When I read of a 2 year old boy falling into the river in Lebanon Maine I said a prayer. There are details below you can read but, before those, here's a couple of interesting observations that I believe are facts.
1. If a person falls into the water face down there is a better chance of survival because as that person falls in they can take a pocket of air down with them.
2. Research developments found that gentle carrying and loading of a victim makes chances of survival better. Running to the ambulance with a victim should be avoided.
I have personal interest in all of this material: the story is familiar to our friends and will be related at a later time here.
*************
Boy pulled from river likely to recover fully, mom says
The 2-year-old who was pulled from the Little River last week is not expected to have any lasting health problems from his ordeal, the boy's family has
told rescue workers.
Assistant Rescue Chief Jason Cole said the boy's mother has told officials that the child's condition is improving and it does not appear he will suffer
any long-term effects from the near drowning.
The boy, whose name has not been released, wandered out of his house on Upper Middle Road on Friday. His mother found him submerged in the nearby river
at 11:30 a.m., authorities said. He had no pulse and was not breathing.
State Police Trooper Benjamin Smith, who was nearby, and a bystander worked to resuscitate the child until rescue workers arrived. The boy was taken by
ambulance to Goodall Hospital and regained his pulse and breathing en route.
The boy was then taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he was kept in the special care unit of the pediatric wing. (This appeared in the Portland Press Herald "Dispatches" on Tuesday December 8, 2009.)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Teaching Children to Cook
Here at the Farm, our kitchen is the center of family activity. Much of the time, it is socializing, working and eating: and with eating there's usually conversation.
In preparation for eating, there's cooking. With our food from the Farm, and Helen, a great cook, you can bet we all love to eat; isn't it natural that our children have all learned a bit about cooking?
Sam, now 30, Rose 28, and Penni 26 all take their turns at cooking --- sometimes consulting Mom and sometimes getting a bit adventurous with cookbooks or experiments.
When I grew up in the 1950's, my Mom did a lot of cooking so this does, indeed seem natural to me. I love to cook and also love to read good recipes.
Today, many parents don't have the time (or take the time) to cook so it is not knowledge they pass on through the family. People's connections with food are lessened, I think, by their lack of cooking experience. So, it was with great pleasure, while bumbling around the web the other day, that I found out about Tribeca Yummy Mummy.
This woman cooks with children: children four years old and under. She teaches classes to these children and their parents giving the families she serves ways to engage in the kitchen.
Bravo!! Cooking plus trips to the Farm help children understand a bit of history and life many have missed lately: good food from start to finish.
I hope the video link below works, it is from "The Green Fork" the blog of the "Eat Well Guide,". I have also included a link to Cait's blog where there are some excellent recipes to read and try.
(Note: Dec. 1, Friends have told me the video does indeed work.)
In preparation for eating, there's cooking. With our food from the Farm, and Helen, a great cook, you can bet we all love to eat; isn't it natural that our children have all learned a bit about cooking?
Sam, now 30, Rose 28, and Penni 26 all take their turns at cooking --- sometimes consulting Mom and sometimes getting a bit adventurous with cookbooks or experiments.
When I grew up in the 1950's, my Mom did a lot of cooking so this does, indeed seem natural to me. I love to cook and also love to read good recipes.
Today, many parents don't have the time (or take the time) to cook so it is not knowledge they pass on through the family. People's connections with food are lessened, I think, by their lack of cooking experience. So, it was with great pleasure, while bumbling around the web the other day, that I found out about Tribeca Yummy Mummy.
This woman cooks with children: children four years old and under. She teaches classes to these children and their parents giving the families she serves ways to engage in the kitchen.
Bravo!! Cooking plus trips to the Farm help children understand a bit of history and life many have missed lately: good food from start to finish.
I hope the video link below works, it is from "The Green Fork" the blog of the "Eat Well Guide,". I have also included a link to Cait's blog where there are some excellent recipes to read and try.
(Note: Dec. 1, Friends have told me the video does indeed work.)
Cate Bruce-Low of Tribeca Yummy Mummy teaching a cooking class for children.
