The picture above was the view from my bedroom window in 2017 when we evacuated the Taylor Creek fire.
This has certainly been a challenging and devastating week for many people in our community. I’m sure many of you have family and friends who have been impacted by the surrounding wildfires. I too, have taken in evacuees and am on call to accept livestock from other farms while attempting to maintain my own farm and make my own property as fire-ready as possible in the event I have to evacuate.
I debated as to whether or not I should even make produce deliveries this week, but I am going to try my very best to make it happen with some adjustments. The sudden drop in temperatures and influx of smoke is going to cease ripening of summer crops so I want to distribute what I have as quickly as possible while the produce is still fresh and ready to eat.
I have simplified this week’s selection to “mixed varieties” this week. I need to do this as my time spent in the field is very limited with the hazardous smoke. As a result, I don’t know at this point what I will be able to harvest before Thursday when I pack the boxes. I made myself quite sick working outside to make last week’s deliveries on top of helping others evacuate their homes. I hope you will be patient and flexible to accept what you receive this week with grace and understanding of the situation. I am very appreciative of that. If you receive produce that you don’t like, please pass it on to someone else who may need it. There are many folks in need of food at this time.
Daily Blessings Farm is also assisting with distribution of food, clothing and toiletries to fire evacuees. If you want to make a donation, please place items in your produce box after you pick up your produce and I will make sure they are delivered to people needing them.
Lastly, I am offering some prepared food this week as extras. I’m discovering that ready to serve food is needed for both evacuees and those providing community service. You may add these items as extras:
· Rosemary Herb Bread (not gluten free)
· Banana Bread (not gluten free)
· Quiche: Swiss chard, potato with scallions (no meat) – On-Farm pick up only due to refrigeration needs.
This Week in Your Box …..
Peppers (Mixed): A mixed 2 lb. bag of shishito, jalapeno and bell peppers
Cucumbers (Mixed): A mixed 2 lb. quantity of Armenian, lemon and green marketmore cucumbers.
Tomatoes (Mixed): A mixed 2 lb quantity of Amish paste, San Marzano, Green Zebra and Jasper cherry tomatoes
Summer Squash (Mixed): A mixed 2 lb. quantity of zucchini, crookneck and scallop squash.
Broccoli: Green Belstar broccoli in 1 lb quantities.
Potatoes (Mixed): A 3 lb mixture of white, gold and red potatoes. (PLEASE let me know if you receive any with rotten middles so I may provide a credit or replacement). See last week’s newsletter for more explanation.
Strawberries: Still available by the pint, but the berries are getting smaller as the season cools.
Watermelon: You may receive the yellow flesh New Orchid, red flesh Sugar Baby, or green flesh Arava watermelon.
Onions: Yellow Alisa Craig and Walla Walla large bulb onions are now all cured and ready to eat.
Shallots: The shallots are cured and ready to eat. These are a bit sweeter than typical large bulb onions and are perfect for a single meal without having to store extra onion in the refrigerator. There are two kinds so they are shaped differently.
Basil: The basil is producing well despite the change in weather…. So far
Pears: I still have some snack size pears available.
Extras:
1. Rosemary Herb Bread
2. Quiche: Swiss chard, onion, and potato – a hearty breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
3. Banana Bread
4. Eggs
5. Garlic Basil Pesto: 8 oz container made with garlic scapes, basil and cashews. I have frozen it so give it a stir when you get it home.
6. Soothing Salve for your skin – my own recipe for dry, chapped hands
7. Dried Pepper Flakes made from my own mixture of dried Poblano, red and green bell, hot padrone and paprika peppers
8. Dried Basil
What’s Happening on the Farm?
I’m not sure where to start. Monday and Tuesday while harvesting, I was preoccupied while my daughter evacuated the Beachie Creek fire in the Salem area. She’s now staying with her brother in Beaverton.
By Wednesday, I had an evacuee from Cave Junction staying with me and I was calling farms in Takilma offering to accept livestock.
Thank goodness I had made a large harvest early in the week with several volunteers which made the whole rest of the week bearable so I could help others in need who were impacted by fires. Thank you Jane, Judy, and Kelly for making such a big difference!
As the neighborhood watch chair, I began collecting resources to send out to neighbors 2-3 times a day preparing ourselves to evacuate. In 2017, we all evacuated the Taylor Creek fire, so unfortunately, we’ve done this before.
I also coordinated accepting items and redistributing them as six families who lost their homes in Phoenix moved in with my neighbors. They have nothing accept what they were wearing as they had no time to prepare for evacuation.
Thursday Jane, a fire evacuee and I packed your produce boxes and then I have spent a couple days trying to recover from smoke inhalation sickness. I tried to take my mask off Friday while making produce deliveries, but I launched into uncontrollable coughing spasms. I couldn’t even remove it inside my truck.
I hope you all have a safe space to stay away from Covid and fire health threats. Please take care of each other and let me know if I can be of any help.
Blessings,
Carrie
