BalloonFest 2009

I meant to post this earlier to give you more time to plan but my days got away from me.
This weekend (Saturday- June 13) Wellington is having its hot air balloon festival from 10am -10am and we wanted to let you know about it. It is going to be at the Lorain Co. Fairground so while your out checking out the balloons in our 'back yard', stop by and pick up some beef (or other farm products) while your in the area. Please contact us if you do decide to come. They are calling for some nice weather this weekend so it should be a good show. Hope you can make it.



*******From the Morning Journal -May 28 *********

Balloon Fest Takes Flight Next Month
By RON VIDIKA

WELLINGTON — On June 13, the skies above Wellington will be filled with hot air for the second annual Wellington Balloon Fest at the Lorain County Fairgrounds.

Howard Reynolds, co-organizer of the event, said last year's event had 11 hot-air balloons. This year, he said, there will be 18 balloons.

Balloon Fest begins at 10 a.m. with the start of children's games. There will be crafts, food and live bands, he said.

The balloons are slated to arrive at the fairgrounds at about 3 p.m., Reynolds said.
At about 6:30 p.m., the balloons will ascend and then return to earth at dusk, creating a "balloon glow.""They stay on the ground and a special burner gives out a bright orange flame and makes the balloon look like a light bulb," Reynolds said. "It's an awesome sight."

Cost of admission to Balloon Fest is $5 per vehicle. All proceeds will benefit the Lorain County Office on Aging.

Should there be inclement weather, the balloons will fly Sunday at 7 p.m.

There is a raffle for a hot-air balloon ride offered by the Lorain County Office on Aging and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. Tickets cost $5 each and the drawing will be June 4 in the office of the Lorain County Office on Aging, Elyria.

To purchase a raffle ticket, stop by the office of the Lorain County Office on Aging at 320 Gateway Blvd., Elyria, or send $5 in care of the agency, 226 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the ticket can be mailed back.Deadline to purchase raffle tickets is June 3. For further information on Balloon Fest, call (440) 326-4800.

***Our hometown newspaper --The Wellington Enterprise****

A lot of Hot Air to Lift BalloonFest Attendees Saturday.

The skies over Wellington will be filled with balloons on Saturday. The Wellington Chamber of Commerce and the Lorain County Office on Aging is hosting its second annual BalloonFest held at the Lorain County Fairgrounds; gates open at 10 a.m. and the admission fee is $5 per carload.

In addition to the balloon exhibit, attendees can enjoy games, entertainment -- including Bald Paul & The Irish Rockers at 3 p.m. -- and food vendors offering a variety of culinary delights such as kielbasa, polish sausage, italian sausage, gyros, chicken pitas, and french fries.

The Lorain County Office on Aging will be holding an arts and crafts show in conjunction with the Balloon Fest. More than 30 crafters will be featured, including jewelry, loom weaving, wood carving, handmade purses, and more.

The balloons will launch at about 6 p.m. and the festival will culminate with a Balloon Glow at 10 p.m.

Sponsors of the BalloonFest include several organizations and businesses including Linden's Propane, Mike's Cash-4-Gold, and Weber Health Care Center.

All proceeds of the BalloonFest go to the Lorain County Office on Aging to fund programs for the senior citizens of Lorain County, including Meals on Wheels, monthly food deliveries, housekeeping, chores, and escorts to physicians' offices. Last year, more than $5,000 was raised.

Strawberry Time- 2009

We officially kick off the 2009 strawberry season this week.


Are you ever tempted to buy those big red (tasteless) strawberries in the store because you want to eat healthy? They might not be as healthy as you think. Actually-- you will more than likely be adding more toxins to your body than what they are worth!!

Did you know that those store strawberries are loaded with chemicals? It's true! Strawberries are at the top of the twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables list (or also known as "The Dirty Dozen" list) ---the items you should always try to eat organically. Strawberry growers everywhere use large amounts of pesticides and fungicides (fungicides can be sprayed on the berries before they are shipped to help keep them from molding so fast). The end result is a popular fruit that contains a myriad of toxic chemicals.

