A few of my favorite things

Fresh strawberries, lots of cheese, and my friend Dawn who gave me the excuse to buy even more cheese than the recipe called for. A weekend full of friends and lots of time out front playing croquette, on my new favorite household installation.

Watts in the Wind

A month or so ago, during a ski day at the local mountain, my amazing friend Thais told me that there were some sexy new windmills up at a farm on her way from home. Low and behold, on my way to another hockey game for my son, I saw the windmills gracefully aligned with the side of the barn of Springmont Farm. My heart was a flutter as I saw it and I smiled knowing that the age of clean energy was slowly taking hold for the home and small business owners in Maine. Installed in late August, the turbines are providing power to the barn and the chicken operation, allowing excess power to be fed back into the CMP grid. Using the turbines has greatly reduced the amount of oil the farm burns.
And to my delight, the spring 2009 volume of Lake Living has one of these wind turbines gracing it's cover. Residential wind generators are popping up all over the place thanks to the local North Conway, New Hampshire business Green Alternative Energy LLC.
Given the right site and wind speeds, you too might be able to harness the wind and make free energy for your family.

Support your local economy and join a CSA!

Last week, when I had a few minutes to myself, I stopped into the lovely Beth's Cafe for a bite to eat. I highly recommend a trip to Beth's to help support our local economy. But I am not alone in this recommendation, as she was recently in an article in the New York Times! While enjoying my yummy chicken salad on sour dough with cranberries, I saw on the wall a poster for a local farm called Alma Farm that offered Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA.

Community Supported Agriculture, aka CSA, is a great way to support your local farmers and growers. CSA is a group of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. More information about CSA can be found at Local Harvest.

I am very excited to peruse their CSA application and become a share holder. We are particularly interested in the meats we may be able to restock our freezer with.

Bison Farms

Local grass fed beef in Maine is not hard to come by. However one unique farm that is close to my home is a Bison farm. I just posted a Bison recipe on my other blog, and thought it was time to give another shout out to a local farm! The history of the bison makes supporting this type of farming even more important. The mighty bison, now safely retrieved from the brink of extinction, is a living symbol of North America's past (from prehistoric times extending through post-Civil War). Once the mainstay of the Plains Indians, bison are again gracing the prairies with their majesty. Take the kids for a visit - it is well worth the trip!

Beech Hill Farm and Bison Ranch
Working Bison into your family diet is also a very healthy choice to make. Comparison of Bison to beef and chicken shows what a healthier choice it is. Lower in fat, cholesterol and calories; Bison offers more Iron and Vitamin B12 than all others (although salmon does offer more B12).

NUTRITION

	Fat (grams )	Calories (kcal)	Cholesterol (mg)	Iron (mg)	Vitamin B12 (mcg)
Bison	2.42	143	82	3.42	2.86
Beef (choice)	10.15	219	86	2.99	2.65
Beef (select)	8.09	201	86	2.99	2.64
Pork	9.66	212	86	1.1	0.75
Chicken (skinless)	7.41	190	89	1.21	0.33
Sockeye Salmon	10.97	216	87	0.55	5.80
Source: USDA

Come on home to Maine!

We put the house on the market today.

Our house went on the market today and I have been a melancholy little mama ever since. I am feeling rather ambivalent but that's not to say I am not feeling anything, but more so my emotions keep changing, like a pendulum, every feeling has a diametric opposite which seems to balance it out or else make it all the more confusing. I am terrified to have put the house on the market during such a market and economy, but I am absolutely giddy at the notion that we are getting ready to own our own small family farm. I am sick to my stomach about how barely we are eeking out a profit on the house (and honestly not sure how much of one our listing price is considering how much we put into this house), but I am also feeling really hopeful that some foreclosed farm is out there waiting for us to find it. I am sad that this is the house my young children have grown up in in such a short time, but I am happy to know the timing is right for the move since dear daughter will be entering kindergarten and the ten year old is bound for middle school. I am sad that I will leave my gardens and my beloved lilies, but excited to know I have new ground to discover, plants to nurture, and shrubs to key out and identify. I am excited to be in a new place where I can finally have the chickens, goats, and rabbits I have been wanting but am also sad that we have literally outgrown this house and have to say good bye to the rocks that the 10 year old once found impossible to climb. I am dead set against ever moving myself again but a nervous wreck about what the expenses of movers or even storage facilities will be. I am feeling incredibly stressed about the amount of work that needs to be done in such a little time before the house will start showing, but I am incredibly excited about downsizing our lives and reducing the amount of clutter that exists within the walls of a family of 5's home. I'm scared of the future, scared of this economy and scared of the unknown but comforted by the fact that we are a family of 5 and that is something we can draw strength from. I have to continue reciting the serenity prayer and remember my favorite mantras: "Everything happens for a reason", "Nothing but good can come out of this" and "Let go and let love lead the way". OK, dinner is up - Mom's favorite comfort food: grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup!

We are out of business - sorry!

I thought I had my ace in the hole - a local farm without walking distance. I decided on the way home from picking up my crazy 4 year and 9 month old daughter at preschool, that I would calculate the mileage between the farm and my house. I was so excited as I approached, watching the colorful chickens free ranging in the yard. As I pulled in I say a chalkboard hastily swung over the sign on the street. In almost child like writing it said "We are out of business - sorry!"

Since when are farms single season service?

If I call them would they work out a plan for a local family, who dreams of a farm of their own, who wishes to receive eggs and free range chicken to feed their family through the winter. It was ideal for me - I could walk to get my eggs and meat! What to do now... I need to rethink my plan.