossed our fingers when
the water went down and the sun came out it would be alright. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Wednesday, the water began to recede. Only then did we see the debris left
behind. Our corn maze that we’d spent
countless hours planting and fertilizing and cutting out and mowing was now a
hot mess. Our neighbor had picked his
corn and these huge masses and channels were now carved through our field and
filled with tree branches, random trash, and two feet thick layers of corn
stalks. It didn’t matter that the corn
was not blown down. It had been mowed
down by the river. Well, now what could
we do? For two or three days I walked around in shock as we watched our community sink. I wasn't prepared for this. This wasn't supposed to happen. As soon as we could stand up on
the ground without miring completely we did and that first time we drove down
there I cried. This was our livelihood. This is how we pay to keep our farm. But, giving up isn’t something we do, so we
made the best of it, took the corn maze off the schedule and cut the price, and
I think in the end we pulled a decent season out of our hat. We have the community to thank for it. We didn't know how everyone would react with so many people having lost so much but everyone rallied. You don't know how much we appreciated it. We're just a little farm doing the best we can with what we have and you all make it worthwhile.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now six months later it's easier to have better perspective. If this is the worst that happens to us then we'll be lucky. I can tell you this, it's going to take a few years before we plant a corn maze back there again. We have healthy 'normal' children, each other, a dry house, and a beautiful farm to raise those kids on complete with the prettiest little river that once in a while turns into a huge destructive monster. What more could we ask for?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLze6JYdnV-6wjviFaEV0xqAsnNMfND2sAgUTeSMinLVG0nwlBK49BPX5tEd9jaXd45zAtzYxNcRNXktz3NZC8PQnS-tneDxiBKJGHL6-YEf0kXP377U7x797BV5sJTVqDuOGG5iq1eE/s1600/IMG_1233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLze6JYdnV-6wjviFaEV0xqAsnNMfND2sAgUTeSMinLVG0nwlBK49BPX5tEd9jaXd45zAtzYxNcRNXktz3NZC8PQnS-tneDxiBKJGHL6-YEf0kXP377U7x797BV5sJTVqDuOGG5iq1eE/s320/IMG_1233.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our farm path around 3 in the afternoon Hurricane Matthew came in.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszXIm5nCnpDRsXEf1-lL2byNzN9RobBsuhcZtvWt-1Z_zTl19NYF1Hd7WWGveXrTmVkesuVSQozZMWJEYFDrT6cR4DQt72EfvDpUwIuayo9rqfR1dqIYCyeZozdWT6HdO3qCjJgRSaWQ/s1600/IMG_20141112_162754_675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszXIm5nCnpDRsXEf1-lL2byNzN9RobBsuhcZtvWt-1Z_zTl19NYF1Hd7WWGveXrTmVkesuVSQozZMWJEYFDrT6cR4DQt72EfvDpUwIuayo9rqfR1dqIYCyeZozdWT6HdO3qCjJgRSaWQ/s320/IMG_20141112_162754_675.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The normal level of the Little River.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfKavycj_CaPCE-gFnOlDl78MpGDAxG2y83g3y0y9TvXbRR8gAvxzu_qeRcCj3CKIvZieUu4LuG5mPlr6Sc0dQTESSKi7UY_xVaYSH1xYc6WxId-0rKhi99beb-MUz790H8Tm7Cx24VM/s1600/IMG_1237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxfKavycj_CaPCE-gFnOlDl78MpGDAxG2y83g3y0y9TvXbRR8gAvxzu_qeRcCj3CKIvZieUu4LuG5mPlr6Sc0dQTESSKi7UY_xVaYSH1xYc6WxId-0rKhi99beb-MUz790H8Tm7Cx24VM/s320/IMG_1237.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our irrigation pond with the picnic area behind.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrowD1UK4VDS7MJddCe2oQbh9OOAAvRjEpndhe2jsUu3Ozeo2YvHnEDAq0N03C2XiAQg6_capYBEig6B9C84-U5O7lbpLRlvfRJbAOjElXjzRJrEcVJ341JsE3DQijAmU17q66HEZqXms/s1600/IMG_1241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
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<tr><td><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrowD1UK4VDS7MJddCe2oQbh9OOAAvRjEpndhe2jsUu3Ozeo2YvHnEDAq0N03C2XiAQg6_capYBEig6B9C84-U5O7lbpLRlvfRJbAOjElXjzRJrEcVJ341JsE3DQijAmU17q66HEZqXms/s320/IMG_1241.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">The entire back field and corn maze.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the channels made from the corn stalks.</td></tr>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-65753977007215601192017-04-18T23:14:00.000-04:002017-04-18T23:23:45.169-04:00Hello Again<div class="MsoNormal">
I haven’t blogged in a really long time and I tell you, I’ve
missed it. I’ve had lots of stories but
when I sit down to write I get stumped.
Maybe I’ve had writers block.
Well, all I can say is…I’m baaaack! (imagine me saying it in a sing-song
voice and you’ll get the picture).<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s spring break and we’re getting geared up for our
CSA. Yesterday we planted plants. 1000 bell pepper, broccoli, and pointed-head
cabbage. 1000. My legs are feeling it today. I couldn’t get over the nostalgia as I did it
though. When I was little I used to stay
with my grandparents when school was out.
My Uncle Pat raised tobacco back then and I remember being The Boy’s age
and working in the greenhouse some during spring break wading through water an
inch or two deep to help move trays of tobacco plants around so they could set
them out (best job ever because I got to play in the water!). Later, after I had a car, my sister and I
helped with the setting out. She was too
young to be a super great setter, so her job was to wash the trays down with
bleach. My job was to walk behind the
transplanter with a couple of plants and a peg and when the setters (my Aunt
Patricia and Mrs. Brenda Scott) forgot one they’d holler to me that they missed
and I’d plant that hole. Sometimes when
one of them would have something else to do I would take their place on the
transplanter. I liked that job way
better for obvious reasons, until one of the last days we set. It was cold and rainy and I sat on the back
of that thing wrapped up in trash bags shaking with cold trying to set out with
numb hands. Even now I still say it was
the coldest I’ve ever been. We got a
drink and a nab at 10 and 2, and an hour for lunch. It was my first paying job and it was awesome…way
better than taking it barns after the tobacco cured, which I also did, with
much less success. Hot weather and I
have never gotten along well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We didn’t ride on a transplanter yesterday. The husband ran down the plastic with the
water-wheel transplanter and punched holes in the plastic and once he went down
a row he stopped and he and I and The Boy stuck plants by hand. The Girl planted some too, because the plants
were ‘so cute’ and needed homes. But
then she got distracted by lady bugs and asking constantly if she could go to
grandma’s and would the ants sting her and a butterfly and picking
strawberries. Yes, we do have a few rows
of strawberries. No, unfortunately they’ll
probably never produce enough for us to be open for picking. We had to plant them so late because of The
Flood that they didn’t get the root development they needed before they went
into dormancy. The way the weather was
this winter (if you could call it that) didn’t help. It was so up and down and then we had that
horrible cold spell in March. It’s
turned into our personal strawberry patch, or The Girl’s strawberry
buffet. We wouldn’t have planted them at
all but we didn’t plant the year before and while it was so nice to have the
spring ‘off’, we missed having spring school tours. We hoped we’d get enough to still do those
and have some for the CSA, but it looks like that’s not going to happen so,
Plan B. Anyway, back to what I was
talking about which was setting out plants.
While we were setting I kept thinking back to helping my Aunt and Uncle
set out tobacco, and how great it was that my son was out there planting plants
with us, and while we might not be taking some glamourous trip or something
this spring break he was learning that hard work means something and if we work
hard this spring and summer and fall maybe this winter we can take the glamourous
trip. Welcome to farm life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I maintain that everyone ought to have to work a week on the
farm. If it does nothing else it will
teach you the value of your education and an appreciation for those who choose
to work with their hands (either because they have to or want too). One of the best things it teaches is
teamwork. If we all work together
towards a common goal there’s no telling what we can achieve. I can think of
another place or two that concept might work…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Our poor strawberry plants.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjIdVdfn6fY7LJ9aJCxpYA78FN0anMn7qNMKS1u-NvaW-NOvrcYtqRYVAOjvS3h47gc5Ah9bMxsLE9WlGrAunU6nIJhyxjxNueCigV8950FdIeSk4rJSBMp92T0f8yl4CazbXjzRy3BU/s1600/18035062_10208594993024587_139989506_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjIdVdfn6fY7LJ9aJCxpYA78FN0anMn7qNMKS1u-NvaW-NOvrcYtqRYVAOjvS3h47gc5Ah9bMxsLE9WlGrAunU6nIJhyxjxNueCigV8950FdIeSk4rJSBMp92T0f8yl4CazbXjzRy3BU/s320/18035062_10208594993024587_139989506_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">She said "they taste like fruit punch."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0SP6P3PU50Z2VHJ4VYCwyl5Egww00HjQRftrdJNPXSVbJ1Xj3z-N-YzyvsRMlStuMVGi_xJontQjN71GeTKIpfKdEbVsWIcuvjIcuavTjQ-OfrXkY7gOwzNgM9HpZS8FJPltTRxh3KU/s1600/18051744_10208594993104589_463444639_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0SP6P3PU50Z2VHJ4VYCwyl5Egww00HjQRftrdJNPXSVbJ1Xj3z-N-YzyvsRMlStuMVGi_xJontQjN71GeTKIpfKdEbVsWIcuvjIcuavTjQ-OfrXkY7gOwzNgM9HpZS8FJPltTRxh3KU/s320/18051744_10208594993104589_463444639_n.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The Boy is picky like me. He said "they'd be good without the sesame seeds on them." Bless his heart.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6a5TcYf-h0J_8mUj-BCI8_RXpM6GNxd-CC9k12dNU7c2M4ao_TCYqXDI2-3BUU2qf3pCcxsmI6s38YBdq679Lf2V_lglcgeY4bXvjp9DIMEFDCgiZKTuL5Yy4FE2KZtg48RJJN_LxuZk/s1600/18035491_10208594993464598_1304751251_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6a5TcYf-h0J_8mUj-BCI8_RXpM6GNxd-CC9k12dNU7c2M4ao_TCYqXDI2-3BUU2qf3pCcxsmI6s38YBdq679Lf2V_lglcgeY4bXvjp9DIMEFDCgiZKTuL5Yy4FE2KZtg48RJJN_LxuZk/s320/18035491_10208594993464598_1304751251_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The sunset we were rewarded with as we prayed for rain.</span></td></tr>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-24905252194556367672015-12-21T14:12:00.001-05:002015-12-21T14:14:55.035-05:00It's Been A Long December...I have that Counting Crows song in my head "it's been a long December and there's reason to believe, that maybe this year will be better than the last." It's capturing my mood perfectly these days because I tell you what, it's been a long December around these parts.<br />
