Protecting Farmlands: A New Land Trust Program

Coming up our mountainside driveway with a handful of mail the other day, I happened to notice on top of a stack of gardening catalogs a newsletter from the Maine Farmland Trust. An article caught my interest and I suddenly found myself coming up short at the steps to the front door. There’s nothing like an interesting read to keep you from knowing where you are. I was astounded by a new program they have started.

Maybe you are not familiar with the Maine Farmland Trust. They are a nonprofit  organization that creates easements on land used for farming in Maine. An easement is a legal means of keeping tracts of land undeveloped while designating specific uses, in this case, farming.

Faster than a trust can write up the documentation to protect land, it seems that acreage is taken over for development, becoming houses, businesses, and even communities almost overnight. And, this is happening not just in Maine, but almost everywhere. It might be a good idea for all of us to wake up and take notice. As families continue to expand, more people need housing. Before you think that new homes might be a good use for repurposed farmland, consider that as population grows, greater and greater amounts of food are needed. Add to this climate change which threatens to drown some areas and turn others into desert, while causing unpredictable storms that have already destroyed crops. It seems that we have a compelling need to keep as much land as possible in food production.

Because land trusts typically operate on a limited budget, it is standard practice for a willing land owner to donate the easement, often paying for the needed surveying and legal work. For a trust to secure easements by waiting for them to be donated had one thing going against it. There are many land owners who simply cannot afford to fund the expenses of an easement. They may be tempted to sell land to a developer as a way of raising cash even if they truly wish to protect the property from development.

What I got excited about in the Farmland Trust's newsletter is their new program for procuring easements. They are now taking on easements funded by the trust’s own fundraising efforts. By raising the needed amounts, they buy an easement, paying the owner a certain price per acre. The price is a set amount, less than market value, but still an adequate amount to attract easements. This is already a known method of doing easements, but few land trusts may be able to attract the needed funding.

Through this program, according to the newsletter, three farms have been granted easements, three more are in the works, and nineteen await consideration. Farm owners who love their lands and believe in the value of farming now have a lasting option to subdivision. Farmland is precious, and once divided for development is gone forever. It will be a relief to owners that their precious lands can continue to produce food. It is good, too for those of us who appreciate local agriculture and want it to continue. For a long, long, time. -jmm

It's Time for Tool Care

It’s white, it’s fluffy, and it’s stacking up. Deepening layers of snow and ice seem to be saying that winter has settled in. And that means it’s time to give our hard-worked tools and equipment some TLC and put them into storage until spring. They do a lot for us, so it seems right to return the favor. I gather a few simple items and get to work.

The saw mill, borrowed from a friend, is already covered with a tarp, but gasoline has a short shelf life and should not be left in equipment that will not be used for three months or more. I empty out the fuel and will be taking it to our town transfer station where they have a depository for such things. I fire up the engine and leave to run dry while moving on to the next thing on the agenda.

The chain saws are next. They get winterized in much the same way; empty the fuel and run them dry to clear fuel lines and carburetor. I do this outdoors away from any containers of fuel. I then take off the bars and chains, clean them and check the spark plugs. I clean the power heads and air filters.

Hand tools are cleaned and ready for spring

And on to the next things: gardening hand tools. These are in need of serious work. A wire brush proves to be the tool of choice to scour off the dirt. I file the edges of shovels and hoes, sharpen axes, hatchets, pruners and loppers, and tackle rust spots with course sand paper. A light coating of oil on metal surfaces will keep them rust free for the winter. Wooden handles are buffed with rubbing alcohol and then get a coating of paste wax.

It is necessary to sort the tools; some are broken or too damaged for further use- a shovel with a split blade and another one with a cracked handle, along with some worn out snow shovels. These will go to the dump along with the used fuels.

It’s a good feeling to know that our tools and equipment are cared for and will be ready for us when spring arrives. -G.H.

It's the Solstice!

Note: we've added pics of the recent snowfall as nature is also a big part of our celebrations.

Winter solstice. December 21. Nightist of nights and day of least light with each day forward seeing more light. The winter solstice has been a time of celebration since the Celtics of Neolithic times. It is the celebration of the deity responsible for harvests and fertility. This is a time for feasting, music and dancing.

Bough'd under weight of snow

Solstice celebrations are rooted in ancient traditions from before the time of Stonehenge. Before the discovery of faiths from the East, like Buddhism and Hinduism. Before a religion from the Middle East was imported to Europe and later to the Americas, imposed many times by the sword.

Lion's Mane mushroom on maple

What is known of the earliest history of the Celtics is that they originated in Central Europe. Their culture spread north to the British Isles, south to Gaul, the Iberian Peninsula and France and into Bohemia and the Po Valley in northern Italy. This was during the Iron Age where they were skilled in these crafts. They were responsible for some of the earliest farming methods in Europe.  They were described as hairy and wearing colorful attire. We children of the 60’s can relate to that.

