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4.24.2013

Local Living Festival Saturday April 27th

Ever wonder about mushroom growing
renewable energy or seed sowing?
Check out this fair, it's social and fun
And hopefully that day we'll be graced with the sun!

Local Living Fest Workshop Schedule

Flip & Lew will be there representing littleGrasse at an outdoor booth as part of a CSA section. Come by for a visit with us.

ALSO, Hannah & Flip will be singing Springy Songs with the local shape note group, Vocal Skies. That short event in the dining tent will be during the lunchtime slot noon-1:30. We'll be opening for the lively and fun Modern Times Theater as well as Severine vonTscharner Fleming talking about 'the Greenhorns: Tilling our Land'.

The event is at the Cooperative Extension learning Farm at 2043 Route 68 Canton. Parking is off-site, with shuttles bringing folks to the farm. All cyclists get free admission! Others donate $5-10.

 
wild leeks have sprung

 

new life at the gardens




This past week brought the arrival of piglets and quail.

These Japanese Courtnix quail are a small-scale experiment, bestowed upon us by a SLU student who had hatched them for an ornithology project this semester.  They're just over two weeks old and it's been interesting to observe them. They have more wild in them than chickens and can bounce right out of their brooding chamber when the lid comes off for food and water replenishing.It's a 'straight run,' mix of male and females, so hopefully at least half are females and we can experience their impressive lil' mottled eggs.

The pigs are starting to settle in. As long as we can keep Stás from barking excitedly at them, they should do well.
If you're over visiting, please leave the lid on the quail brooder, so they're not running loose. Rules for pigs: We can accept food scraps for the pigs as long as it does not contain meat, citrus or raw root vegetables. Please stay out of their pen and keep kids from poking and prodding them.
Folks are welcome to come by and see these animals at the start of their life. Thanks much.
 

4.22.2013

Farm Film at Cinema 10 Tonite

Hope to see you in Potsdam at 7:15p. Last film of the Cinema 10 Spring season.


***Special appearance by the director, Cecily Pingree and company CEO Bill Eldridge
A group of Maine dairy farmers faced with the possibility of losing their livelihood when they are dropped by a national milk distributor, instead try their hands at launching an organic milk company - a gamble that will either ruin or save them. The Washington Post writes that the filmmakers capture the plight of the small farmer "with sensitivity and painterly beauty." Others call it "effective and dramatic," "beautifully crafted," and "nerve wracking." (NR, language; 85 min.)



4.14.2013

Future Garlic Breath!

fall planted garlic pushing through the mulch

We'll call this The Week of the Alliums. This family of plants, which includes onions, garlic and shallots, has announced Spring's arrival. They've begun popping through the soil, shaking off their winter dormancy. As spindly as they appear, their hardiness can usually withstand the wiliness of temperature ranges this time of year.

We've got lots more onions to go in, and will grab the cloudy opportunities this week to transplant.

Next week the ramps will be prime. Folks are welcome to come over on Earth Day to dig in a bring this tasty treat home.


wild leeks or 'ramps'

newly planted onions

4.11.2013

Responsible Business- Speaker at Clarkson

Looking for an interesting event tomorrow afternoon? Check out this hour long talk by a successful, socially responsible Vermont business owner.

Mark Curran on Building an Environmentally Responsible Business

His Business- Black River Produce
one of Black River's vendors

Thanks Jenny for passing this event info along.

4.09.2013

County Meeting this Thursday!

Forward this and spread the word

WHO: St. Lawrence County Planning Board
WHAT: Monthly meeting
WHEN: 7pm on Thursday April 11th
WHERE: 18 Elm Street Potsdam
(between Sandstone Realty and Purple Rice)
WHY: hearing the recommendations of the County Planners in regards to the two local laws about chickens and CSA's that the Canton is considering

Agenda for meeting:
1. Public Forum: (up to an hour) All the Towns in the County will have a chance to speak in front of the County Planners about misc issues.  Someone from our group can ask, 'I have a comment on the Proposed amendments for the Town of Canton, would it be appropriate to mention this now or should I wait until the discussion of the issue?'
2. Project Review (there are two, one is ours)
  • Jason Pfotenhauer from the County Planning Office will present the Staff Review. This is his office's analysis and recommendations to the Board in regards to these two proposed laws. They are basically looking at it like, 'what are the county wide impacts of these laws?'
  • The County Planning Board will discuss the issue and ask Jason clarifying questions (not our time to comment)
  • The public will have a chance to comment (the time may be limited since it's not an official hearing and is not required by law)
  • The County Planning Board will vote on whether they accept the Staff Recommendation.  They can make alterations before voting. The Board has the opportunity conditionally approve or offer suggestions. Conditionally approve means the Town has to have a super majority to go against it. Something would be a condition if it has negative county wide impacts. A suggestion is just that, and does not require the Town Board's compliance.
 3. Reports from various committees

Let's keep it civil. As this is not a public hearing, they are not required to hear our comments. If there gets to be really heated discussion among members of the crowd, the County Board can silence us and move on. Writing down our own statements is a helpful way to stay on topic and address all our concerns. The circulating petition is meant for next month's Town meeting, but we've had overwhelmingly positive response from the households in these Town residential zones so far.

See you there!