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When we first decided to do Christmas Lights, I had misgivings (see previous blog post), mostly about the amount of time it was going to take to get it up and I didn't want to miss out on family time around the holiday. Had I known how much blood, sweat, and tears it was going to take I'd have definitely put my foot down and no amount of persuasion would have been able to talk me into it. It was hard, really hard. The weather wasn't awesome on the weekends in November, we were trying to keep overhead as low as possible in case this wasn't a hit, and we ended up doing an insane mad dash scramble just to get the props up...and then since we've opened we've had light problems, wiring problems, generator problems, radio problems (if I never see another radio it will be too soon), weather problems (remember that rogue windstorm last week? It blew down half our props and now it's going to rain most of this week)...it's just been one thing after another every week. Then factor in the customers...maybe that's our fault. We decided to do it too late and weren't able to get the word out. Maybe people don't really understand what we're trying to do out here. Maybe they don't want to walk (it's not far I swear!). Maybe it's just too busy of a season for us to try to do anything. Maybe we're just burned out from the fall and the craziness that entails. Maybe our heart's just not in it (more about that in the ensuing paragraphs), I'm not sure. We've had some steady nights and we know it's going to take time for us to build up a customer base, but it's not been busy. So if you're looking a light display show without a wait, come see us (of course, it looks like tonight might be our last night open, since the forecast is for rain the rest of the week)!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAI4UcFnxI_FR9g1_yfmAbhbGSYil-miHVBiqdLq10IBMDsdxrGz3XAsoVQ3kFeYDnMlH-iCprzAF9-scriN32oB5aZGnor1DSzl3IpQ4ScvIDIgNzPBPiRTHiDXV_sW9h5Ef48TcJyEg/s1600/IMG_2677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAI4UcFnxI_FR9g1_yfmAbhbGSYil-miHVBiqdLq10IBMDsdxrGz3XAsoVQ3kFeYDnMlH-iCprzAF9-scriN32oB5aZGnor1DSzl3IpQ4ScvIDIgNzPBPiRTHiDXV_sW9h5Ef48TcJyEg/s200/IMG_2677.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's amazing how much Christmas lights will do in a cornfield.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOVwAn6GlS6uQMXH0o9Cav1bhqE8acLZLkmI68-EBRAGAeFI5E5I8VDDAdSXu4Pp4saFYm2jsH91kTEMyc4P0_9_CcB4p0VUGUmW2n_aIHDXhav-DQrTEazb5LRF3jKKMgt3mGkoxjUc/s1600/12325054_10205053446608140_554361663_n+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOVwAn6GlS6uQMXH0o9Cav1bhqE8acLZLkmI68-EBRAGAeFI5E5I8VDDAdSXu4Pp4saFYm2jsH91kTEMyc4P0_9_CcB4p0VUGUmW2n_aIHDXhav-DQrTEazb5LRF3jKKMgt3mGkoxjUc/s200/12325054_10205053446608140_554361663_n+-+Copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the tractor got a little bling!</td></tr>
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Another tough pill to swallow this year, we will not have a 2016 strawberry crop. I know, I know, I hate it more than you know (even though I like to gripe about how much work they are). It's like a part of our farm is missing. I can't tell you how sad I am about it. We tried to plant, we went and got all the materials, and then it rained, and rained, and rained, and so by the time it dried out enough to plant, we were almost a month behind planting (not to mention in the middle of the corn maze season and slam busy) and then The Husband got busy traveling around handling claims with his job (he works a lot in SC, where they had 30 inches of rain in a weekend) and when he wasn't busy, it rained again. So we were a month and a half behind and every forecast I saw said it was going to be cold and wet. We could push the plants if it was going to be a warmer winter, but if it's going to be cold, we found out last year, there's not any pushing you can do. So instead of starting the season already behind and trying to run and play catch-up all winter and spring, we decided to lay out a year and plant again next fall. We might be down, but don't count us out. We will have a crop in 2017.<br />
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As if the business issues weren't enough, we've been through the ringer in our own family too. I don't like to talk a lot about our personal lives here, because I feel like you're reading to learn about the farm not my life, but just this once, indulge me. The first full week of December we were all sick with different things, viruses, colds, diverticulitis flare ups. Then my 92 year old grandfather got sick and ended up in the hospital. Three days later, last Sunday the 13th, he passed away.<br />
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I cannot quantify how much that man meant to me. He was the rock of our family, the sun we all orbited around, and for me especially (I think maybe I didn't even realize how much until he was gone). My parents were divorced and I have never been close to my father, something that has only grown worse since I've gotten older and had my own children (I like to live a drama-free life as much as humanly possible, and with my step-mother in the picture that's impossible). I have a step-dad I love and who loves me, but he's not been the constant figure my granddaddy was. Donald Herring was the person I measured all others by. After my mama, he was the one who's opinion mattered the most, the one who loved me completely and unconditionally. He was my role model and the best man I know or ever will know I think, though my Uncle Pat is a close second. Now that he is gone, everything will change. My grandmother has gone to live at Brookdale (what used to be The Pines) because she is unable to live alone (though so far she's doing well, a small blessing), when I have questions about things I can't ask my granddaddy anymore, my kids will never appreciate what an amazing person he was (I know I can tell them, but I've learned with trying to explain my sister to them that there are things they'll just never know. The Boy will somewhat, but The Girl will not remember him much if at all). Change is scary. I know from losing my sister that our family will heal (as best you can) and it will not always be this way, but for right now we're hurting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2AAAfHTLqXCK_NdYwQpj4CvEOPXzVnybrJ9pl4neLrD78o9bz1zhWUXrMShKzMzqZBkvHf9NW-nhTlRdObP-vOUpo5YYtCInRmXfmtyXZjueVT-C4Rqry2ZAurDd_9uqnAjouK8j2Bc/s1600/IMG_2427%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2AAAfHTLqXCK_NdYwQpj4CvEOPXzVnybrJ9pl4neLrD78o9bz1zhWUXrMShKzMzqZBkvHf9NW-nhTlRdObP-vOUpo5YYtCInRmXfmtyXZjueVT-C4Rqry2ZAurDd_9uqnAjouK8j2Bc/s200/IMG_2427%255B1%255D.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My grandparents taken the day before their 71st wedding anniversary last month</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiprwpgZRhfm_o4MPkAci-iWyqoO0Ow2BmRpV6aNW8GAcuisbJhf37PdPHYXKOlnEa3cRmUHQ4ulmrneg1jEp0VXtYeF1e6DdYl2oNJ4sUooDzecDh07bMYc-8JQbQUxb4lDHBmdkd4nD4/s1600/10560375_10202434264530225_2783539450028451911_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiprwpgZRhfm_o4MPkAci-iWyqoO0Ow2BmRpV6aNW8GAcuisbJhf37PdPHYXKOlnEa3cRmUHQ4ulmrneg1jEp0VXtYeF1e6DdYl2oNJ4sUooDzecDh07bMYc-8JQbQUxb4lDHBmdkd4nD4/s200/10560375_10202434264530225_2783539450028451911_o.jpg" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Girl and her Grandpapa taken summer before last.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_fz7vQpNy5KdTiNMxH2mlazPLLAScyD-LZY1DX_X6LVwtJ0zmWA17MdFBnOFNZdZeidQNkSv_JWNkFGaKhhN02OLcInRPBwcB4wj7wXhivoQrAuikLxUcLsbt8HQmqunIGJT5PXJ6lI/s1600/24003_1235480459445_467229_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_fz7vQpNy5KdTiNMxH2mlazPLLAScyD-LZY1DX_X6LVwtJ0zmWA17MdFBnOFNZdZeidQNkSv_JWNkFGaKhhN02OLcInRPBwcB4wj7wXhivoQrAuikLxUcLsbt8HQmqunIGJT5PXJ6lI/s200/24003_1235480459445_467229_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boy and Grandpapa, taken in 2010</td></tr>
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So now that I've got you good and thoroughly depressed...<br />
<br />
I can't end on a bad note. Someone told me at the funeral my grandparents were strong people, both 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps' kind of people. I agreed, and I hope that I've inherited some of that mentality. I've had some pretty dark times in my life, and I have to say even though I'm sad and life will be harder for a time, this is not the darkest time I've ever experienced. I have two beautiful healthy kids and a job I love and a family and community who is amazing, my cup runneth over. Tomorrow is another day, 2016 is another year, the CSA sign ups are approaching and I'm excited to see what this spring will hold for our farm without strawberries. We're exploring field trip and weekend event ideas, and it's going to be great. So from my family to yours, please accept our heartfelt Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and lets celebrate being here to celebrate it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9AyeS-Io2Gf7sYBTZ1tSMqKeljKZ2yh7xfuICpEgowP2kkDXRDzcXxmuxNxMjXtjEVGxBE46I5_ZY1XngizQsJocy786UBvJ7a6WTsxz_vwXTTTF5TOfMFXZvaslQ2O4dDi9BJNOsIU/s1600/12404448_10205150802241970_225598256_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9AyeS-Io2Gf7sYBTZ1tSMqKeljKZ2yh7xfuICpEgowP2kkDXRDzcXxmuxNxMjXtjEVGxBE46I5_ZY1XngizQsJocy786UBvJ7a6WTsxz_vwXTTTF5TOfMFXZvaslQ2O4dDi9BJNOsIU/s320/12404448_10205150802241970_225598256_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-84148275582080432092015-11-05T14:18:00.001-05:002015-11-05T14:33:57.324-05:00It's Beginning to Look a lot Like...Christmas?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It’s no secret that I (we) think
Mike’s Farm is the I-Ching. I’m not
trying to really promote another farm, but they really have it all. When you go there, it’s got a down home feel
(plus, the restaurant doesn’t hurt. If
you have not eaten there, you NEED to eat there. It’s fantastic and worth whatever wait time
they have to go. For years I went
without having discovered the perfection that is their restaurant, until my
friend Lindsey insisted we go and now I have her to thank for my
obsession. Thanks Linds!). Anyway, so when we plan out our farm, that’s
kind of the ultimate goal we have in mind (except for the restaurant. I can appreciate it, but the idea of having
to run it kind of freaks me out. I know we can hire people to do that and
whatever but I’m not ready to entertain that yet). This year, it seems The Husband has managed
to somehow talk me into saying yes to Christmas Lights.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
First, let me tell you why I am
against it. Number one, by the end of
October I am kind of over the farm. Don’t
get me wrong I love my job and I love my customers, but I usually reach a point
in October (generally after not having time to do anything but eat, sleep, and
be at the farm) where I am burned out and need a break. It’s been a long hot year starting in April
and this year has been even more difficult since he’s not been around as much
to help. I need some time to recharge
and get excited about doing this again, and that’s usually not until after
Christmas when I start thinking about the upcoming CSA program. Number two, Christmas is stressful enough
(not for him mind you, because I don’t have one of those progressive men who
help his wife in every-thing she does. I
have another phrase for it but since this is PG I won’t say it but let’s just
say apparently those women possess something golden which I do not have,
therefore I get stuck planning and buying and cooking and wrapping all on my
own), without adding a Christmas Light circus to it. Between shopping (and more importantly in my
case, figuring out what to shop for since I am not an expert gift giver. I’m an expert gift-card giver), and family
events (my parents are divorced, and I’m not close to my bio-dad, therefore any
family event on his side is complicated), and parties and church events…I’m
tired just writing that. My anxiety
level just thinking about it goes to 10.
Finally, number three, the weather.
It’s typically raining in December.
The year I had The Girl it rained every weekend, I remember, because I
told The Husband I was glad we weren’t doing Christmas Lights because we’d have
been in trouble. Plus you add the
strongest El Nino event on record to that mix and it’s like a perfect storm
(pun intended). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Now I can tell you why I’m for
it. Number one, (and I know this sounds
hokey) but to me, Christmas is magic.
There’s something about going to see lights on a crisp starry night,
there’s something about seeing the colored lights twinkle in the darkness (when
I was a little girl my mom always made the best fudge in the world [still does,
it’s on the back of the marshmellow crème can and I can never get mine to be
that good] and I’d get up before she did, get a piece, and lay under the
Christmas tree staring at the lights), and there’s something about seeing your
kids light up when they see all the wonder that Christmas brings. Number two, our customers seem excited about
it. I was amazed by the response I got
when I posed the question on Facebook.