According to the EWG (Environmental Working Group) peaches had the most pesticides overall, with some combination of up to 53 different pesticides found on the samples tested, followed by apples with 50 pesticides and strawberries with 38. That's 38 different kinds of pesticides that have been detected on strawberries. Peaches and apples had the most pesticides detected on a single sample, with 9 pesticides on a single sample, followed by strawberries and imported grapes where 8 pesticides were found on a single sample of each fruit.

The methodology used in nearly all the studies used to create the list (based on an analysis of 87,000 tests for pesticides on these foods conducted from 2000 to 2007 by the USDA and the FDA), tested the produce after it had been rinsed or peeled. This is an even bigger problem as far as strawberries go because you can't wash (or wash it well) or peel a strawberry. All that is sprayed on a strawberry is soaked right into the berry itself; it is like a sponge.

We're not going to get into the effects that pesticides have on the body right now or the known higher nutritional value that organic has over nonorganic as there are many places to find that info. Our main objective here is to point out that the buyer needs to be aware of this pesticide problem. You need to know where your strawberries are coming from and that organic is the best choice if you really want to stay healthy.

And what about our strawberries? They are grown organically which, in part, means we use no pesticides, fungicides, herbicides (weed killers) or the like on them. They are safe and healthy to eat.....and extra yummy!


And as far as our 2009 berry season.......

We think it is going to be a slower than normal year as there is going to be a limited supply....especially at the beginning. The reason you ask.... as it has been a nice spring? Our older patches don't have as many in them as they use to and the new patches were taken over by weeds this past summer.

As a result, we will only be opening the berry stand on an as-needed-basis. We think we will only be able to do phone and email orders this year (no u-pick) but if we have extras, we will put them at the stand and open for business on a first-come-first-serve basis. But for right now, we can't say if or how long that will last so ordering is still your best bet. If we do get enough to start putting them at the stand, we will post that here at the blog as an update....so check back often if you were looking to get some that way.

So if you want some strawberries this season from us this year, please us the 'Contact Us' post under 'Labels' to get our phone and email info, if you don't have it already.

End of the Rainbow

This evening we had a small rain storm come through and when I looked out the kitchen window, I saw that the end of the rainbow was right in the middle of the pasture so I grabbed the camera. We've not found that pot of gold or any leper cons running around yet but that's OK-we got a cool picture instead.

Really though--did you know that the rainbow is a sign of the promise made by God Almighty to Noah and us that He will never destroy the whole earth again by water like he did with the flood in days of Noah? The rainbow a reminder to Him and us.

God to Noah after he got off the ark:
"And God said , "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow apprears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." Genesis 9: 12-17

Stir Fried Kale

The kale we grow (and sell) is Red Russian Kale as it is one of the most tender kales out there plus it looks pretty interesting. It is now ready to be picked and enjoyed.


I have people ask me from time to time how I fix kale. It's not one of those widely used greens so I understand why some are 'afraid' of it. I have a, now very big, folder with recipes in it that I have found here or there that sound interesting that I would like to try some day. Well.... I finally tried one of those recipes tonight since we now have plenty of the star ingredient. It was pretty easy and turned out fairly good so I thought I would pass it on so you could have another way to add more greens to your diet....or finally add kale to your diet.

OH-- by the way-- kale (along with cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts) contain chemicals that block the production of thyroid hormone, know medically as goitrogens. Kale (also chard, spinach, collard, mustard and beet greens) contain oxalic acid. Oxalic acid blocks calcium and iron absorption and may irritate the mouth and intestinal tract. Cooking destroys or neutralizes both of these harmful substances as does fermenting as in cabbage to saurkraut. So make sure you cook your kale.

Feel free to adjust/add ingredients to your liking.

