1st Annual Sandhillls Farm Tour

Do you like buying local? Do you enjoy visiting farms? If so be sure to take your family on the 2011 Sandhills Farm Tour! Local farms in Montgomery, Moore and Richmond counties are hosting their first annual farm tour Saturday July 23rd from 3-7 PM. This is a perfect family outing where you can tour the farms, sample great locally grown food, and have a day of excitement!

Each farm has a specialty whether it is with local food or providing outdoor sports. Some of the farms will have cooking demonstrations and family fun activities. If you are interested in attending tickets are only $10.00 per car before July 22nd! Tickets can be purchased from Montgomery Cooperative Extension office or you can purchase tickets at the farm site the day of for $15.00 per car (giving you access to all farms). 

The list of participating

farms:

Clayton Orchard 

289 Research Farm Rd. 

Candor, NC 27229 

Dewitt’s Game Farm & Dewitt’s Outdoor Sports 

443 Jimmy Carriker Rd 

Ellerbe, NC 28338 

Hilltop Angus Farm 

1708 Pee Dee Rd. 

Mt. Gilead, NC 27306

Hope Farms 

117 NC Hwy 731 E 

Mt. Gilead, NC 27306 

Shadow Hill Farm & Kennel 

1723 Belford Church Rd. 

Jackson Springs, NC 27281 

Triple L Farms 

2205 Derby Rd. 

Ellerbe, NC 28338 

Vang Farms 

189 Beaman Rd. 

Troy, NC 27371

For more info or to purchase tickets come by the: 

NC Cooperative Extension 

203 W. Main Street, Troy NC 27371 

(910) 576-6011

Come see us!

speechless sunday

serenity

more things that seems wrong

Looks serene. Ideal. Fishing with mom and dad at the lake.























Nice Sign.






Read closer.












This got me thinking about what we put in our waterways, collectively, as a human society. I've long thought that things our ancestors did before they knew better set the stage for earth-damage and we've furthered it with our quest for bigger, better, faster cultural ideals.

Over the weekend of September 17 & 18, 2010 we visited the quaint little town of Badin, NC for their "Best of Badin Festival" and had a blast. One of the unexpected highlights was the tour of the Narrows Dam which I enjoyed the most. I can get cotton candy, home-made peach ice cream and most of the other stuff at any other given festival, but what I cannot get but once a year is a tour of the dam.

Have a go at this document, the watershed locations are extraordinary. North Carolina is bursting at the seams with small streams and waterway. Which leads me to a close-to-home thought; we have a well. A beloved, never-gone-dry well. A well that we drink from, bathe in, and use water to cook with.

That said, what got me thinking about all this was the fact that this lake we were fishing at is downstream from this dam - this hydroelectric power plant - owned by ALCOA . And here is another fascinating and informative piece from Wikipedia about Alcoa . Of primary interest to me is the part where it talks about the levels of PCB's in the groundwater because of "improper management".

I know I'm throwing a lot of links in here, but in order to fully understand what I'm talking about I think it's important to have a sort of "show and tell" where I tell and you show yourself by clicking on the links.

Speaking of which, here's another great article about Badin, wherein it talks about the origin of the power plant and the history of the town. Plus, it's got a great photograph of the dam, which having seen it myself, does not do it justice at all.

Speaking of justice, here's another great article from nearly a year ago. A lot of interesting points.

All this to say, I won't be eating any fish out of Badin Lake, or any other river, lake, stream or watershed around here. And at some soon point, am going to have our well tested.

monday blahs

I admit it.  Today I have only done what has to be done.  I ran some errands, took K, the neighbor girl to the dentist, rescued a chicken that had fallen off of a chicken truck.  You know, everyday farmhousewife stuff and then I came home to sit in the air conditioning and read the entire book "Louder Than Words" by Jenny McCarthy.  Then  I painted my nails with a color by Orly called 'Catch The Bouquet' (whatever!) - which must be discontinued because I did not find it on their website - however, because I only paid one dollar for it, I'm happy.

And now, I'm blogging!  

About that chicken.  When K and I were coming home from the dentist - I saw a chicken truck traveling our route home.  I wondered aloud, "maybe a chicken will fall off the truck" - since my husband has told me that it does indeed happen.  I never expected to come up on a chicken in the road, but I did.

You can imagine what I did.  I kept driving right on by stopped the mommyvan and pulled over, parking and turning on the hazard lights.  I listened for trucks and went across the road to get this poor (huge!) chicken, or,  Rooster I think.  He did not know what to do.  It was like watching a child that's never seen dirt before walk on a dirt road.  I picked him up and looked for major injuries - he was bleeding in a couple places but not bad so I put him in the back of the mommyvan.  I even turned the rear a/c on for him.  SUCH a bleeding heart, I know.

K was screeching at this point, "I can't believe you're putting that thing in the car - I'll drive if you want to hold him".  haha!  poor thing.  Not only did she have to go to the dentist today, AND pick up a chicken - but it's her birthday - and the 16th at that!  Happy Birthday Special K!

I wanted to call him Foghorn Leghorn but husband wants to call him RoadRash.  Either one works.

He really did fall off the truck.  Poor guy.

About that book - I highly recommend it - touched by Autism or not.  I had a lump in my throat by page 6 and couldn't put it down.  Disclaimer:  if you can't handle a few cuss words - don't pick it up.  It is, afterall, written by Jenny McCarthy, people.





      

wordless wednesday

the beat of a different drum

Our Sandhill Regional library system has a summer program, that we like to take advantage of because 1. it's fun and 2. it's a good excuse to get out of farm chores and 3. the kids love like it.  Best of all, 4., it's FREE.

While we did sign up for the reading prizes, we have been more interested in the shows, below, than keeping track of the books we've read.

While we had lots of company at the beginning of our summer, we didn't attend the first seven few shows, but we did start this week on Monday with the Poetry Slam with Allan Wolf, who rocked the Monday out of the house.

I LOVED HIS PERFORMANCE!  

Then, yesterday was the dead animal hide wildlife pelts display with

Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge and while Janet was great - I think the kids (and, I) would have like to have seen some actual live animals and/or maybe a slide show of the live animals that the pelts represented.

and then,

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.........

THIS woman - Beverly Botsford - was phenomenal!  

I took a few photographs and videos of her performance and thoroughly enjoyed seeing her performance - the boys and girls all around me did too!  I'll put those in another post as soon as I quit procrastinating get time.

So far, this has been the best summer in a long, long while.

Now, I just need my Mom, Sister and Mike, Grandma and Grumpy Grandpa to visit.  It will be like fresh whipped topping on a 2010 strawberry shortcake summer.  

Life Is Delicious!