Usually when I run ideas by the customers I get a few likes, a few
responses. I wasn’t prepared for 100+
and the wonderful ideas in the comments section. Number three, The Husbands will can be a
force of nature and if he wants it then by God he’s going to make it happen. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Based on that, we feel like if we
build it you will come, so I guess we’re going to build it. The plan is to make a walking trail in the
corn maze, widen out the paths and put some sort of lights or illumination to
mark them, then place different scenes along the way. At the end of the trail, the tractor’ll pick
everyone up and bring them back here. We
might sell some trees, but I think the hot chocolate, s’mores, cookie thing
will definitely be happening. The only thing really holding us back now is time and weather. All we
have to do now is cross our fingers and pray the rain comes on the week days
and we manage to get it all done before we open, which is probably going to determine when we open. Though, I do have to say, writing this post has got me a little
excited about it…(just don’t tell The Husband. I’m using this as leverage to make up for the
golden thing I do not have and making him shop with me <span style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oFnE6Yom4XQHE2CmT-Pc7M6Dmkpex4NkIm5Z7CTlFrrMhusRMDsrwacodricVqikToIKsoU9TBIec28dBx0Lh6inhyphenhyphenW9XJ2LcIFHzE9PdvjquOg0IfKYllZ__58MEaeLFcP2n4wx2zo/s1600/12207693_10204942212867366_1722631115_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9oFnE6Yom4XQHE2CmT-Pc7M6Dmkpex4NkIm5Z7CTlFrrMhusRMDsrwacodricVqikToIKsoU9TBIec28dBx0Lh6inhyphenhyphenW9XJ2LcIFHzE9PdvjquOg0IfKYllZ__58MEaeLFcP2n4wx2zo/s320/12207693_10204942212867366_1722631115_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly Untangled Lights</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tXK8bTv8sMYUUl3wHq4tdD_qqXuifHYUgv1XTHyUdY2oaG8_BGTigwLDZ0EsJYlkInSopvynnPlnox5BVbYm7WJwed75PYFs2nhlbVm1bPm8kZWEAGecKiXVomu9dlCNGtXm7laB_nU/s1600/12200668_10204942212827365_1923152555_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tXK8bTv8sMYUUl3wHq4tdD_qqXuifHYUgv1XTHyUdY2oaG8_BGTigwLDZ0EsJYlkInSopvynnPlnox5BVbYm7WJwed75PYFs2nhlbVm1bPm8kZWEAGecKiXVomu9dlCNGtXm7laB_nU/s320/12200668_10204942212827365_1923152555_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls had a little too much fun testing these lights</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9w9oWlUw65tg8AV_KYFnDUkwnHsGQ146sIiwUoC1IGM6YgNzSbavktuSKwBgP_zDm97f5G8GCsIT8aGXOUVMf94Lo5avR6tXTvIu8qt8PilK8ojg8wmCtrko7SyHJc888RCucGKVH5Y/s1600/12202560_10204942212907367_1217988579_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ9w9oWlUw65tg8AV_KYFnDUkwnHsGQ146sIiwUoC1IGM6YgNzSbavktuSKwBgP_zDm97f5G8GCsIT8aGXOUVMf94Lo5avR6tXTvIu8qt8PilK8ojg8wmCtrko7SyHJc888RCucGKVH5Y/s320/12202560_10204942212907367_1217988579_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to fix the broken strands, AND only 2 out of 4 got shocked!</td></tr>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-32914565069060223492015-10-01T23:18:00.002-04:002015-10-01T23:19:49.362-04:00Jinx<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't think I would consider myself an overly superstitious person. I've always thought black cats were pretty and Friday the 13th has never been a particular bad one. When I was little I bought into them more because they were fun. I didn't step on cracks, go under ladders, and I lifted my feet on bridges. But I guess some things just get drilled into you because there are a few I still uphold even though logically I know they're crazy. I never make snow cream with the first snow (I was told it was a cleansing snow and you'd get sick), I don't kill any crickets I find in the house (even though I HATE crickets. They're see through, they look like roaches, and they do this half-crawl half-jump creep across the floor...I just can't! I have the heebies just writing about it), and I try and knock on wood whenever I made a 'I never have' statement (though I know it doesn't work. When I was pregnant with The Boy I said I'd never have a 10 pound baby and he came into the world at 10.6 so clearly fate or God or someone was trying to show me how insignificant my nevers are). We're at the time of year where people lend themselves to the superstition and magic, and the way this season's going I can't help but wonder if I've jinxed myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was a kid, I lived through two major hurricanes, Hurricane Fran and Hurricane Floyd. The last hurricane to bring a lot of damage to the area was Hurricane Floyd and I was in high school. It was horrible. We got so much rain my road washed out (I grew up the only house on a mile long dirt road) and for ages I had to get on the bus at Uncle Pat's. My Uncle Lewis's pond overflowed across Herring Road and I saw my very first crawfish. One of our giant pecan trees fell over because the ground was so wet. We didn't have electricity for 2 weeks (only house on a dirt road, remember). Now that I have kids I can't imagine what my mama went through. However this has been 16 years ago. So every time a storm starts brewing we say to each other 'you know, we're due for another hurricane'. Well, I've been knocking on wood hoping I haven't jinxed myself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every season there's always something, and it seems like this season it's the rain (after the dry August and most of September I can't believe I'm writing that. My sunflowers are stunted and pumpkins stalled for lack of rain, course now they have no excuse but to grow). I've never had to delay a season for rain, and we're going on two weekends now. Everyone I know tells me 'don't worry about the weather, there's nothing you can do about it', and I swear if I hear it one more time... As a rational logical creature, I know I can't do anything about it, but that statement in itself is the problem. When I see a problem I want to fix it and the feeling of helplessness I get when I look at a forecast socked with rain its almost as bad as it gets. What's worse? Trying to make a decision about being open. If I close, and it turns out nice, then I've missed revenue and I have to tell people I'm not open when they call. If I don't close and it's ugly and no one comes (because let's face it, who's coming to a pumpkin patch if it's cloudy/rainy/drizzly? No one) then I'm paying my help to sit around and keep me company. I HATE agonizing over a decision. That's my Husband's job. I want to make it and move on. It doesn't help when I know I have people depending on it, like my help. I stare at any weather report I can find and turn into a amateur meteorologist. I spy on other farms to see what they're doing. And finally, I face the inevitable and decide. I'm calling on all my good luck omens and superstitions while at the same time feeling like I've jinxed myself, or at least that's how I felt last night when I saw Hurricane Joaquin aiming for us. My heart sank. Rain will dry, but corn as old as ours will not stand back up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Luckily, the forecast now has Joaquin staying well offshore, so really the NHC got us all worried for nothing. I'll just cross my fingers, hope, and pray it stays that way, and no more talk about how we're due for a storm!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtjZA9V-prfaMJ4E4wIa_BUU7yqZFZLDfged45-XYDA8PP715XtIj51rlIPAtTZ0Qdxrt5SK1cMr2rxhD78ppBnBgxylNV3AH3dBBZCD_GIpQLuuYieEl8jma-X66DHVsIARh31ODlDM/s1600/12067982_10204799711504921_1141567279_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtjZA9V-prfaMJ4E4wIa_BUU7yqZFZLDfged45-XYDA8PP715XtIj51rlIPAtTZ0Qdxrt5SK1cMr2rxhD78ppBnBgxylNV3AH3dBBZCD_GIpQLuuYieEl8jma-X66DHVsIARh31ODlDM/s320/12067982_10204799711504921_1141567279_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right now The Farm seems more suited for these visitors rather than human ones!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEg_gLWnInXR3NNoRa7jP0og851xyqp-dNCbd5nIBsApc_0yGD1SzE2uXLzIU-OYJHuceg2rik35QcT6gODO6hLjrG7JggIlKeWWGRr4d6izDNPMVF-1bL8vZosoXcDGISWnTlHgXkhcg/s1600/12071897_10204799709504871_1937483399_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEg_gLWnInXR3NNoRa7jP0og851xyqp-dNCbd5nIBsApc_0yGD1SzE2uXLzIU-OYJHuceg2rik35QcT6gODO6hLjrG7JggIlKeWWGRr4d6izDNPMVF-1bL8vZosoXcDGISWnTlHgXkhcg/s320/12071897_10204799709504871_1937483399_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta keep that hay dry, why not use the high tunnel?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvpuYvNaEeKT9ljSCCgCZm-Lw1fg_FexHmuaiRVqg6pTtO5lUxInnG-U0lw_wrFI5IEFJ-MGt7OHdCGVWRA_PKJzVXM-t3aCfoKDC1szGhdI1hgLRUfKEp20L5XUNKJSkjnaJVxIkOF8/s1600/12080837_10204799713424969_655013201_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvpuYvNaEeKT9ljSCCgCZm-Lw1fg_FexHmuaiRVqg6pTtO5lUxInnG-U0lw_wrFI5IEFJ-MGt7OHdCGVWRA_PKJzVXM-t3aCfoKDC1szGhdI1hgLRUfKEp20L5XUNKJSkjnaJVxIkOF8/s320/12080837_10204799713424969_655013201_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkins! They are so beautiful, we can't wait for you to see them.</td></tr>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-63907195289416139252015-08-31T20:50:00.000-04:002015-08-31T20:56:07.428-04:00FarmHer<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, okay, for all you men who happen to be reading this no, it's not a hand holding sing-a-long-type post so you are safe to keep reading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last January, The Husband and I attended the NC Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Convention in Durham, and I went to a session about Women in Ag. I'd hoped it would be a collaborative session where women in ag could come together and talk about shared experiences and how we can unite our voice to get the changes we want made into reality. To an extent it was, but I guess I just didn't get what I wanted out of it. Listening to the other women complain about their situations (which is pretty much all they did. It was a regular *itch-fest) did get me thinking about mine and I thought this would be the perfect platform for me to talk about it. I've tried to write it a dozen times and it's never seemed to come out right, but I saw a post on Twitter the other day (follow me! @ofcinc) about women running farms and women working in agriculture and they called them FarmHers and it reminded me about this post. Maybe I can get it right this time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I come from a farming family. Both sets of grandparents farmed, for a time at least, and in both couples the women worked on the farm just like the men did (except really it was twice as hard because they had to come home and cook and wash and garden and take care of kids). In my Husbands family too, his dad's parents owned the farm we call home now and his grandma worked probably harder than his granddaddy. In those days, farms were smaller. Most of the time your own family tended your own family's land. Neighbors would help each other plant and harvest crops. Women were just as big of a part of that as men. That generation is not that far removed from ours, yet it seems like ancient history compared to the world we live in now. The Husband remembers his grandma teaching him to loop tobacco (they'd hang it on poles in the 'pack house' to dry and cure, and they'd 'loop' it together with twine to keep it on the stick). My grandma tells stories of helping my granddaddy. It's just what you did. You saw a job that needed doing and you did it. Then the world changed. New technologies made things better and more efficient. The world became smaller and more urbanized. People started getting off-farm jobs and moving to the city to be closer to them. Farms got bigger due to mechanization and greater effienceny (in the 50's the average farmer could feed 25 or so people, now it's 155), also it took more land to support a family. Now the family and even the neighbors family wasn't enough to plant and harvest and people were hired. Women weren't needed on the farm (and they had more choices; they could buy clothes in stores, have children when they wanted, have outside jobs) so they moved back to 'just' taking care of the house and the kids or having that outside job and the modern interpretation of a 'farmers wife' was born'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was lucky enough to have grown up in a family where both genders were equal. No one said to me I was worse or better than anyone else. My mama always told me I could be anything I wanted to be and at the time I really can't remember what I thought when she said that (I CAN say though, it was NOT 'I want to be a farmer'!) but now I appreciate it, especially since I have a little girl of my own (and let me let you she's a spitfire just like her father hoped. I'd love for someone to tell her she couldn't...based on what she tells me when I tell her that whoever does is going to be kicking a hornets nest). I combine that with the role model of my Aunt Patricia, who ever since I can remember has worked on the farm alongside my Uncle Pat. She drives trucks and tractors and takes care of the hogs just like he does. I add in the other farming wives I know, those who have direct involvement somehow and those who don't. Lastly I throw in what I've always seen my family do, if a job needs doing you do it. That's how I was raised. So when The Husband wanted to raise strawberries, I saw a job needing doing and it did it. That's what I wanted to tell those women at the conference who wanted to get in there and help their husbands. If you want to be a bigger part of the farm, if you want to get your hands dirty, get in there and do it. It doesn't matter if you're a girl or not. Do it. When you count your own self out you're no better than the nay-sayers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last fall, The Husband took a public job. We stopped raising row crops and decided to focus solely on agri-tourism, and it would be pretty much solely my job to run that. I can't say it's been an easy transition. For the most part I was already doing the things I do now, I just had someone sort of around to help me get them done. I don't anymore, not on a regular everyday basis. The strawberry season wasn't bad. The CSA has been stressful, but rewarding because I've proven to myself I can do it. We'll see what the fall season brings. When I get discouraged, I just try to look at my FarmHer role models and take a lesson from them, or look at my kids. I want there to be a Odom Farming Company around for them to take over (at some point I'll have to retire right? Don't laugh, a girl can dream!). I think what we're doing for agriculture is important, I think educating the public about real farming practices and real farms is important, I think the experiences we provide and the memories we help make are worth it, and it's a job that needs doing. Looks like I'll be the one doing it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-65826024760465340862015-05-28T10:00:00.000-04:002015-05-28T10:00:49.984-04:00A Walk Down Memory Lane<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every summer when I was a kid until I was probably twelve (my mom deemed me capable then of staying at home with my younger sister and not killing her or burning the house down), I stayed with my grandma Doris and granddaddy Donald (my mom's parents). We had all sorts of adventures, but there were certain things I could always count on: we would go stay at Mrs. Bea's beach house at some point, granddaddy would take me to the tobacco market to see how Uncle Pat's tobacco sold (the best smell ever!), my Aunt Alice and Uncle Allen and Cousin Adam would come home for about a week from Europe (and all the rest of my out of town family would come in and it would be a huge party, loved it), we'd probably get enlisted to pull mustard out of Uncle Pat's field (to this day if I see it I pull it), and when the blueberries were ripe we had to pick them (I am literally crying writing this because they are some of the best memories I have of being a kid, and for those of you who don't know I lost my sister eight years ago in a car accident, and those are what I have left of her. Okay, time to dry it up. Who knew blueberries were so emotional? This is supposed to be a funny blog.)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie and I at Mrs Bea Lamb's Beach House</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, my cousin Adam, and Katie in one of our favorite poses</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie and I in my grandma's kitchen.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't have memories of picking strawberries, but I distinctly remember picking peas, butter beans, and blueberries. Grandma had these old ice cream buckets (grandma wasted nothing, she'd buy those gallons of vanilla or Neapolitan or orange sherbet and vanilla swirl and make us kids ice cream cones all summer, and then save the buckets to use around the house) that we'd strap to ourselves with old belts (sadly no picture, this was before cell phones guys) and she'd send us out to forage over the five or six bushes she had in her yard. We hated it. This was before the time of iPods or iPhones and earbuds. We could have used a Walkman, you know, with a cassette tape and those earphones with the big black sponge headphones, but we were kids and we were supposed to have imaginations and not rely on outside things to keep us entertained (saying you were bored was worse than saying a four letter word to my grandma, and it is to me even now. With everything there is to do in the world you're bored? Go outside.) But everyone else (come on, you know I'm picky. Do you really think I eat blueberries?) loved the rewards. Blueberry pie was one of my sister's favorites. As soon as I could get in the kitchen I made blueberry muffins (I always made six for me without blueberries. They are still my ultimate favorites and I would die for one right now). I made them as long as we had blueberries and even after because we'd freeze them. Nothing freezes better than blueberries (just pick the trash out and freeze. NO WASHING!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We put blueberries in the CSA boxes this week that we got from McFarms Blueberries in Seven Springs (talk about how someone does it, they have five kids, most of which are younger than five and two are newborn twins, I'm stressed for them just writing that!). That's what got me started on this jaunt down memory lane. I love it when we can put two fruits in a box, and especially two berries. This year we have more members than ever and even though I swear I will have a nervous breakdown every Tuesday, I kinda love it at the same time. It's a logistical nightmare but that's what I like doing, organizing people. It will get a little less stressful too when the strawberries are over, which they are almost. But that's another post for another time. For now, lets savor the blueberries. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They were delicious (or so I'm told!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This weeks full share</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's my grandma's blueberry muffin recipe:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blueberry Muffins</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1