Video from The Green Fork.
Tribeca Yummy Mummy
(blog)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Local Delivery of Farm Products Available
We sell pasture raised poultry and pork as well as seasonal produce on Rt17 in Chelsea across from Crystal Falls. We are offering delivery services to the
towns of Augusta, Windsor, Chelsea and South China. Deliveries can be made to homes, businesses, offices, etc. There is a $1 charge for orders less than $45, we encourage you to order together
with friends, neighbors, coworkers to avoid this charge. Please Email or call for details such as delivery days, product availability, etc. Leave a message
if no answer, we're busy farming... 207.445.2141.
We deliver at retail prices unless a wholesale account is arranged.
Current offerings are
Strawberries: 4.50 a quart
Fresh Eggs: $3.50 a dozen
Frozen Chicken: $2.65 per pound processed June 11
Frozen Duckling: $5 per pound processed June 18
Item quantities depend on availability, meats are Maine state inspected, someone must be available to accept and pay for delivery.
Payment is expected on delivery.
Fresh chickens will be available on July 11.
Order early for best availability, and please let your friends and coworkers know about this service.
Eat Local, eat Fresh!
posting from Emma's Family Farm,
Windsor Maine;
Steve Hoad
See what we're doing on the Farm at
http://twitter.com/TheHoads
Insert movie times and more without leaving Hotmail®. See how.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Sharing the Bounty of Knowledge
WINDSOR (June 13, 09): We farm. We grow things. People eat the food or use the products that we grow, and that, in itself, is an exciting process. We deal
with natural things: the weather, the insects, the soils, and such dicey matters as things that decompose in the night. We also deal with manure, death,
life, and beauty! Its a big cycle of emotions that we work through; many times, many emotions, throughout a day.
Keeping that in mind, human interactions can either be a breath of fresh air or an interruption. Lately, there have been lots of breaths of fresh air. Our
human interactions with customers and friends have been filled with chances to share knowledge.
More than 20 years ago, I began to frequent the poultry shows at fairs. I met members of the Central Maine Bird Fanciers organization because I was interested
in poultry. I had grown some of my own, for my family's use --- eggs, meat, and pleasure. My children and my wife enjoyed the lives and antics of hens
and roosters, turkeys, geese, and ducks. At the poultry shows, and in the Bird Fanciers, I met many people who shared this interest and enjoyment --- poultry
of many different sorts. I learned about breeds, pure for show of course. I learned about habits of various species and I learned much about the friendships
that sharing knowledge can create.
The interest of late in local food has offered yet another chance to share knowledge. People interested in raising poultry for the first time stop and ask
questions. People coming to buy produce want to know about growing methods, about ideas for eating new and different foods, and about the practices on
our farm and what our opinions are of other farming practices.
This inquisitiveness offers a chance to share knowledge and discuss some of what's happening here and around the world in farming communities and its a
joy to offer what we know, trade opinion, and listen to others sharing their stories.
Now, in towns and cities across the state and country, urban and in-town gardens are again springing up. The movement to bring chickens back into town is
flourishing and people are relearning skills that many of their grandparents took for granted. Over a number of generations it seems that people have gradually
disconnected from the land and their food. I really believe that sharing, asking questions, and learning can again reconnect the people, the land, and
our food. Its exciting and really quite exhilarating to be involved in the process here in Maine.
posting from Emma's Family Farm,
Windsor Maine;
Steve Hoad
See what we're doing on the Farm at
http://twitter.com/TheHoads
Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Poetic Venting
"Let 'em Eat Cake"
Is Governor Baldacci the reincarnation of Marie Antoinette?
"Please, I'm disturbed by the noise that you make,
If you can't make your bread,
You'll have to eat cake!
Your car broke down while I was out golfing?
Relax, check in for a session of rolfing.
We're bowling and skiing, it doesn't tax us,
If your car doesn't work,
You must ride the bus!
If there's no bus and you can't get to work,
Stay home, bake a cake,
Stop grousing, you jerk!
As Mainers we must host all for their pleasure,
We can't help those folks whose work ethic's a treasure!"
