Steve’s Soapbox

~~~The New Colossus~~~

…Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame

…With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

…Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

…A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

…Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

…Mother of Exiles.  From her beacon-hand

…Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

…The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,

…"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

…With silent lips.  "Give me your tired, your poor,

…Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

…The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

…Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

…I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

                by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883

Loosing site of who we are as a people, and who we were, is a tragic mistake.

This may not mean what it did, exactly in 1883, but there is a reason why

when we read those final familiar lines we get a lump in our throats.

It is who we were, who we wanted to be, and who we are.  We should not

forget.  Just like Rome in it's day, and we all know what happened there,

 we are the world's greatest hope so far.  We should try not to forget WHY!

Please take the time to THINK...it really is worth it!

Steve

I would just like to say something about philosophy- a much meligned word, and sadly, concept.  “What are you taking in college?”    “I was thinking about Philosophy. ”    “What will you ever do with that!! ” You’ll starve!!

But the word and it’s concept is huge and incredably important to the human condition. 

It is pretty much ‘the why’ we do anything.  I mean anything!  Because it’s the why that makes all the difference.  It’s the ‘I believe ‘ part of most things.  The ‘what’ doesn’t matter all that much.  For instance.  Why do we vote?  Because we believe that government should be participated in by all who are governed.  That’s philosophy!  It’s the why, (philosophy) that causes the what, (voting).  Not the other way around. 

I believe like Masanobu Fukuoka, who wrote ‘One Straw Revolution’.  He was giving a seminar on natural farming and someone in the audience stood up and said,” I  came here to learn about natural farming and for the past hour all you have been talking about is philosophy”.   And Masanobu looked at him and said,” you get your philosophy strait and the rest will take care of it’s self.”

I think we could use more philosophy.  More thinking about the ‘why’ we are doing things and less about the things we are doing.  But that would require time and reflection.  The why is really important,  just ask your two year old.  Is it something we have forgotton?  I think that if we would think and reflect, that a lot of us would find that we spend a lot of time operating outside if our own ‘personal’ philosophy.  Forced, Im guessing by, the  culture we find ourselves living in.  Is that good?  And what can be done?  Should we think about it?

The apple trees are about done blossoming, the bees have been hard at work, and now it’s up to mother nature, and our good care.  Farming has always been a cooperative effort between a caring farmer and nature smiling back.  It doesn’t always work out that way, but more often than not or we wouldn’t be here.

We are working hard to get some new products in the store.  We now have our own smoked pickled sausage in jars and two kinds of pickled eggs.  One smoked eggs in a southwest pickle, and the other, Raven Hill’s interpretation of pickled eggs, just a tad bit zippy.

Working on our own dilly beans, and we have started carrying Crowley Cheeses from Healdville, Vermont.  They have been making cheese for over 100 years and they make it the same way today (by hand).  It is Vermont’s oldest cheese factory, and this is the only place in Maine you can get it.

More later,          Steve

Just a few words because it’s been so long.  What do I have to say?  Well it’s spring, the apple trees are in full bloom, and we have started our barbecues on Sat. and Sun.  We also have many special events scheduled, and a couple of TV spots will be coming out soon.  Needles to say it’s been pretty busy here. 

Just built a new smoke house, have been using it with great results.  I am looking foreward to doing  Jerky and smoked salmon with new recipies on both.  I have even smoked some eggs (never heard of that before),  then I pickled them using a southwestern spiced pickle.  I am waiting for them to be ready to eat.  I hate waiting. 

The lilacs are beginning to bloom, always look forward to that wonderful smell wafting in through the bedroom window.  The new chicks are ready to join the others just have to find a way to integrate without bloodshead.  Ha! 

Hope spring is going good for everyone out there. 

More (hopefully) soon.                                            Steve

It’s February and that means the start of pruning for the 2010 apple season.  We will also be hosting a pruning clinic through MOFGA.  You can find out the dates from MOFGA and I will post them as soon as I know.

We are in the process of planning events for the rest of the winter season.  Chef Sebastian is back and we are cooking up some great menus for weekly brunches on Sat. and Sun. and for the upcoming Valentine’s Day candle lit dinner and the game dinner on  the 21st.  We are also thinking of some Friday night open mike coffee houses, stay tuned.

It has always been my dream for Raven Hill Orchard and Coffee House to be a place for people to come and relax and recharge.  Heaven knows recharging is low on the priority list in this culture.  But it seems to me that if the batteries in your flashlight loose their charge and you end up fumbling around in the dark, it would make more sense, and you could accomplish more if you took the time to recharge.

So come on out and enjoy great food baked goods and bread prepared right here from fresh scratch, and let the atmosphere from a quieter time seep into your bones and relax and recharge with us. 

                                                                                                                  Thanks for tuning in, think local,        Steve

    Organic agriculture is about stewardship;  stewardship of  your farm, your yard, your chosen piece of the planet. 

People have known about stewardship since, at least, Roman times.  They knew that if they didn’t put back into the soil that it would stop producing.  So they took care of their approximately 6 acres, which was all they could farm with a shovel.  Earlier farmers in this country knew the same thing.  But for them it was about 40 acres which was all they could reasonably farm with a team of horses.  So about every 40 acres would support a family and a lot of times, a hired hand .

    In the 1870’s there was a belief  that there was so much land that it couldn’t be used up.  So instead of being stewards, they just moved on when one piece ran out.  This was a contributing factor to the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s.  So stewardship is important.  We have the power to improve or destroy, and destruction has consequences.

     In the past 30 yeaes we have become more conscious of our ability to effect larger and larger parts of the Earth.  We discovered that putting large quantities of arsenic-based pesticides on the ground results in lead contamination of the soil, and lead poisening is very serious.  Also we discovered that using DDT pesticides could kill off species of animals by contaminating and mutating their reproductive  genes.  They have found traces of DDT in penguins at the South Pole.  So in essence we have discovered that our abilities to effect the entire planet take our stewardship responsibilities to a new and global level.

    I have a problem with the ” Save the Planet” mentality because the Earth, (4.5 billion years old) does not need us, we need the Earth.  We are Johnny-Come-Latelies.  Other species have been here  a lot longer and have lived through events that would have been our extinction.  More accurately, we should say, “save our place on the planet”.  We have the ability, right now, to make this planet (our birthplace and only home) uninhabitable for us, and we have no place else to go.  But the planet will go on.  It will be here for another 4.5 billion years.  The Earth dosen’t need us, we need the Earth.

     The idea of stewardship of the planet isn’t about saving the planet, it’s about saving our home on this planet, for us and for our children.

THINK…                                                                         Steve