egg</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="unit">1/3</span> cup oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">¾
cup milk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1
¼ cup all purpose flour<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">½
cup sugar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">¾
t salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2
½ t baking powder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">¼
t nutmeg<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1
cup blueberries<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mix and bake at 400<sup>0</sup>
for 25 minutes. If you have someone in
your house that doesn’t care for blueberries (like me!), they are delicious
without them too!</span></span></div>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-48034483461270685612015-03-10T21:48:00.002-04:002015-03-10T21:51:52.728-04:00Spring FeverToday, I planted onions. Or I should say, The Husband and I planted onions while The Girl picked them back up off the ground and put them in a bucket (once she tried to eat one, this is the same girl who eats lemons, but she took it out of her mouth and said 'nasty' before I could get to her to get it out) and The Boy threw them haphazardly down in some kind of ninja move (which The Girl then tried to copy unsuccessfully).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Help</td></tr>
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I should preface this by saying I did not want to do this. It was probably on my top ten list of things I didn't want to do today. I guess in the end I should rejoice because I thought I was going to end up cutting up 100 lbs of potatoes (I have psoriasis on my knuckles, and when they get wet for extended periods of time they crack and bleed and get sore, not to mention it would make my fingers raw). Compared to that, dropping onions isn't that big of a deal. Still, it's been crazy around the farm lately. We're knee deep in getting our 2nd We Dig It Ag Day together (we have three weeks and two days to pull everything together before almost 1600 kids+80 FFA students+sponsors+politicians and dignitaries come out to the farm for our event. Yikes!), plus strawberry season is coming up (if a bit later than I'd like), and CSA signups are still going on (we've got more members than we've ever had at this time of signups, yay!!!) So honestly after running errands all day, I was anxious to come home and have a minute to check my e-mail and work on some of that work, not go outside and plant onions.</div>
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However, we are on a huge push to get these early vegetables planted. We are behind since the month of February was pretty much horrible weather (it looks like another late start to the strawberry season around here. Boo!). This week has been the first week we've been able to get in the field without miring to our shins in mud (trust me, I tried to pull weeds in the strawberry field and it was a disaster, but, I didn't face plant at all! I am sure I will pay for that good fortune later). So we've been working double time to get things planted. Yesterday we disced (not sure on the spelling here and spell check is not up on farming terms) land to get ready to run rows. I've been wanting to learn how for a while. I can drive a tractor, but I wanted to go a step further. I am NOT mechanical at all. Pulling more than one lever at a time while trying to look forward to drive straight and backward to make sure that end was going well proved to be a little challenging for me (go ahead and laugh, but remember my teacher was The Husband and didn't even explain the levers to me until after argument #1 plus he had it hooked up backwards). Once I learned the process (and what all the levers did) I managed to do pretty good even if I was a little slow. Just today The Husband planted beets, collards, kale, radishes, carrots, cauliflower, garden peas, and rutabagas (CSA members take note, this will probably be the first couple weeks of boxes + strawberries). So I felt a bit obligated to help out since we're on double time.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He got out and threw me to the wolves to get this picture.</td></tr>
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It's pretty easy to drop onions. You just take the onions and place them in the dirt a couple of inches apart. The ones we planted were spring onions, and they resembled garlic cloves. It was all good, except they stunk, well, like onions (I do not like onions), and some of them were mushy. I tried not to think about that as I placed them in the dirt. I plugged my earbuds in my phone and tried to zone out (well, as much as I could, remember said kids picking up onions and throwing them and all, so of course I had to stop and call them down and explain again that his row needed to look like daddy's and if he wanted to keep getting new clothes and toys and movies he needed to help out every couple of minutes). In the end I dreaded something that probably took thirty minutes and that's one thing down. Now to tackle those potatoes...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes you just have to go old school</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ONIONS!</td></tr>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-60969687712529250012015-02-19T23:43:00.004-05:002015-02-19T23:43:56.654-05:00Winter VacationOkay, I say this every time but I am serious. I even set a phone alarm. MUST START BLOGGING MORE OFTEN!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Farm in Dormancy, except The Kiddos & Lily</td></tr>
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I have a couple of ideas for blogs but they were all serious, so instead I figured I'd just talk about what's going on on the farm right now. I know it looks like a big fat nothing, but in reality it's pretty busy. At least that's what I've felt like lately. Here's a breakdown (I did a Myers-Briggs test a couple of weeks ago for a program I'll talk about later and it said I'm an INTJ, and the J part means I like lists, so here's further proof it was right):<br />
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1- Conferences. Yep. It's that time of year where every organization we're involved in has some get together somewhere where we all sit through sessions that deal with everything from financing to weather to social media to legislative issues. Yep. They're all about that boring too. I think I yawned writing that. Okay maybe I'm being too harsh. I do like hearing about other farms and what they do (we all know from previous posts I like to spy ;)) and I do get some good ideas. This whole blog came out of the first NC Strawberry Association conference we went too. But in the end the sessions tend to run together and everything after lunch pretty much goes downhill (usually I don't take the kids because none of us would enjoy it; not me, certainly not them, and definitely not the folks who have to listen to them whine about not enjoying it, so I'm always thinking when can I go to the room and take a nap!). Why do we go if they're so boring? To meet and talk to other farmers. How many other times of the year do I get to meet other people who are working in agriculture, who understand what that means, and who are just as passionate about it as I am? I love bouncing ideas off them and giving them whatever advice I can. We just got back from the American Farm Bureau FUSION Conference in Nashville TN (lots of firsts here, first time to TN for The Husband and I, first time flying for him [he now claims he wants a jet, smh], first time being away from The Girl for longer than 1 night [she did fine and when I got home so did I], first time in a hotel that measured their sq footage in acres [57 under the roof to be exact]). It was awesome, except for the whole snow/ice storm that crippled Nashville (God and Luck were on our side and we managed to get one of the only flights out of there Tuesday morning, we had many friends not so lucky!). We met people from all over the country and heard from great speakers (first time I ever went to a conference and wanted the motivational speaker to speak longer). We came back excited, and that's the whole point right?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvYLSoy01UCUxwWOSDQJYDMWO9IbfBEeCvaKzSmK9ytQP8KkdgoodOz2urQGf6fi5KzWUEhjJCCVPKeDRaayJidiozwwWsrMw_Y1J1oLDqaIXG8pTSu37hUa23eJG7Xy-THZU61cAuso/s1600/IMG_0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvYLSoy01UCUxwWOSDQJYDMWO9IbfBEeCvaKzSmK9ytQP8KkdgoodOz2urQGf6fi5KzWUEhjJCCVPKeDRaayJidiozwwWsrMw_Y1J1oLDqaIXG8pTSu37hUa23eJG7Xy-THZU61cAuso/s1600/IMG_0063.JPG" height="253" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Casey's, Us, & Mrs Overman at the AFBF FUSION Conference</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZHrgDFzx908i-sVYQYf7yo2iJS9pmDg3nfX2y3UuBSSdYK3c0Wq9niTERa_oIp7HEUvaZhLnhp3Cr6gjXXrWwrWQ_OL0THoypTcqG5PS0mG1mBtBKUvWkP9ljD3-9xwS21kAbpVEygw/s1600/IMG_0095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZHrgDFzx908i-sVYQYf7yo2iJS9pmDg3nfX2y3UuBSSdYK3c0Wq9niTERa_oIp7HEUvaZhLnhp3Cr6gjXXrWwrWQ_OL0THoypTcqG5PS0mG1mBtBKUvWkP9ljD3-9xwS21kAbpVEygw/s1600/IMG_0095.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nashville Airport AKA The Skating Rink</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BI8tvq5lYWUW54nJAj0RhwHbXJU_IpGtW9c2gDtBZXFcL4plzLBMFxqTu2eEYMwGN9P9Fud6qeSFc_epAr_Ipp3jqnOqt5vUj8Hhu3rT1AfNndsun4lXdXEasN6LuH44PPKbYx4IIAw/s1600/IMG_0066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BI8tvq5lYWUW54nJAj0RhwHbXJU_IpGtW9c2gDtBZXFcL4plzLBMFxqTu2eEYMwGN9P9Fud6qeSFc_epAr_Ipp3jqnOqt5vUj8Hhu3rT1AfNndsun4lXdXEasN6LuH44PPKbYx4IIAw/s1600/IMG_0066.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adding this just because I think it's beautiful - Glass sculpture in the hotel lobby</td></tr>
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2- Planning. I'll be completely honest, last year, that whole entire adrenaline fueled disaster, last year almost broke me in the best way. We really saw the word of mouth thing start to pay off and we were really busy (which we are so, so, so grateful for), and it took us completely by surprise (I never want to get my hopes up too high and be disappointed, so I tend to be cynical, but this year I was blown out of the water). I felt like we were running behind the entire year and by the time November rolled around I was exhausted and burned out. It didn't help that I had a 1 1/2 - 2 year old trailing in my wake needing TONS more attention than The Boy did at that age (I was seriously not prepared for the differences between a girl and a boy). I felt like I couldn't give either The Girl nor The Farm the attention they needed and I played catch up all year with all of it (lesson learned, this spring she's going to daycare!). I needed a break from The Farm for a bit. When you own your own business it can consume your life, and I think it's worse with farming /since it's not just a business it's a way of life. Today with the ability to always be reached and always be available it's even harder. So when we ended the Corn Maze I think we took a good two months to breathe before we started talking about 2015. Now it's almost March (already!) and the CSA signups are in full swing (biggest turn out ever! I refuse to be cynical this year. I am ready for the challenge! Keep them coming!) and we're planning strawberry season now and already thinking about what we're going to add new this fall (I'm pulling for real bathrooms!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALbRAcR27u-WXsTuay2PZQ6r0Wff84dJ8-IiNdgiU8Shyphenhyphen-Bnl7Hc2Ye29ECMOM7x4M6DXsWtcB3L-KjYU50u2yzIZyjN7zQhSVhCgRTWv74tFvBqOTrcaiM1x1T2NQ4EoVqPx-4uuZ5A/s1600/2015+CSA+Flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALbRAcR27u-WXsTuay2PZQ6r0Wff84dJ8-IiNdgiU8Shyphenhyphen-Bnl7Hc2Ye29ECMOM7x4M6DXsWtcB3L-KjYU50u2yzIZyjN7zQhSVhCgRTWv74tFvBqOTrcaiM1x1T2NQ4EoVqPx-4uuZ5A/s1600/2015+CSA+Flyer.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These things don't just create themselves you know</td></tr>
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3- Meetings. There are two things I've learned in this farm life I've chosen, and they really apply to everyone not just farmers. One - no one will promote you if you don't promote yourself. That's true for our farm as much as it is for agriculture. No one is going to promote Odom Farming Co for me. No one is going to try and combat all the negative press Ag gets but farmers. Whenever someone asks me to do something, I find a way to do it. Whether it means we take our propaganda to an event to get the word out about our farm or we get asked to be a part of a leadership program to help get ag issues considered in our community. This winter I am taking part in the Karl Best Ag Leadership Program through the Wayne Community College Foundation and Cooperative Extension and it's been wonderful. It's making an ag-vocate of me (he, he!) Two - You get out of things what you put into them. If you join a group your heart isn't in, if you blow it off or show up with no enthusiasm you might as well stay home and not bother because it's not going to do anything for you. Another program we're involved in, the Wayne County Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers, is busy coordinating the 2nd Annual We Dig It Ag Day. The Husband and I chair this group, and since we have the most available time and since it's kind of our baby (and The Husband will literally talk to anyone about it, seriously don't stand around him too long or he'll give you the pitch!) we take on a lot of this. I love it, because I love organizing events and coordinating people (who'd a thunk it'd take me 30 years to figure out what I want to be when I grow up!). It's one thing I like about the CSA (it can also be the thing I hate most about the CSA!). Ag Day is great because it's amazing to see what a group of people can get done when they are determined. Last year everyone looked at us like we were crazy. We had to pull teeth to get sponsorship and jump through tons of hoops with the school system. This year it's been smooth sailing (my cynical insides are keeping their fingers crossed!). We have an awesome group that is just getting bigger and better and makes what seems like a job to other people a pleasure to us and because we all care so much it's a group I'm proud to be a part of.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcDKALOD2zvHnmgFIW0BJ1aM0uavnfaeGF_YQ9_q00UfMyCEJiRfY-nY3ZBl1_sJAXz-uLVYgnWeotzwMJUJSmcR6g0eurxyTd9s9UoH7sy93FKQfHLdR-QGbAZfFjypWIyNLs4PXrzU/s1600/We+Dig+It+Ag+Day+Flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcDKALOD2zvHnmgFIW0BJ1aM0uavnfaeGF_YQ9_q00UfMyCEJiRfY-nY3ZBl1_sJAXz-uLVYgnWeotzwMJUJSmcR6g0eurxyTd9s9UoH7sy93FKQfHLdR-QGbAZfFjypWIyNLs4PXrzU/s1600/We+Dig+It+Ag+Day+Flyer.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think it needs a border</td></tr>