This poet ponders and looks at new taxes,
His car's all broke down while our gov'nor relaxes.
Taxing repairs will punish the poor,
While bowlers and golfers don't have to pay more.
And then, when its winter, the weather is cold!
The poor person's car needs repair 'cause its old,
Its sales tax increasing the bill that he's seeing,
While pleasurful folks go scot free for their skiing.
Logic does dictate that taxes are there,
We know its important, we should pay our share.
While others seek pleasure, it just isn't fair,
That those who must work pay tax on repair.
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Sound of the Lawn Mower
Its almost time here in Maine. These warm days will eventually cause people's lawns to grow and then: roaring, clattering, flying stuff as one walks or drives by --- more pleasantly, the smell of new cut grass, the good times in the yard, the control of mosquitoes.
I grew up in a house where the lawn, and lawn care, were a revered passtime. My dad mowed, watered, studied, fertilized, pulled weeds, sprayed for weeds, spread stuff for weeds, and even installed underground irrigation and a special well so the lawn could thrive. It was His matter of pride, and the neighborhood apreciated it, often stopping to talk about lawn care. My Dad was the local expert!
I was more interested in the mechanics of growing: I played with starting shrubs, understanding effects of fertilizer, and the garden that was hidden out back.
Recently, I participated in the "White House Garden" project: I signed a petition, blogged in the NY Times "Well" section, forwarded articles and petitions to friends etc. I was pleased when the Obama's decided to tear up some lawn for a garden.
There have been some things written about the amount of pesticides used on the White House lawn. So, as I was catching up on Email I thought this was worthy of consideration: something from a publication I receive twice a month.
"Big green: Lawns in the U.S. cover 40 million acres, making them the largest agricultural sector in America.
And paying to keep it that way: Americans shell out $40 billion annually for seed, sod, and chemicals to keep their lawns green.
Chemical hogs: Lawns use ten times as many chemicals per acre as industrial agribusiness farmland.
With an insatiable thirst: Lawn watering consumes 270 billion gallons of water a week.
More than its share: One-third of all residential water use in the U.S. goes for landscaping.
Food not lawns: The land and water used for lawns could instead produce over 80 million acres of organic vegetables."
The publication is called "FoodLinks America" and it can be found at this web site, along with an Email address for subscription. http://www.tefapalliance.org/
There are often things worth reading in Foodlinks.
And, back to the lawn of my youth? My Dad died after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. Research has shown that exposure to pesticides is a cause that often leads to Parkinsons. I think the lawn is kind of nice with dandelions...
I grew up in a house where the lawn, and lawn care, were a revered passtime. My dad mowed, watered, studied, fertilized, pulled weeds, sprayed for weeds, spread stuff for weeds, and even installed underground irrigation and a special well so the lawn could thrive. It was His matter of pride, and the neighborhood apreciated it, often stopping to talk about lawn care. My Dad was the local expert!
I was more interested in the mechanics of growing: I played with starting shrubs, understanding effects of fertilizer, and the garden that was hidden out back.
Recently, I participated in the "White House Garden" project: I signed a petition, blogged in the NY Times "Well" section, forwarded articles and petitions to friends etc. I was pleased when the Obama's decided to tear up some lawn for a garden.
There have been some things written about the amount of pesticides used on the White House lawn. So, as I was catching up on Email I thought this was worthy of consideration: something from a publication I receive twice a month.
"Big green: Lawns in the U.S. cover 40 million acres, making them the largest agricultural sector in America.
And paying to keep it that way: Americans shell out $40 billion annually for seed, sod, and chemicals to keep their lawns green.
Chemical hogs: Lawns use ten times as many chemicals per acre as industrial agribusiness farmland.
With an insatiable thirst: Lawn watering consumes 270 billion gallons of water a week.
More than its share: One-third of all residential water use in the U.S. goes for landscaping.
Food not lawns: The land and water used for lawns could instead produce over 80 million acres of organic vegetables."