Great big burl on oak

They established communities of farmers and metal workers with a sophisticated system of laws and spirituality. Communities were made up of family farms with communal land to provide for chiefs, priests, the old, poor and sick. Common lands provided for grazing and foraging. There were annual assemblies that including feasting, music and tribal business. Land disputes were settled and petty crimes were tried. Chiefs and officials were democratically elected and could be either male or female.  Here in Limerick we have an annual meeting to take care of our town business, including electing our Selectpersons and voting on budgets and expenditures. With our New England puritan background, it seems we’ve forgotten the music and feasting that were an integral part of our Celtic heritage. Hope I don’t get burned at the stake for suggesting that we include a feast and barn dance to be part of the next town meeting. I’ll bet attendance would be enhanced if we did. 

Red Pine baby

A unifying bond between Celtic tribes was the Druids, the ancient priests. They were at the pinnacle of a highly evolved religious system than included meditation, belief in reincarnation and in a supreme being. The Druids travelled freely throughout Europe, including forays into Greece and Rome. A Solstice ritual was for Druid initiates to meditate while in a state of sensory deprivation by sitting in the dark,  coming out on the morning of the Winter Solstice to be released into the brightness, representing a rebirth.

Big rock snowcapped

Our early ancestors were a non-literate society, so written records of their practices come from cultures that came into contact with them. Julius Caesar, in 50BCE, said they “know much about the stars and celestial motions, and about the size of the earth and universe, and about the essential nature of things, and about the powers and authority of the immortal gods, and these things they teach to their pupils”.  Aristotle also referred to them, as did Livy’s Early History of Rome. The Druids, as well as Celtic tribal practices, were driven underground when a new religion spread into Europe from the East. Remnants of our ancestral heritage remain in many hearts and minds yet. 

Clump of maples

We celebrate the 2013 Winter Solstice, appreciating the roots of our ancestral past and embracing the current spirit of the Druids to make sense of the present and to prepare us for the future. The past is not to dwell on. It is to understand where we have been. We are moving forward in a world far different that what it was when Stonehenge was built, when Buddha sat under a tree, when Jesus sermonized on a mount. Technology has created a world of convenience. We have become separated from fields, forests, and harvests and tending herds. Without understanding our roots, our lives may be disconnected from who we are. Eating and drinking, singing and dancing,  and making love are the basics of life. These are what our ancestors celebrated in a simpler time. These are still the building blocks of our humanity, and we can focus on these basics of life while wandering through the maze of modernism. -G.H.

Beyond the Garden

...and giving thanks

Most of our blog posts have been about our gardening adventures, for us, a four-season event. It begins with a  spring harvest of over-wintered veggies and foraging from emerging perennials like lovage, chives, and asparagus. This is followed by summer-long tending of the usual and classic garden varieties from cukes to zucchini. In fall there’s garlic planting, and setting up the cold frames and winter is about harvesting those hardy greens.

Although gardening is a big part of our lifestyle, there’s more to it. We’re wannabe homesteaders. Homesteading can include many do-it-yourself activities, and the one right now involves a sawmill. Due to the gracious generosity of a friend, we have borrowed a Wood Mizer band saw mill for cutting our trees into boards.

With big projects in our future we’ve had to take down some trees to make room. Some of these are sugar maples up to about eighteen inches in diameter. Way too precious to be burned as firewood, thanks to the sawmill they are now repurposed as one-inch thick planks. Maple boards may come in handy as they are good for floors, cupboards, and fine furnishings. The first batch of these are now stacked, to let them dry for a couple of years.

And the large pines, some over a hundred feet tall and more than two feet in diameter are too big, clumsy and heavy for the sawmill. These required an investment into a chain saw attachment to pare them into posts and beams. The chain saw mill, with a 36-inch bar, can handle twelve foot lengths that are needed for timber framing. Some eight by ten inch posts are now drying, with more to follow as the big trees come down.

Most of our homestead is forest, and forest will continue to occupy most of the property. When we do have to take down a tree, we don’t want to take it lightly. We want to see it put to good use. Native Americans used the forest with respect and dignity. When a birch tree was cut to provide bark to make a canoe, they thanked the tree for providing this resource. Though we need to remove some trees, we also want to do so with a spirit of respect and thankfulness. That’s our guiding force for everything we do here. -G.H.

November's Garden, and Potato-Turnip Soup

There’s nothing better than a delicious bowl of steaming garden soup as the days become chilly and short. Even though most of the garden has been harvested and stored, undaunted by the frosty nights, there’s still perennial and hardy annual vegetables for the picking, and perfect for making that bowl of soup!