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So thanks for bearing through my long blog absence and this windy post. Maybe you didn't fall asleep half way through. Hopefully I will start paying attention to that alarm. Like I said I have ideas, I just have to get them out, and if there's ever something you'd like to hear me talk about (or read me write about) then pass that idea along!<br />
<br />Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-73871333315629945282014-08-22T08:00:00.001-04:002014-08-22T08:09:10.170-04:00Fitting InI've had this in my head the whole time I've been writing. Now it's in yours. Your welcome. - - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P9m-tXy0To" target="_blank">Why Am I Such A Misfit?</a><br />
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All my life I've felt like I didn't quite fit in. I don't want to use the word 'misfit' because I think that gives it a negative connotation. Though not fitting in hasn't always been easy, I don't necessarily consider it a bad thing. I like the word eccentric. I think it comes from my Herring family (we're all a little different). Nothing has changed now that I'm 30 (yes, my name is Emily and I'm 30. I turned 30 in February and I know age is a number and all that, but all year it's been hitting me that I'm grown up now. I'm 30, I have 2 kids, and I own a business. Wow!). I look around and don't really see myself fitting into any category neatly. Then again who does really? That's what makes us as humans great right? We're all different and unique, but the same enough to understand other's circumstances. <br />
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I guess it should come to me as no surprise that my farm doesn't quite fit in anywhere either. I'm a woman farmer. I'm a farmer with a history major. We're liberal farmers (shhh! Don't tell anyone. Everyone automatically assumes we're ultra conservative or something. Nope. Not even a little bit.). We're small farmers that come from larger conventional farming backgrounds. I never wear overalls or chew on hay, though, sometimes I do wear pigtails. We're also young farmers who didn't inherit our farm. It is a family farm, but we had to buy it and we're doing it on our own (sometimes by our fingernails it seems). We're a small farm that's not a hobby farm. We don't do it for fun though it is fun at times and we don't do it to lose money though we've done that too. We don't do it because I'm bored and need something to do (when I grew up, the word bored was a bad word. It was the equivalent of cursing to my grandma. If I'm bored, I get up and find something to do and with 2 kids there's plenty of that!) We do it because we love this life and we want to build something great to share with our community, and we want to make money doing something we love. <br />
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Another way we don't quite fit in. We're a small farm that's not not organic. I'm not against organic. I see us going that route in the future (or at least all-natural, same result without spending thousands to be able to use the word organic). Personally I don't get the organic deal (not that there's anything wrong with it. Every family has to do what they think is best for their family). I think it's just a gimmick to get people to pay more for their food. Organic produce has not been shown to be any more nutritious than conventional (from the research I've done, some of which is here [<a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/organic-food/art-20043880?pg=2" target="_blank">http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/organic-food/art-20043880?pg=2</a>]), it's just not sprayed with the same things (because if you didn't already know, organic produce CAN be sprayed) or had anything added to it at the end. Organic produce gets recalled just like regular produce does (Trader Joe's Peaches anyone?) I'm all for not adding anything I will say that. Why mess with something perfect as is? Then again I'm not shipping my produce hundreds of miles either. I think the best route to take is local whether it's organic or not. At least then you know it wasn't picked early and shipped across the country to ripen in a box. It was probably picked the day before, probably from a farmer you know, and there was absolutely nothing added to it to make it look better or stay fresher. And I don't know this to be true but I suspect it's part of the reason why someone buys organic - really all people want to know it's what they're eating - and the organic label does at least tell the consumer what's been done to the product. Knowing your farmer takes some of the mystery out of it because you can just ask them.<br />
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What else makes our farm a misfit? We're not completely against GMO's (genetically modified organisms) where most small farmers are. We DO NOT, and WILL NOT, use GMO seeds in our produce production don't get me wrong, but I do see a place for them in the row crop industry. I know, I know, they're 'bad' for you, but by the year 2050 there will be 9 billion (yes, that's billion with a b) people on this planet who need to be fed and we're losing farmland at an astounding rate every day. This new 70 bypass that's being built so folks from Raleigh can get to the beach quicker? It took somewhere around 1000 acres of land out of production. I know what you're thinking, 1000 is not that much. Well, our farm has 46 acres of cleared land, that's what you see when you come. Think about that multiplied by 21. It's a lot of land. So we have to raise more crops on less land, and don't even get me started on the water issues (water, not oil, is our most precious resource. Wars will be fought over this in the future. You cannot convince me otherwise). How do you think that's going to happen? Only by being more efficient and increasing yields. One way to do that? Genetically modify plants to produce more.<br />
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Lastly, and this one makes me proud to be a misfit, I'm not into what I call 'farm shaming'. Like people who raise free range chickens versus people who raise them in a chicken house. Or people who do farm organically verses people who don't. It's like fat girls verses skinny ones or stay at home moms versus working moms. We're all in this together. Why fight against each other and bring everyone down? Agriculture takes such a beating as it is. Let's work together to educate the public. I think working together and learning from each other is a better way to have this conversation. Like I said, I think everyone has to do what's best for their family. If having that kind of food is more important than getting the best deal go for it. If you think it's better for your family be my guest. If you can't afford it or don't see the need that's okay too. It's a personal choice and I don't think anyone should shame anyone else for doing it. The problem with food is there are so many choices and a lot of people really don't know what they all mean. I don't. I'll be the first to tell you. I wish the government would come up with a simpler labeling system. I wish companies had to prove what they were calling one thing was actually that thing (like the 'creme' inside of an Oreo, which has no dairy content at all. [<a href="http://www.wral.com/many-processed-foods-lack-advertised-ingredients/13446178/" target="_blank">http://www.wral.com/many-processed-foods-lack-advertised-ingredients/13446178/</a>] Don't get me wrong, I know it can't be good for you, but they shouldn't be able to call it creme if I have to be strict on what I say about my produce). What I recommend is do your research before you decide (just beware everything you read on the Internet).<br />
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So that's how we're different in a nutshell. Sometimes I feel like we're straddling both sides of the fence. Not quite this but not that either. I guess I just feel like farmers get a bad wrap in general and a lot of organizations we're involved in because we are a small farm like to bash larger farmers for this or that and it's hard for us because we do understand both sides, but we don't quite fit into either. That's okay. I think our farm is relatable to you guys (least, I really hope it is), and as long as it stays that way I'm happy. Now all this is MY opinion. I'm not interested in getting involved in some big debate about it. Like I said, everyone has to do what they think is best for them. This is my blog about our farm and I just wanted to put my thoughts out there. I guess when it comes to having opinions I'm not such a misfit after all!Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-59975985065071508172014-06-11T09:17:00.001-04:002014-06-11T09:17:24.491-04:00Why I Do What I Do<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Confession time: as a woman, as a mother, as a business owner, I feel like I never do good enough. No matter how much I put in, no matter how hard I try, it's never enough. I'm sure all you other women/mothers/CEO's (hey, when you own the business you get to pick your title. Mine's Director of Agritourism. Sounds important doesn't it? Tomorrow I'm pulling weeds in the cucumber field. Today I picked up trash.) understand. Some days it doesn't matter how hard I try to be everything to everyone it's never good enough (of course I know it's because NO ONE can be everything to everyone, no matter how hard they try to make it look like that on Facebook or Pintrest. It's physically impossible. But sometimes I forget and think I can be superwoman. It's those times when I get slapped in the face by reality and it turns into an epic fail). Some days it's like the stars are all out of alignment and everything I touch turns to s*** (sorry, there's really no other way to put it). Some days I sit and look at the stresses I have going on, whether it's money or employees or the kids or the weather or The Husband and wonder why in the heck I'm doing this. Why don't I go get some desk job somewhere where someone else tells me what to do and I never have to make decisions and I get weekends off to take my kids on wonderful vacations or little league practice and I don't have to plan everything around the oh-so-impossible-to-predict rain and I get a set paycheck every single week. Why do I want to keep beating my head against this wall?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This entire strawberry season has felt like this to me. It seemed everywhere I turned was an obstacle, everything I tried to do backfired, the help I hired (bless her heart) just didn't get it. You name it it went wrong this season, the strawberries wouldn't seem to grow and when they did it was erratic, we had our first hailstorm, we had truck and tractor breakdowns, vehicle accidents (my car got backed into a tractor by the new employee while a group was here) the pickers didn't show half the time, I actually fell down in the middle of the field while talking to a group of students and parents from PPK (yes I did. I was simply trying to explain where they needed to walk to get the least muddy and not to fall when my foot slipped right out from under me and I just slid down on my butt. So I had to sit there while forty or so people stared at me as my thighs cramped like crazy and my face turned as red as the berries they were supposed to be picking while the force of irony set in). It was our best and worst season all at the same time. By the end I was just so ready to be done. I wanted to erase the whole miserable 6 weeks from my brain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then three things that happened in our last few weeks that renewed my sense of purpose in this profession I've created for myself: 1 - I had customers plan their trip home to Kernersville (near Winston Salem) from their vacation just to come by our farm. (They got lost in Nahunta and I had to tell them that they knew they were doing right when they passed the giant dinosaur. Thank you Benton & Sons for giving me a reason to say that!) How many farms did they pass? 10, 20? They live in the Piedmont (the mecca of strawberry growers) and they came to our farm because they said they were the best strawberries they'd ever eaten. I might be partial (or even a bad judge since I don't eat strawberries) but I have to agree. 2 - I went to the doctor (because of course I had to get my spring [I get one every season usually right before I have to speak to a group] cold during strawberry season. Couldn't have waited a couple weeks or come a little early. That'd be too much to ask) and I asked about making an appointment for The Husband and then told her i'd have to have him call since we farmed and his schedule was erratic and she thanked me for farming. I've never had anyone thank me for farming. 3 - Just today, I was cleaning out my car getting ready to pack for our first CSA drop offs (I NEED a delivery vehicle, one not filled with random happy meal toys and old mail) when a couple pulled up. She actually hugged me and thanked me for what we do, for having a farm where kids could come and see what farming is like. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things like this have renewed my faith in this little career I've picked. It makes me think that all that stress is worth it in the end. Even though The Boy and The Girl aren't involved in every activity I might wish they could be and I can't be there to do fun stuff with them all the time, The Boy still tells me he's a farmer and gets mad when he can't go to meetings because 'he's a young farmer too' (plus they have a corn maze in their back yard, I'd have to say if I was a 6 year old boy that'd be considered winning). If one person goes home with a new wrinkle in their brain, if one kid goes home and remembers the time they came out to the farm and had fun, if one person eats a great dinner from our CSA boxes, then that gives me the meaning and purpose I've been looking for. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My strawberry eatin' fool.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Bossman</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And apparently people are because we've had more groups than ever and more families coming out to have fun with us. Enough that we're planting another acre next year (finally, after 5 years, it's all starting to pay off! Thank you!!!). A lot of times people leave and you don't know what kind of time they had. The haters are always the first and loudest to give feedback, but you don't always hear from the people who appreciate what you do and enjoyed themselves. To know that at least someone is gives that sense of satisfaction I needed to get me through the summer. It makes me excited to do it all over again next year. It also gets me looking forward to the fall. It's a new season and who knows what it's going to bring! What new learning opportunities will present themselves? Hopefully I won't face-plant while walking through the corn maze. Fingers crossed!</span>Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-42099578428722039372013-12-16T16:27:00.000-05:002013-12-16T16:32:47.329-05:00Blogger's Block<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I promise I really have been meaning to sit down and blog about the misadventures that occurred this fall on the farm. However every single time I would sit down to do so, I would freeze. The words would escape me and the post would feel forced, like I was just writing crap to be writing crap (as opposed to what I'm doing right now). I felt if I couldn't just sit down and write the story, if it felt like I was pulling it out of my mind like pulling teeth, then the post would be awful and no one would want to read it (assuming it gets read now!). Therefore, I didn't post. