Winter Quarterly 2012- 2013
March 4, 2013
Salutations! Happy Real Winter! With the passing of the cross quarter and the amazing return of the light, we are hard at work as if it was full spring outside. Still, let us raise a toast to a true NE winter that, while threatening to stay well into March, has seemingly reversed the woes of last winter by providing us with good long frozen periods and moisture! Huzzah!
Of timely note:
1. Good Life Farm Spring CSA shares going FAST! May-only shares left for GLF veggies, plus March-May for all our amazing collaborators!
More here: http://thegoodlifefarm.org/spring-csa/
2. Asparaganza SAVE THE DATE- Saturday, May 11, 2013. Noon- 7pm- Community celebration with free entry, games, food, drink, music, song and dance and play, and more!
Brief updates from the rest of the farm: I hope it has been as enjoyable for you all as it has at GLF, this weather of ours. True, we are spending a lot of time in the mud these days, but also we have in our ice house 2,500+ bottles, currently frozen and creating a culture of “yeah! This might actually work” at the Good Life Farm. Many thanks to our friends, staff and family for filling those bottles in January and February (who really wants to get wet then?). Particular shout outs to Liz Coakley, Andrew Dygert, Jimmy Miller and Katrina Hamer.
Other exciting news on this piece of land… we recently finished a complete and utter renovation of the yurt-that-is-no-longer-a-yurt. It is in the process of passing inspection, and has electricity run from our solar system at the barn, clay plaster walls, blown-in cellulose, a kitchen set, tongue and groove flooring. For those of you who remember the previous, hand-built yurt, let me encourage you to absolutely banish that image from your mind.
So here’s the meat of the thing: Garrett and I are trying to decide about going on grid to better take advantage of all the rebate and grant programs out there for residential and farm solar/wind. We don’t qualify for anything in our current off-grid status. Our goal- which we are turning into a complete GLF Energy Manifeso and aren’t ashamed to share it!- is to continue to make the careful energy use decisions we’ve made at GLF thus far. We’ve existed on 300W of solar, 6 back-up batteries, and the generator. We’ve carefully tracked our generator and discussed extensively with friends, family, mentors and professionals the ups and downs of creating one’s own power station in order to remain off-grid. Does this really result in fewer emissions than a solid on-grid system with solar and wind on-farm? These options made so much more affordable by money only available through grid-hook up. Are we really going to survive the apocolaypes by having our own power generation if part of that is gasoline back up? In the end, we’re finding that the most important thing for us is to continue to develop passive energy systems- the ice house, unheated greenhouses for overwintering crops, draft animal power with on-farm forage, etc. We are beginning to believe we would be better served not fighting the dubious battle of the off-grid, self-generating power station.
Lastly but not leastly, the Spring CSA is full for March and April! We are still taking May-only sign-ups, all of which is available on our website: http://thegoodlifefarm.org/spring-csa/. Our collaborators are still taking full season (March 21- May 30) sign-ups, and we will be out in force with samples and tastings during the first weeks of the CSA (at both the farm and the Piggery). Check out our BLOG for an update from one of our six collaborators, Redbyrd Orchard Cider!
That’s the bulk of it for now. Here we go Spring!
Best,
Melissa for GLF!