The publication is called "FoodLinks America" and it can be found at this web site, along with an Email address for subscription. http://www.tefapalliance.org/
There are often things worth reading in Foodlinks.
And, back to the lawn of my youth? My Dad died after a long battle with Parkinson's Disease. Research has shown that exposure to pesticides is a cause that often leads to Parkinsons. I think the lawn is kind of nice with dandelions...
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Firsts of the Spring!
I noticed in one of today's papers that there is an "ozone alert" posted for this weekend. It seems early for this but I guess the warm air flowing in is bringing with it something we don't really want.
And then: the native variety of black flies have made their appearance here in Windsor. We were just speaking of them the other day: I decided long ago that I'd rather have black flies than a dry spring. Black flies need running water to breed so --- let's keep the water running so we'll have green and lush gardens.
And then: the native variety of black flies have made their appearance here in Windsor. We were just speaking of them the other day: I decided long ago that I'd rather have black flies than a dry spring. Black flies need running water to breed so --- let's keep the water running so we'll have green and lush gardens.
Friday, April 24, 2009
A Satisfied Customer
At the farm, in the spring, when purchases far exceed sales in monetary value, we're offering a few extra things for sale:
pullets, adult guinea fowl, bags of rabbit manure, and, of course, the best fresh eggs for eating, and some fertile eggs for hatching. This is a time when we can connect with other farmers, gardeners, hobbyists and talk about our favorite growing things.
This morning a man visited us to buy the one guinea hen we have left. We have lots more males, but only one hen.
Sometimes the guinea fowl are hard for us to tell apart, male from female. We were sure this one was a hen and maybe, just maybe, there's another...
I received this Email this afternoon:
"good afternoon steve,
i wanted to thankyou for allowing me to come out today, 4 of my guinea cocks are very happy, they have taken to the hen already.
again, if and when you identify some more hens i would be happy to purchase 3-4 more. as well if you do get some turkey eggs ( fertile of course) i would
be more than happy to purchase 6 from you.
pls thank your daughters for me they were very kind. i look forward to hearing from you sometime in the future.
enjoy the beautiful day and wknd
wayne"
Thanks Wayne, we enjoyed meeting you too!
pullets, adult guinea fowl, bags of rabbit manure, and, of course, the best fresh eggs for eating, and some fertile eggs for hatching. This is a time when we can connect with other farmers, gardeners, hobbyists and talk about our favorite growing things.
This morning a man visited us to buy the one guinea hen we have left. We have lots more males, but only one hen.
Sometimes the guinea fowl are hard for us to tell apart, male from female. We were sure this one was a hen and maybe, just maybe, there's another...
I received this Email this afternoon:
"good afternoon steve,
i wanted to thankyou for allowing me to come out today, 4 of my guinea cocks are very happy, they have taken to the hen already.
again, if and when you identify some more hens i would be happy to purchase 3-4 more. as well if you do get some turkey eggs ( fertile of course) i would
be more than happy to purchase 6 from you.
pls thank your daughters for me they were very kind. i look forward to hearing from you sometime in the future.
enjoy the beautiful day and wknd
wayne"
Thanks Wayne, we enjoyed meeting you too!
Beautiful! Time to Grow!
It seems to me as though evrything to do with technical stuff -- opening accounts, filling out profiles, creating carefully crafted postings, cleaning up the computer -- and all other things like these take longer than they really should. Maybe its me but there's got to be an easier way.
Operating from one central resource doesn't seem to be possible. Some places have differences such as functionality and/or audiences, and these differences make a "one size fits all" approach tough.
Here at the Farm, its important to be able to market. In order to market, its important to be able to communicate. And, in order to communicate in today's world, its important to be kind of "web savvy" and the learning curve is steep.
After all, in terms of my life, computers and the web are young! And me? Well then, I must be "old". But that, as they say, is no excuse.
One of the toughest marketing dilemmas of farmers is reaching the generations that are keeping up with the latest web stuff. Suffice it to say that means the farmers have to keep up: and that appears to be my job.
So, I do it in the winter and early spring and always seem to be leaving some loose end dangling.