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However now that I've had almost a month's reflection and blog ideas are again bubbling in my head, I thought I'd tackle one of them. Which idea is the lucky winner you ask? Public Opinion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year, in 2012, we had a representative from Groupon call and ask if we wanted to work with them on a deal for our corn maze. Being from a relatively small town (as opposed to Raleigh and points westward) I was skeptical. I had heard of Groupon from TV and other attractions such as ours around that used them. I had never personally used them though and wasn't sure if other people in our area would (then again I'd never been to a corn maze before we opened our own, so obviously I'm used to taking leaps of faith). We figured what the heck? We'll try it. If it doesn't work we don't have to work with them again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall our experience was what I'd call so-so. We didn't make much off it but we did get our name out to areas who would previously not have known about us. We figured it was worth the advertising. What we didn't count on was the ability of the purchaser to rate us. Of course we knew they could but it wasn't until they started coming in that we thought about the impact of someone reviewing our farm. Personally, I'm not a reviewer. I'll give you a couple stars or whatever, but I'm not the type of person who is going to take the time to write a review. However when I go online to purchase a product I read those reviews. Especially for something I've never bought before, a company I'm not familiar with, or something for my kids. What I've never thought about until I was on the other end of the deal is how the person who created that product feels upon reading them. Now I'd imagine if you were reviewing a Graco stroller the inventor of said stroller probably doesn't care. They aren't going to go home that night depressed because some user a thousand miles away found it hard to use or difficult to clean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when I read a review that someone wrote of my farm, I take it to heart. Now I know you have to read them with a grain of salt. After all, there are 'those people' who you are unable to satisfy. If we brought them here on a limo and let them in for free and gave them the a list treatment they'd still complain. It's still hard though when you've put everything into something; all your nights without sleep, the times you couldn't take your kids to that birthday party, all the days where you ate fast food, or the laundry didn't get done, or your baby had to take a nap in the car because you had no choice. When you invest your time, energy, and money and give whatever your are doing 110% of everything you have, for someone to say that wasn't good enough stings. Now, don't get me wrong. I never want someone to say they had a good time when they didn't. I know we're a small farm, still (and always will be) centered on agriculture and not how many more amusement attractions we can add to the place. If it gets done, it gets done by me or The Husband. I know that in some ways when I speak of some of our 'competition' it's not comparing apples to apples. I've been to those places too (shh! don't tell anyone!) and I know what they have. Our motto is Rome wasn't built in a day and our role model (a little place near Beulaville that some of you may know about...best Christmas lights in North Carolina...for now!) didn't become what it did over night. We love that some of our customers have been coming since the beginning and have seen us evolve and continue to evolve. Still, if someone came to my farm and had a bad experience I want to know it even if it does hurt just a little, so we can improve. If we don't know what we're doing wrong we can't fix it, especially if it's a service issue (I can't stand how customer service seems to have just disappeared! Everywhere I go it seems like the person waiting on me is too busy playing with other employees, or checking their phone, or won't even speak to me. It's like they've forgotten that I'm paying their salary. I can assure you, I haven't forgotten that my customers pay my salary and if you come and don't get excellent help you let me know!). And then you get the good reviews too and it makes you feel great to know that someone came out and had a good time. That's the whole point of our operation, is to get people back out on the farm having a good time with their friends and families. Those good reviews are what makes it all worthwhile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So this year when we partnered with Groupon we were ready, and when we started getting reviews, mostly good, some still bad, we made sure we addressed it so we got less and less bad reviews and the ones we got were about things we had no control over. In the end we've grown a thicker skin and realized you can't please everyone. You do the best you can with what you have, you try to provide the best experience and service possible every time, and let the haters hate.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After all, tomorrow is another day!</td></tr>
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<br />Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-52163261769243170082013-09-12T10:55:00.002-04:002013-09-12T10:58:13.921-04:00Vacay<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Well, we took our annual family vacation to the mountains this year. It's the life of a farmer, the only vacations you get to take are in the off season and they still are centered around farming. We went to get strawberry tips to come home and plug into plants. Yes, it's already time to start next years crop. Yay!!! (Note the sarcasm). Well this year at least we weren't hauling an overloaded trailer and no speeding tickets were handed out in the course of our journey. However we were traveling with an 8 month old so...going was not bad. She slept most of the way. It was the ride home that got her (although to be fair she was not 100%, but that's a story for later it the blog). So sit back and be prepared to hear about the vacation you didn't go on and get something to drink, it's a little lengthy (I couldn't leave out the pictures!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We're from the country and we were tourists, so where was the first place we went on Sunday (now too be fair we found a lovely park Saturday night and rode paddle boats out on a lake, that's not terribly country)? The Farmers Market of course! We walked around looking at all the beautiful vegetables and fruits the mountains had to offer. Gorgeous. I was actually really sad that the CSA had ended because I wanted all those heirloom tomatoes and plums and different colored striped peppers and fresh stuff to put in our boxes. It was a feast for the eyes. Then we ate at the restaurant there and it was so good (although I did think the waitresses were putting it on a bit when she asked me what she could "rustle us up" to drink.)</span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold, the feast for the eyes!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My wonderful cousin and her family live in Saluda NC. Never been to the town but I hear it's lovely. So when we get as far west as Asheville (where we always stay for convenience) I try to make a point to see her. This year we met in Flat Rock NC ((around 30 minutes south of Asheville) at Sky Top Orchards for an apple picking adventure. Seeing as that (as is typical with us) The Husband and The Boy aren't really apple fans and I'm allergic (yes, I am allergic to apples. For years when I ate them they would irritate my gums, causing them to "itch" [I cannot tell you how many times I was made fun of for that statement] and then last summer I ate one that I did prewash and cut the peeling off of and my entire mouth and tongue swelled up. The following 5 hour trip to the ER was enough to keep me from basically the only fruit I eat for life.) the trip was more to investigate another agritourism farm and see how they do things. It was great and other than it being a touch hot for the top of a mountain and the kids being tired and half sick it was a great trip. If you're every up that way anytime from Aug - Oct I would highly recommend it. The prices are reasonable, the drive is nice, the kids can run off pent up car steam, and the views while you're picking is a-mazing. I don't know how these people work with that view! One thing I'm going to be working on for the next two weeks is signs. They had beautiful painted signs everywhere about apples, how they grow, bees and how they make honey, which apples are ready when, the waggle dance bees do to let other workers know where sources of pollen are, you name it they had a sign. It was nice to know for someone who didn't know, and for everything to be labeled and had I not known about bees I would have learned something so it's a 'must do' for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pretty Signs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With a view like this who needs work?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Labor Day we went to Darnell Farms in Bryson City NC to pick up our tips. Now for any of you who come pick, especially later in the season when it gets hot, tips are the little plants that try and grow at the end of runners (sort of like a spider plant, least that's what my first girl scout leader called them and it's stuck with me since). We can't keep ours because of the risk of disease, but up in the mountains they have a wonderful climate for raising tips, not to mention a beautiful location. After you go apple picking you must drive about an hour west via 40 and 74 W to Bryson City. It's right on the Tuckasegee River which is this lovely winding river complete with rapids and little falls. There's several chain fast food places (including a Bojangles that I'm sure doesn't serve cheddar bo's) but there are some local barbeque joints right on the river bank that looked good too, one of them is an old drive in. Again, I can't imagine how these people cut plants all day long looking at the mountain behind them and the river in front of them. It's beautiful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Future Strawberry Tips</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It just makes you want to jump in.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrgx0OwnR_X_e2SkIrHJ2vGROeNBInMFMOL6ehYffn0NED1y4cTB1wsUIlEhkaUkFKpq2mevj5I735mnau49bYiSLMdn9zoTYSnDZ-l6wd6m8XNsguXGLDKp5rtn72BI6DZr3urIkCqk/s1600/DSCN0474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrgx0OwnR_X_e2SkIrHJ2vGROeNBInMFMOL6ehYffn0NED1y4cTB1wsUIlEhkaUkFKpq2mevj5I735mnau49bYiSLMdn9zoTYSnDZ-l6wd6m8XNsguXGLDKp5rtn72BI6DZr3urIkCqk/s320/DSCN0474.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Do I have to say it again? Beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We left all that beauty to come home sick (all except The Husband), and to stick plants for the next two days in 90 degree heat and humidity with gnats (I swear, the devil sent 4 things to show us what hell would be like: gnats, fire ants, pigweed, and joint grass. Get your soul right or get prepared! Just kidding. Seriously.) Thanks to my amazing in laws (is that an oxymoron! Just kidding. Seriously.) for helping to fill trays (the worst job in the world! You will end up wet, dirty, and with a hand FULL of tray cuts, which are kind of like cardboard cuts, just full of dirt and gnats.) and stick plants and babysit The Girl, who was sick and teething. We are all on the mend now after meds and a day on the couch with a fever. The Boy started kindergarten this year (sniff, sniff) so he wasn't around to join the mess. Anyway, it's all done and the plants are doing very well and we'll be laying plastic hopefully this weekend, so let the strawberry season begin!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tips!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's a dirty process but someone has to do it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gotta keep those plants watered!</span></div>
Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-45648385021296980982013-08-10T20:26:00.002-04:002013-08-10T20:26:58.349-04:00Insert Title Here<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I apologize ahead of time for the title. This is kinda a hodgepodge post, as all of mine have been lately due to procrastination, and I didn't really have a great category for it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So...it's raining, and my TV is not working (since for some reason it keeps cutting off every five seconds but only when connected to the satellite???), and The Husband is playing fruit ninja on his phone (do not tell him I told you), so why not blog since I haven't done it in two months? Sounds like a plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've had a busy two weeks on the farm. We planted the corn maze, the kids maze, the haunted maze, and pumpkins (better late than never). Still not sure how the pumpkins are going to work out with the patch. We may have already cut pumpkins in a patch of pumpkin vines. I know, I know, it's not the same but we had rain when we needed to plant them and then when it cut off the wheat had to get out and other crops had to be planted and it was the last thing on the totem pole. Whatever we have, it will be hands down better than last year I promise!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGt4BhKvrHY9xHbbKXsEGREnyNpWdmAlOy4nZYLKHKibRJIN45DaaElXTGdTjzCA4vXJNXylNHYGPpi7AdJtJfZLSviI2KWZy-L2DCUOBBjCMZHvuZ5U2lVuYwZ4A2rPawlAutgPASVM/s1600/IMG_20130731_143707_042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGt4BhKvrHY9xHbbKXsEGREnyNpWdmAlOy4nZYLKHKibRJIN45DaaElXTGdTjzCA4vXJNXylNHYGPpi7AdJtJfZLSviI2KWZy-L2DCUOBBjCMZHvuZ5U2lVuYwZ4A2rPawlAutgPASVM/s320/IMG_20130731_143707_042.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Husband hard at work planting the corn maze (notice how the row marker is missing it's blade? Epic Fail.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Maze</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyCyRmgmiVjpJ6LLdGZvpeD6J38IsTGPZIm2HJ58V1liTnBi3GMmf6VnvYP7R9oYLfPvIfpW9oPszoN6Mywqp5zTOd61CBiUUUBIIaKcyA1uzGjShhMfbiu7nT4EGyhDicKVqBYvB6Ng/s1600/IMG_20130808_191332_135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyCyRmgmiVjpJ6LLdGZvpeD6J38IsTGPZIm2HJ58V1liTnBi3GMmf6VnvYP7R9oYLfPvIfpW9oPszoN6Mywqp5zTOd61CBiUUUBIIaKcyA1uzGjShhMfbiu7nT4EGyhDicKVqBYvB6Ng/s320/IMG_20130808_191332_135.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can barely see the kids maze, it's the lighter color green that is running horizontally all the way up to where I'm taking the bad picture. The rows going vertical to the shot is the corn maze.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have three weeks left of the CSA. Again, more problems here because of the rain. Most of what we planted drowned, and most of what everyone else planted drowned. So every Tues or Wed morning we get up (at 5 am, and The Husband always says 'do you think our members appreciate this?' and I say 'No, because they don't know we do it', and yes, it's the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">whole</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> family, me, The Husband, The Boy [5] and The Girl [7 mo]. But...sometimes, we eat at the restaurant</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> there and that makes it all worth it!) and go to the Farmers Market and see what the local farmers bring to sell and decide what we're going to get to put in the boxes. I feel like we've had an abundance of peppers and peaches. Sorry! We really do try to provide a variety but like I said, this year has just not been the year for us. It was so cold for so long, then so rainy for so long, and until tonight we haven't been able to beg a drop. It's been at least two weeks if not three that we've had rain on our farm. Our new motto is be careful what you wish for!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm so excited that I'm already booking groups and parties at the maze. Every year people start earlier and earlier and I am so glad to see it. One idea I'm super excited about is our 1st Annual Scarecrow Contest (click <a href="http://www.odomfarmingcoinc.com/" target="_blank">here</a> for a link to the flyer and entry form). When I was a kid I was in 4-H and girl scouts and my church youth group where we were always doing service projects to help our community. The idea of service really stuck with me, and now that I have a platform to give back I want to do it. One way we're going at it this year is with our contest. If you are a part of a non-profit group and are tired of selling crap to make money, make a scarecrow instead and bring it to the farm. All season we'll have people voting on them, and at the pumpkin festival Oct. 26 (another new idea!) we'll announce the winner and give them a cash prize. $100 for first place, $50 for second, $25 for third, and $25 for staff favorite. So please, please pass the word around and lets see how many Scarecrows we can get!