The lovage has suffered some slight wilt, but is still good to use.

Perennial onion has provided for us since spring, and yet endures.

Wild garlic has popped up after a summer's absence and offers its pungency for raw and cooked dishes.

Kale has come into its season; turning sweet with the frosty nights.

Giant red mustard, having reseeded itself to produce a second crop, provides a bright burgundy color for the autumn season along with a crisp, spicy flavor.

Fully grown turnip is left to reside in garden soil until a need for it arises.

These are excellent candidates for brewing a wholesome and flavorful soup stock. Add to them some freshly stored potatoes, carrots, and onions from the root cellar. 

Potato-Turnip Soup

This garden soup is luscious and rich.

1 tbsp of butter

Medium onion, chopped

3 medium potatoes

1 large turnip

3 large carrots

Any combination of ingredients plucked from the garden- I used perennial onion, wild garlic, a couple of leaves each of kale, red mustard and lovage, all chopped fine. 

1 tbsp each of dried marjoram and thyme

Sea salt, freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp of butter

Several slices of turkey bacon

3 or more cloves of finely minced fresh garlic

In a dutch oven, melt and heat 1 tbsp of butter until sizzling. Add the chopped onion and cook until the onion is browned. Dice the potatoes, turnip, and carrots into small pieces and add.

Add the finely chopped garden ingredients.

Add water until it is about two or three inches above the vegetables. As the soup cooks, add water as needed to make the soup to your preferred consistency. This soup can be made thin, or it can be thick and substantial.

Heat to a low simmer, then allow to cook until the vegetables are softened, one to two hours (or cook it in a crock pot on low for most of a day).

Keeping the soup on the heat, use a potato masher to finely mash the vegetables. This will thicken the soup; add water if it is too thick. Add minced garlic, marjoram, thyme, salt and pepper.

Cook the turkey bacon in 1 tbsp of butter and add it to the soup. Cook at a low simmer until flavors are incorporated, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Ladle into serving bowls, and top each bowl with a sprinkling of finely chopped garlic. A dollop of sour cream may be added also. -jmm

Shelling Beans

It’s clean up time in the garden. Preparing beds for spring by working in compost, raking leaves into pathways, and collecting spent stalks into piles for next years’ compost are a part of the zen of the season. Communing with nature in the beautiful weather of early fall seems as productive to the psyche as gleaning the last of the produce is to the dinner table. Right now we’re harvesting the last of the purple pole beans.

They’ve served us well this year. It could be either that they grew well, or that we planted lots of them. These were grown from seeds saved from the year before, and there was a large envelope of them. Six tripods and six poles were each planted with three bean seeds per pole. The plants twined their way up the poles, with a few missing the poles entirely and meandering into squash vines from where each of them were found, untangled, and redirected.

The pole beans politely waited until the bush beans finished producing, and then almost suddenly began to appear in clusters. Many of the young beans were picked by handfuls, cooked, and eaten right away. Many others were blanched, and schlepped into the freezer.

Purple pole beans have white seeds

The last of the beans matured and then went ignored for awhile. We have now selected the best and largest of them, splitting open the pods to save seeds for next year. And, left were many, many more over-ripened beans on the vines. How easy it would be to pull up the plants and toss them onto a compost pile! But, why waste a good bean seed? So, we are preparing them as dried beans. After popping open the pods and spilling the seeds out onto pans, they are left to dry. The dried beans will be stored in glass jars.

Purple pole beans are fabulous as dried beans. To cook them, soak overnight along with a piece of kelp, then cook at a low simmer until softened. Enjoy them in chili as we have. Click here for Gil’s Fabulous Beer Garden Chili recipe. -G.H.

Yoga

I opened my eyes this morning. I waited to feel the stiffness in my shoulders, the ache in my back, the cramp in my legs. Not there!! Even after spending the day before as an amateur lumberjack. Lugged a chainsaw through the woods. Cut and hauled brush. Loaded logs onto a portable sawmill. Stacked the milled boards. Harvested fall produce from the garden. Hiked through the woods with the dog. After such a day, this sixty-some year old body could have expected some pain, cramps and stiffness. But, they weren't happening.

Murphy does yoga too

I blame this on yoga. Last night I spent 10 to 15 minutes doing a simple yoga routine. No medication. Just yoga and stretching. This morning I was ready to do it all again. Lumber milling and stacking. Turning compost piles. Gardening. And our dog Murphy will make sure we take our walks in the woods. Tonight I'll lay on the floor and stretch and twist. I'll sit and flex my legs. I'll get into the downward dog and the cat positions. I'll stand and crane my neck.

Tomorrow I'll wake up and look for the shoulder stiffness, the back pain and the leg cramps. But, I'll bet they won't be there. Thanks to yoga! -G.H.