You'll see a long gap in the post dates for this blog. I started it and just wasn't ready to go on. When I got started, for some reason, I couldn't get Blogger to accept posts from my Hotmail account so I gave up. Now they work, so sometimes I'll post directly onto the blog, and sometimes I'll send them into the blog. That will depend on how much time I really have.
I'll apologize, in advance, for the ads at the bottoms of my Email posts. Microsoft really wants you to know just how great their services are at Windows Live. I'm not sure they're great, but I've had a Hotmail address since 1999 so I hate to abandon it --- but sometimes it seems like a habit I'd love to quit.
The marketing thing allows me to have a bit of personal life, and some of that, as it relates to Emma's Family Farm will be related here.
Hope you find it interesting!
Operating from one central resource doesn't seem to be possible. Some places have differences such as functionality and/or audiences, and these differences make a "one size fits all" approach tough.
Here at the Farm, its important to be able to market. In order to market, its important to be able to communicate. And, in order to communicate in today's world, its important to be kind of "web savvy" and the learning curve is steep.
After all, in terms of my life, computers and the web are young! And me? Well then, I must be "old". But that, as they say, is no excuse.
One of the toughest marketing dilemmas of farmers is reaching the generations that are keeping up with the latest web stuff. Suffice it to say that means the farmers have to keep up: and that appears to be my job.
So, I do it in the winter and early spring and always seem to be leaving some loose end dangling.
You'll see a long gap in the post dates for this blog. I started it and just wasn't ready to go on. When I got started, for some reason, I couldn't get Blogger to accept posts from my Hotmail account so I gave up. Now they work, so sometimes I'll post directly onto the blog, and sometimes I'll send them into the blog. That will depend on how much time I really have.
I'll apologize, in advance, for the ads at the bottoms of my Email posts. Microsoft really wants you to know just how great their services are at Windows Live. I'm not sure they're great, but I've had a Hotmail address since 1999 so I hate to abandon it --- but sometimes it seems like a habit I'd love to quit.
The marketing thing allows me to have a bit of personal life, and some of that, as it relates to Emma's Family Farm will be related here.
Hope you find it interesting!
And you see? It does work!
Obvious by the ad at the end, I am posting from a Hotmail account. I know this is mixing messages, but its an easy way to update the blog here.
For some reason: it could be my software, it could be my ignorance of how to operate my software, or it could be that I must spend many dollars to upgrade but; I can not seem to make Gmail work well for me. I had such High Hopes for it.
Nonetheless, here we are, and I'll really try now to update this blog. Earlier Email issues seem to be gone so on we go!
Henceforth, I'll attempt to keep on the farm track --- and if you don't see recent updates try our Twitter page as shown in the signature below.
posting from Emma's Family Farm,
Windsor Maine;
Steve Hoad
See what we're doing on the Farm at
http://twitter.com/TheHoads
Windows Live™ SkyDrive™: Get 25 GB of free online storage. Check it out.
For some reason: it could be my software, it could be my ignorance of how to operate my software, or it could be that I must spend many dollars to upgrade but; I can not seem to make Gmail work well for me. I had such High Hopes for it.
Nonetheless, here we are, and I'll really try now to update this blog. Earlier Email issues seem to be gone so on we go!
Henceforth, I'll attempt to keep on the farm track --- and if you don't see recent updates try our Twitter page as shown in the signature below.
posting from Emma's Family Farm,
Windsor Maine;
Steve Hoad
See what we're doing on the Farm at
http://twitter.com/TheHoads
Windows Live™ SkyDrive™: Get 25 GB of free online storage. Check it out.
Just Another Test?
So what happens when I send this? Does it work?
posting from Emma's Family Farm,
Windsor Maine;
Steve Hoad
See what we're doing on the Farm at
http://twitter.com/TheHoads
Windows Live™ Hotmail®:…more than just e-mail. Check it out.
posting from Emma's Family Farm,
Windsor Maine;
Steve Hoad
See what we're doing on the Farm at
http://twitter.com/TheHoads
Windows Live™ Hotmail®:…more than just e-mail. Check it out.
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