*********************************

Stir Fried Kale

1 bunch kale
1 sliced sweet onion
1 ½ TBL garlic, minced
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

Shred kale leaves and chop the stems into small pieces.
Heat a large skillet, covering the bottom with water.
Combine the onion, garlic and oil and put into the heated pan.
Sauté until soft.
Add chopped kale stems and continue to stir-fry 2 minutes.
Add shredded kale leaves and stir-fry until almost done, adding a bit of water as needed.
Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar & salt and pepper to taste.
Cook until done.

NOTE: This recipe can also be made using swiss chard. I also added some garlic bread seasoning from Frontier.

just stuff

Sometime it's hard to think of a good title for a blog entry when nothing special is happen, so this time I just went with 'just stuff'...that took a lot of thought huh?!?!

Here are a few snapshots of things happening around here......


A momma robin thought it would be a good idea to make a nest in a crate we put up (but never took down) for the chickens when they started laying eggs. It's unusual that she would pick here as it is kind of open and close to the grown. I'm surprised the cats haven't found them yet. We hope the babies have flown away by the time we need the pen for the chickens that got a little while ago.

A close up--it looks like there are 2 babies.

The cows have gotten out of their paddock 3 times in the past few days. The high grass isn't helping keep the electric at full power either. They decided to run up and visit the hens so the guys needed to get out there right away and get them back before they destroyed everything.

The last of the blueberry blossoms. The blossoms actually have a very pleasant smell to them. For me, they probably rank 2nd after lilacs as far as best smelling. When I walk by, I make sure I take a few second to smell them before I move on. It's aromatherapy.

The front part of the garden is humming along pretty good. I have heard of people using old tires for potatoes so I decided to experiment this year. I cut quite a bit of it away and only left the shell. So far so good but we'll see what the potatoes look like when they are done and how many I actually get compared to the ones not in the tires.

Yesterday I planted quite a bit of the middle part of the garden and then found out after I was done that there was now a small chance of frost that night. Sooo..... I had to drag everything out to protect all my work and this is what it looked like when I was done. It ended up not frosting but if I hadn't covered it, it would of. The frosty night should now be over until October. Now on to planting the rest of it.

lj

Contact Info

We have had a few different people that have visited our farm blog and asked how to get a hold of us so they could get some of our products. Because of that, we thought it might be a good idea to put some contact info here just in case you wanted something too.

We hope to see you soon!

Address: 22735 Pitts Rd---Wellington OH 44090
Phone: 440-647-2485
Email: agrassfedfarm(at)yahoo.com

Chick Day

Our 1st batch of peeps arrived the other day. They were suppose to come last week but the hatchery had a conveyor belt problem which pushed us back. I'm thinking one belt stopped while the other keep moving --I think you know what happened from there. This creates a bit of a problem for us now as Nathan wanted these guys out of the brooder before the next batch came...now WE have a back up.





Nathan bringing the chicks into the brooder

This is how they come. There's 140 in this batch.

Nathan taking the chicks out of the boxes and putting them into their new home for the next few weeks. They will be in the heat controlled enviroment until they are strong enough to withstand being outside all the time. It is very important to keep them here as it needs to be warm as they don't have feathers right now to keep themselves warm enough and they are the perfect sized meal for a preditor. They don't have a momma hen looking out for them.

WATCH YOUR STEP NATHAN!!! This picture give you a good idea of how small they are compared to us....but they do grow fast.

But they, though, don't care where they step!! He's standing in the water.

It dawned on me that I can take videos with this camera so I took a short one to give you the sight and sounds of the brooder. This does a better job than a what a picture could do. Turn on the sound and you'll hear the peeps talking. They do talk to you if you listen. For just being handled like they were, they are telling us that they are content for the most part.

I can hear you now---"OH-- they are sooo cute!". Let me say this--they are only cute for a couple weeks!

If you are intersted in getting some fresh, pastured, grass-fed chicken, let us know as we are taking orders now for the 2009 season.

lj