</span>Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-25358319635334239312013-06-01T18:23:00.000-04:002013-06-01T18:23:06.544-04:00Over and Out<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, it's official. We're closed for the season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Funny how I can remember every single opening day for the past four years, April 17, April 16, March 31, April 15 but I can never remember exactly when we close. I attribute it to being so excited to open for a new season of strawberries in the beginning and then by the end being so worn out and tired and hot I'm just ready to throw in the towel. I've always said the corn maze is fun but strawberries are work, and boy have they ever been this year. Between the strawberries and CSA and The Boy and The Girl (especially The Girl. I was not at all prepared for how hard running a business would be with a 'new' baby. Wow. That's all I can say) and The Husband and running for him and all the other incidental drama that comes with being an employer and dealing with the public. I find myself feeling the same thing I always feel at the end of a season, just times ten this year. Bittersweet because it's over and relief that I don't have to get up and work out there in the 80-90 degree heat and sun all day (I mean will I get to a point where I stop sun-burning, or will I just successively burn every single day? And honestly it hasn't even been that hot yet).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflnbGDtXZ5KFXXx-PotnJyTmh1NQ_H3MsUtKXBrSYd9q57X2EP6f6Qwf438qq6rURti47Ok3AD5ORtGp5-0H4Z5vogoGbw2Plw9vWLJl6y4VX5wZB8XAMt7Ytezs17Gxa2e7MKHzOLWo/s1600/IMG_20130601_175426_142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflnbGDtXZ5KFXXx-PotnJyTmh1NQ_H3MsUtKXBrSYd9q57X2EP6f6Qwf438qq6rURti47Ok3AD5ORtGp5-0H4Z5vogoGbw2Plw9vWLJl6y4VX5wZB8XAMt7Ytezs17Gxa2e7MKHzOLWo/s400/IMG_20130601_175426_142.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My step-dad cut this out of last Sunday's paper for me. It about sums up the last six weeks or so.<br /></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was a pretty good season. The cold spring and a late start made our yield not where we really wanted it but in the long run I think it was a good thing this year. We set a goal after last season to move all our berries retail, and we managed to do it. there was one day we had to cap berries. Other than that we sold out and/or picked out, and that has meant the world to us. We feel like now, finally, after four years, things are starting to come around and people are understanding more about what we're about, they're understanding that we're here not only to be your local berry farm but to provide an experience for your family, and apparently they like it. Which is great. The average person is not going to drive out to our farm and up our path to buy a bucket of berries (even if I was told we had the best berries in America!). They can do that at any local fruit stand. The person coming to our farm is coming with their family to pick and then their kids can play and visit the goats and maybe they can bring a lunch or eat a cup of ice cream. That's the idea we're going for. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing a little ice cream and a laugh can't fix!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making new Friends</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So with that in mind we're looking forward to some changes in how we do things this fall. We're completely changing the pumpkin patch, to a real patch where families can come cut their own pumpkin. We're going to be adding more attractions (I'm trying to talk The Husband into building teepees. So far no luck but hopefully I can persuade him!) We're going to make the educational aspect of our field trips more hands on (it's a farm, if you don't go home covered in hay and dirty I haven't done my job). We're also talking with Rosewood High's FFA about an Ag Day where local elementary schools can come and be out on the farm. There is lot's to be excited about for the fall. All we have to do is make it through this long, hot summer!</span>Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-90023897004570966752013-05-07T22:39:00.000-04:002013-05-07T22:39:00.798-04:00A Bee Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So last year The Husband got the bee bug (pun intended). We had six hives on the farm to pollinate two acres of berries, and they hung around for most of the spring and summer. They swarmed several times, as anyone who's read this before knows, and that attracted his attention. Then the owner came out and showed him a few things and he was hooked. Of course the fact that I get constant calls for local honey might have had a little to do with it too. And I might have encouraged him (just a little). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've always been scared of bees, wasps, hornets, bumblebees, pretty much anything that makes a loud buzz. Blowflies can unnerve me. It's really the sound that gives me the heebie-jeebies more than anything. I think I associate it with pain since I got stung by a wasp and a yellow-jacket once (on separate occasions, ten years apart). As I've gotten older I try to hide it, but I'm still a little scared (especially of wasps and yellow jackets, not because I've been stung, but because those suckers will chase you). I've tried to take an intellectual approach to bumble and honey bees. They won't bother me if I won't bother them, that kind of thing. And I'm just a little fascinated by them and their behaviors (which are so freaking neat!) so I make a big effort to overcome my fear. I've been two feet away from the hive with no protective gear on and they've never bothered me. Still, when I hear that sound my instincts kick in and I get scared, which they can smell, which sets off their instincts, you see where this is going. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Husband wanted to paint them Island Orange, <br />but after the pullover incident I <br /><div style="text-align: right;">
convinced him bright orange probably wasn't the best color.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDSSIPx_FL-A_lDDy5hmtUUqMKaTH3FCqO1GDdr9swSuIgDuiRYFPiyBw4l-dsyF7t6HCRqY3fESFTlZW4RcCVUIOxFCDHLDbQeUf6UevZQ0-Z_QS24RWEYnH8danGAo09S2Ztl186mk/s1600/DSCN0213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDSSIPx_FL-A_lDDy5hmtUUqMKaTH3FCqO1GDdr9swSuIgDuiRYFPiyBw4l-dsyF7t6HCRqY3fESFTlZW4RcCVUIOxFCDHLDbQeUf6UevZQ0-Z_QS24RWEYnH8danGAo09S2Ztl186mk/s200/DSCN0213.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building the Hives</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Husband has no fear, despite being stung a number of times (it's really his own fault, he was wearing a bright orange fleece pullover while disking [not sure of the spelling on this one, and Google's not helping] right up next to the hives on the loudest tractor on the east coast, what did he really expect?). So him and Cousin Alvin took the beekeeper class that was offered by the Beekeepers of the Neuse (basically the beekeepers association of Wayne County), and what started as 'I'll just take the course so I'll know more about it' turned into 'we're buying five hives.' Just like that we were in the bee business. After a couple trips up to the bee store in North Wilkesboro and a couple Saturdays spent building and painting hives, the Sunday came when we were to get the bees. I was excited. While I am technically a little scared of them (or rather the sound they make, honestly we should tape it and play it in the haunted maze. I'm sure it would freak me out to hear a swarm coming at me in the dark in the corn. Heck it would freak me out to have a swarm coming at me in the daytime in the wide open field), I like them at the same time. I just like the idea of having our own hives here on the farm, hives we've taken care of and that we know all about, and honey that was produced from the trees and plants right here. It's as local as local can get. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCx2gtge7hy6S8vaV8pJzJY41u3MemnFK8gAhzIiriaKd0QXr57i6bfTSy412TNxHkOHq3lYd_MEq3TEYqP93kH_pdEf7FQLzJuaFOIG6wB_AjEGdqfBa0RbYwZ8AHKMd6_ZxY6rPpE6M/s1600/DSCN0237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCx2gtge7hy6S8vaV8pJzJY41u3MemnFK8gAhzIiriaKd0QXr57i6bfTSy412TNxHkOHq3lYd_MEq3TEYqP93kH_pdEf7FQLzJuaFOIG6wB_AjEGdqfBa0RbYwZ8AHKMd6_ZxY6rPpE6M/s200/DSCN0237.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Package</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9myaJH0lyLP5NuKZ53AH3hXRi6Lt76qWW9eZNBm5Jl1umbXpveuCkPiMYWM2ZUIpu7vvJYwq9U2goaG6zQ4hI5pwvyMR5swNl_nhHJ-kjxwWj9Y6iO0qh8vl2J1nrPib7qwmffqb6Uqg/s1600/DSCN0257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9myaJH0lyLP5NuKZ53AH3hXRi6Lt76qWW9eZNBm5Jl1umbXpveuCkPiMYWM2ZUIpu7vvJYwq9U2goaG6zQ4hI5pwvyMR5swNl_nhHJ-kjxwWj9Y6iO0qh8vl2J1nrPib7qwmffqb6Uqg/s200/DSCN0257.JPG" width="120" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Queen and her Ladies in Waiting. <br />Her majesty has a red marker on her <br />abdomen that you can just barely see in this picture.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So the packages came in small cages, with the queen and a couple workers in their own little compartment. First they removed the queen and put her in the hive, then they dumped the cages out into it. It was all going well until the bees became agitated. They sprayed them with sugar water in an attempt to calm them, and on one package it didn't work. The husband (who has always bragged that he could get close to the hive without a veil, got stung three times. It was pretty hilarious. He ordered a veil the next day). They must have done something right though, because they all went in well. We only lost one hive, and it flew away destination unknown. We aren't really sure why. Luckily we had a helpful customer with a swarm in her backyard and a party planned who called asking for help. Cousin Alvin caught the swarm and that replaced them. So if you are not a beekeeper and have an unwelcome swarm in your yard, call us and if we can't come catch it we'll pass along the info to the bee club and hopefully someone will. You can never have too much local honey! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">PS, if you know someone with local honey (within 20 miles or so of Goldsboro) they want to sell, give us a call also. I would love to take it off their hands!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RbWx4GHCHa7iVUWCyUCNINEezYRwUOaoZsT5KyyMOravEyCasX01D1dI4bC_w0oiAK9XcYGtpPSn3_w_btqbCzrJTCu9ON0tS6SAZd_iJh7OjaXScUBndrVdQKu7wOP-Xrb8gnP7lO4/s1600/DSCN0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RbWx4GHCHa7iVUWCyUCNINEezYRwUOaoZsT5KyyMOravEyCasX01D1dI4bC_w0oiAK9XcYGtpPSn3_w_btqbCzrJTCu9ON0tS6SAZd_iJh7OjaXScUBndrVdQKu7wOP-Xrb8gnP7lO4/s200/DSCN0241.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Brave One Dumping a Package</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAbTYz047H_3Ee-hX-5ly307MDrpoSxLPRAxInLYlE3FddGOAmQBr5v05vtWbzcl9HdYUPtNaxRyFPgnIByYzUFno0F4DReTblI2ogWoyXD-4mZvQp_IrF9zMDO36lwMp125VX6agVzo/s1600/DSCN0253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAbTYz047H_3Ee-hX-5ly307MDrpoSxLPRAxInLYlE3FddGOAmQBr5v05vtWbzcl9HdYUPtNaxRyFPgnIByYzUFno0F4DReTblI2ogWoyXD-4mZvQp_IrF9zMDO36lwMp125VX6agVzo/s200/DSCN0253.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">The Smart One dumping a package</td></tr>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-77782244334120646902013-03-14T22:31:00.000-04:002013-03-14T22:31:54.064-04:00Hog Scouting and Other Things I Did on My Maternity Leave<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I had the boy, I took all of my FMLA allowed 12 weeks and it was so awesome. It was the first time since I was sixteen that I wasn't working and not looking for a job or going to school. I think I looked forward to the time off as much as having the kid. This time I own my own business, so a week after having The Girl I was back at work. I was just doing paperwork, and no one wants to read a blog about me doing paperwork. Heck I'm bored just writing it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But never fear, this blog is not about paperwork, because I went hog scouting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So we rent some land over on Arrington Bridge Road and over there we have a bit of a wild hog problem. They come out and get in the field and root up places looking for delicious things to eat in the dirt. I'm not even sure I know what they're looking for. They cause a lot of damage and we have some trappers that come once a year or so and trap some of them. Right now (as you can see in the picture below) there is nothing planted so it's not crucial, but in a field were you might have wheat planted the entire field would have been a loss. Well The Husband came home a couple weeks ago and said he saw a couple sows with about twenty piglets and I got excited, because all I've ever heard was how dangerous and big they were and I wanted to see one. So that weekend after dinner we rode over to the field to see what we could see. I was hyped up, all excited. Finally. I could see the elusive menace. We pulled up to the field and cut the brights on and I was holding on to the oh s*** handle and ready to see one...and nothing. It was the biggest let down. We went all over that field and two others we rent over there Nothing. Only rows and rows of rooted up soil. We were so disappointed The Husband took me for a latte (which did cheer me up but before you get too impressed I had a gift card that some of my Posse friends gifted me for my birthday last month and he got one too).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last weekend we went for take two, this time with The Boy in tow. It was around 7:30 so I knew for sure we were too late. As predicted, we pulled up to field one and saw nothing but a deer. We went to field two, which was finally dry enough and saw fifteen deer. While I was impressed by the number of deer, I was not impressed by the animals themselves. I can go out my back door and see deer. We have their favorite early spring treat planted a hundred yards from my house, strawberries (and yes, the sap suckers have been indulging). We went to field three and saw yet another deer (population control anyone?). This field is L shaped, with a path going around the edge of a pond that fills the area inside the L. We turn the corner of the path and drive down the hill and surprise, there are four huge hogs. Now, I don't have pictures because it was dark, but they were huge. I didn't see their faces, so I plan on returning to see if I can catch them again, but they were so big and furry they looked like bears (granted I've never seen a bear in the wild either so...yep, it's on my list). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_tSVZMcZofAokazdWIcZwIjHUc7Vdqlci3B5UqUc_VlHR6vBRtEC7hD1ASQ8X11Q56DgIWu-LZoshyphenhyphenzcKm81kJ1ieGy8oCLPE0d-IWnS5-VdVMsFbzRMTNEdOTJCNxHnCRrC9WQedho/s1600/hog+damage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_tSVZMcZofAokazdWIcZwIjHUc7Vdqlci3B5UqUc_VlHR6vBRtEC7hD1ASQ8X11Q56DgIWu-LZoshyphenhyphenzcKm81kJ1ieGy8oCLPE0d-IWnS5-VdVMsFbzRMTNEdOTJCNxHnCRrC9WQedho/s320/hog+damage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a tame picture. Imagine 8-10 foot wide swaths the length of the field.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So nothing else I did can top the excitement of finally seeing the hogs. Sorry. It's all creating CSA forms and figuring out spring farm tours and planning long term goals for the farm. The Husband did some excavating around the pond, sloping the sides down so it's no longer a dangerous ten foot drop into it with no way of pulling yourself up. At least on two sides. We're taking the dirt and putting it to the side for the giant slide we're planning on installing. Eventually we want to open it up for fishing, since my Youngest Brother in Law put catfish in it over the winter. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGol9Oe_WHzA7W3_l4rzSUYDUD6V92gug36FyhGDi6USwr_2v0ZYSANrfaMqT4yp1L4g1U64gxgSJHoGiKAjEua7JmHgUj3NwDT9w9AbTUW1cUoZn1nSXKXSsj12idbgXpok_Uy0UdDE/s1600/1362239165131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGol9Oe_WHzA7W3_l4rzSUYDUD6V92gug36FyhGDi6USwr_2v0ZYSANrfaMqT4yp1L4g1U64gxgSJHoGiKAjEua7JmHgUj3NwDT9w9AbTUW1cUoZn1nSXKXSsj12idbgXpok_Uy0UdDE/s320/1362239165131.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Husband & The Girl</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40t8wvqaOVO4m2XY1KzJ0vG0W1RTCtkckFoZrHSxc9PKT7q2ZURijuxXdaJyact1gX_NkIX-8MTSEZKlbB8qgt0Zt3HE8IAx6f7Bm16mw1vCu4W6e_JU2Tv45YJ-4Wtw9dN7AfZuQvro/s1600/1362239321703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40t8wvqaOVO4m2XY1KzJ0vG0W1RTCtkckFoZrHSxc9PKT7q2ZURijuxXdaJyact1gX_NkIX-8MTSEZKlbB8qgt0Zt3HE8IAx6f7Bm16mw1vCu4W6e_JU2Tv45YJ-4Wtw9dN7AfZuQvro/s320/1362239321703.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking towards the picnic area</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I do have an awesome mom moment. When we saw the hogs The Boy went crazy and we were talking about how big they were, in perfectly pg terms. Then The Boy breaks in with "those were some big a** hogs". Yeah. I felt like an a-plus mom at that point. Part of me was trying really, really hard for him not to find out I was laughing. Part was semi-proud he used it in context. Part of me was super guilty because I knew exactly who he'd learned that word from (insert knowing cough and red face here). Most of me was cringing hoping he's not going to his church-affiliated preschool showing off this robust vocabulary.</span> <br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span>Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-67754145274383684242013-01-02T07:48:00.000-05:002013-01-02T07:48:42.316-05:00For Your Viewing Pleasure<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, so I won't even pretend this isn't a big chance for me to show off pictures of the sea monkey, but I will talk a little shop since I haven't been able to turn spring ideas off in my head.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Business first. So, like I've kinda mentioned a few times, we want to make some changes on the farm, increase activities, basically step it up a notch. In that spirit, I've been spending the sleepless nights thinking about field trips at the farm. I love having groups out. I like teaching kids about plants and bees and where food actually comes from. I like watching them be able to run around and just be kids. But I also want to offer more things to do on the farm. I'm thinking about offering birthday packages this year, maybe have a somewhat education experience picking berries. Maybe, if (and this is a super, super big if) we're able to get a kitchen out there this spring, offer a package for older kids where they make jam. For schools and daycares still do the tours that we offer, I'm thinking of having the option to just pick and play (mostly for younger kids who might not have the patience for a longer lesson), or have a more detailed tour, or (and this is an if, since I'll need cooperation from my local beekeeper) have a tour guided more towards bees and pollinators. Anyway, those are some of my ideas for the spring, in addition to adding more playground equipment and animals (I've put it off long as I can, we're gonna have to get some, just NO pigs!). What do you guys think? Is there something you'd like to see/learn about on the farm? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pleasure second. The sea monkey is permanently (reluctantly on her part) out of the sea, and I posted a pic on Facebook but I hate to post a lot of personal things there. It's not that I want you guys to not know what goes on in our family, I just think you liked our farm page to learn about the farm, not to be blitzed with family pictures, anecdotes, and minor annoyances I post on my personal page. So, I limited myself to one of The Boy and The Girl, and decided to post a couple more here for your viewing pleasure.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Husband and The Girl - he's already talking about teaching her to drive a tractor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where are the strawberries? These long fingers were made for picking!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I very rarely post pictures of myself, even on my own FB page, but The Boy was so cute I couldn't resist.</td></tr>
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<br />Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-41632326646357202442012-11-26T13:39:00.001-05:002012-11-26T13:39:18.018-05:00Update<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First, I should really apologize for neglecting my blog. I keep meaning to post every week, and I've had plenty of fodder, but no energy. By the time I've had time to sit down and get focused on blogging, I'm dead tired. Consequences of sea monkey I guess (31 days or so but who's counting?). Anyway I had a group cancel this morning (f you could hear me talk you'd note the false cheeriness with which I say that last phrase. They gave me 15 min notice, but they called, so it's better than what I have received before) and I'm feeling focused right now so here's November blog for your reading pleasure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I guess we ought to start with a season re-cap. Overall the season was great. We had nice weather for most of the time (other than the Superstorm Sandy episode, which I can't really complain about since I have a nice comfortable home to live in and electricity and heat while there are many who are still without that). We had some new groups that were great and some returning groups that we enjoyed seeing again. We learned some big lessons (it seems like every year we do, will we get to a point where it's all old hat or will we constantly be learning lessons? I think it's the latter) about what we will and will not be doing again (apparently I assume a lot and am naive, two things which will be changing). We're very excited about what 2013 has to bring and even though it's going to be a much different year than we've ever had (we are adding a newborn to the mix, sometimes I still question my sanity about that decision, especially after going through the corn maze 7 and 8 months pregnant) we're ready to see how things are going to come together for strawberries.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkD4n9x1QqbebbbGzcREMN9_FrUHRJm4-szUBoa7yWJFhgQM-cCUpbry5ku28Ez_DlFnHrBwoVsEvp5klt1vQmiPf_nJQU4zn5qRV2pB1mcFVToMVp4Xgg1JaiiIu4A37l4INXxSeCCI/s1600/1350399990762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOkD4n9x1QqbebbbGzcREMN9_FrUHRJm4-szUBoa7yWJFhgQM-cCUpbry5ku28Ez_DlFnHrBwoVsEvp5klt1vQmiPf_nJQU4zn5qRV2pB1mcFVToMVp4Xgg1JaiiIu4A37l4INXxSeCCI/s200/1350399990762.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proof that I can, in fact, drive a tractor - anyone<br />
remember the potato planting blog of last spring<br />
(Plan D)? Flip to it for a laugh.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Lb2RNDZZJ35xh9kH_L4w84ucYxMEMsi_FLMuTT8vwFcTxkSOXM7u-niGDpVwp_0IZQPgk1gp2augylnyfLHN6Wn5XVJrgtQGeBGcQZ-k0Ig-7s-qpRFXvgHa8SxXA-56wbNUmmUGZg8/s1600/1349898832561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Lb2RNDZZJ35xh9kH_L4w84ucYxMEMsi_FLMuTT8vwFcTxkSOXM7u-niGDpVwp_0IZQPgk1gp2augylnyfLHN6Wn5XVJrgtQGeBGcQZ-k0Ig-7s-qpRFXvgHa8SxXA-56wbNUmmUGZg8/s200/1349898832561.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I want a giant pumpkin for next year!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Speaking of strawberries, we got them planted finally (a little later than originally planned). We cut back on the amount we planted this year. Last year it was craziness the amount of berries we picked (200+ flats per day most days!), and even though we had a market for all of them we could reasonably get to (huge thanks again to my capping crew!) it costs so much to get them picked and washed and capped and all that we decided to cut it down to a more reasonable amount and see what happens then. If we're as busy as we were last spring there may be days we sell out (here's hoping). I hate the idea of not having things to sell when I have customers who want to buy, but, I'd rather sell out any day than have flats and flats of berries to sell and not enough customers (supply, demand, you get </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> picture).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On a more personal note, this year I was nominated for Outstanding Woman of the Year in Agriculture. When the group who nominated me first asked me, I thought, what could I possibly have done to deserve this? I mean, I run a tiny agri-tourism operation and I most of the time I feel like I do that poorly. That's it. But what was I going to say? No, don't nominate me. In no way did I ever think I'd win. Well last Monday night I did, and I found much to my chagrin that I had to give a small speech for winning which I was not at all prepared for in any way. So ever since then I've been thinking about what I should have said, and since this is my blog I'm going to say it now (**note, if you see me on channel 10 or whatever the Wayne County channel is, please take a moment to laugh hilariously at what I did say on the fly, and note how awkward and red I was. I do every time I replay it in my mind.) First I need to thank all of you, our customers who come out season after season and support us. Yes, we do this for our living, but you all are our top priority when we plan out the seasons. We want to make sure you're getting what you pay for, whether that's a quality product or a quality experience on the farm. No, we aren't a big operation and we don't have a lot of the amenities of other farms around (although we're adding several for this spring), but we do care and we want you to come to a farm, not an amusement park. Second, I want to thank The Husband (if you tell him I said this I will lie) and my family and friends. The Husband is there when I need help (which I needed a lot of this year), my family is always there for me to pawn The Boy off on, and my friends take me to dinner every now and then so I don't have to look at The Husband and hear him talk about the farm and soybeans and combines.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm not sure if I'll be blogging again before sea monkey arrives (I promise I'll post a picture of her on our Facebook page), but I'm hoping to have some more concrete CSA info for you guys by January including a registration form. I'm thinking now it's probably going to be pretty much the same as last year. We may cut the weeks a little or move it up more into April so we can finish before September, and I want to add delivery (for a small fee yet to be determined) or at least a couple drop off locations to make it more accessible to people in other parts of the county. Stay tuned to Facebook for more information.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And as always if you have a comment or suggestion you want to let us know about, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Give me a call, send me a message on Facebook or an e-mail, or just comment below. We're going to be making serious changes to the farm this winter and every bit helps (good or bad!).</span>Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7862075734507083599.post-85503227205987473682012-10-17T10:47:00.002-04:002012-10-17T10:47:23.437-04:00Epic Fail<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometimes I think if it can possibly go wrong, it will go wrong to me. I know that's super petty and pessimistic, but I swear, it honestly seems that way. It doesn't really matter what we try to do, it never works out the way we envisioned in our head. 'Course, I guess it happens that way for everyone. So if you're like me and are prone to epic failure, you'll really enjoy this next blog.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We weren't able to grow pumpkins on the farm this year (I still am super disappointed about this!). I had in my mind this cute little patch were people could go and find the perfect pumpkin and take pictures. I wanted to plant pink pumpkins and partner with some organization to donate some money to Relay or SMOC or some other great cancer organization. Yeah well, that didn't work out. At the time we needed to plant, it was 100 + degrees and we didn't get any (not a drop) of rain for three weeks. So, needless to say, no pumpkin patch and no pink pumpkins (but I'm still carrying the torch that next year we WILL have both!) Since we were unable to grow pumpkins, we have to purchase pumpkins. This means that usually twice a week we're headed to Raleigh to the Farmers Market to pick up a couple of bin boxes of pumpkins.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We sold out of pumpkins Sunday and I wanted to be open today since the kids are getting our of school early around here (last year I had some calls so I thought, what the heck, we'll try it), therefore we needed to make a pumpkin run. Yesterday was the only day this week we were for sure we'd be able to go, so after my 30 week (only 10 more left!) appointment for Sea Monkey we took off. We had to be back for Farm Bureau's annual meeting at 6.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Everything was awesome until we stopped to eat lunch. When we went back to the truck it wouldn't crank. We assumed it was the battery (the interior lights were on, since The Husbands door doesn't quite shut exactly right). Luckily we had jumper cables and a nice guy at the restaurant jumped us off. Then we stopped for diesel and it cut off again, which told The Husband the batter wasn't getting charged. He assumed it was one of two things, the wires connecting the alternator and the battery or the alternator. Now I'm not getting into the mechanics of how this stuff works. He goes to explain and I zone out. All I know is we're already pushing it for time and now we're delayed. My frustration hits an all time high.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So we stop at the local auto parts store and the little guy comes and checks it out, sure enough, what is the problem? The alternator. It couldn't be some quick little wire, it has to be something we've actually got to take off the truck to fix, not to mention the expense. So right there int he parking lot The Husband goes to taking off the part while I sit on the sidewalk (the cold hard concrete) and The Boy alternates between worrying me and worrying The Husband (bless his heart, he really wanted to help. He kept standing there and pretending to do whatever it was The Husband was doing. But he was anxious and kept running around and jumping and he got coordination from me so I knew it was a matter of time before he fell and scraped something [this wasn't that nice smooth concrete, it was the rough finish so yeah, it woulda really hurt] so I kept trying to get him to stop which led to greater frustration on my part.) Eventually I give up and The Boy and I walk to Walgreens where I find nail polish 1/2 off. Silver lining.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCCvd-MCoeJysq_NrRiGNU-MZX380xGQpMbaBrR2FpANGU4Oawrlehua0wNCNbGu4dysOg_dfAlBtRpUH9ICMYbdpMhPW2dbpkfxdT5RI1TTv0kXqxec8g1v0CEEM_StJXorjpfJ3wYk/s1600/1349898832561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCCvd-MCoeJysq_NrRiGNU-MZX380xGQpMbaBrR2FpANGU4Oawrlehua0wNCNbGu4dysOg_dfAlBtRpUH9ICMYbdpMhPW2dbpkfxdT5RI1TTv0kXqxec8g1v0CEEM_StJXorjpfJ3wYk/s200/1349898832561.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boy & The Giant Pumpkin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintCklZDBGskGdvkIYfm_1FClZJ4o0u-Ciagl1O79eOaGTokun3bWYwYKCBbteqlNWjgMCZgsP7gLJBLjRdxisKVcnwAEbtB6iOTAAUCDDWeFIfZ6JLW6co9RKLRbk6yp7VY-5flmS_Q8/s1600/1350483647145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintCklZDBGskGdvkIYfm_1FClZJ4o0u-Ciagl1O79eOaGTokun3bWYwYKCBbteqlNWjgMCZgsP7gLJBLjRdxisKVcnwAEbtB6iOTAAUCDDWeFIfZ6JLW6co9RKLRbk6yp7VY-5flmS_Q8/s200/1350483647145.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cannonballs - great for chunkin'!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKY4RDyIX76Pmpxb1h-xYiiJLzi0vzuMut5HFVEiPv9akMECTbKLbXnQ5JY3xmcnKM_SE0i7vgp7i50Ha4sKV3TqgsKTX7TeJqtkVQUsNi7RbH8y4lKvheTwQWGpjrBGWKDQxhlEX29Y/s1600/1350483668776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzKY4RDyIX76Pmpxb1h-xYiiJLzi0vzuMut5HFVEiPv9akMECTbKLbXnQ5JY3xmcnKM_SE0i7vgp7i50Ha4sKV3TqgsKTX7TeJqtkVQUsNi7RbH8y4lKvheTwQWGpjrBGWKDQxhlEX29Y/s200/1350483668776.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Husband showing off his artistic ability</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, we get the old part off and the new part on and we can head out again. Problem is we're beyond super late at this point. The entire way there we're biting our nails that the pumpkin guy will even still be there. Thank goodness he is, or else the entire trip would have been wasted and the Husband would have had to get up at the crack to come today to get them, therefore putting him in a bad mood which would have put me in a bad mood. It's around five before we're ready to leave though, which means we'll be traveling home with a trailer full of pumpkins in rush hour traffic, and we'll miss the meeting which I was supposed to take a cake too. Still, we're in one piece, my frustration has eased to humor, and no one's in a bad mood. So I guess it's alls well that ends well on this one. Plus a new color of polish.</span></div>
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Emily Odomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06656201584088827689noreply@blogger.com0