We started the week with a day to celebrate Veterans. Thank you to all who have served our country! The children had the day off of school, and I needed to get out of town. We went to Brevard to enjoy a hike in Pisgah National Forest.
I found myself trying to make peace with the creek. Creeks and rivers have always been a source of calm for me. Early in the weekend, I went for a walk in Montreat along another creek.
But 7 weeks ago, those creeks turned into raging rivers, destroying everything in their path. I was angry at these creeks.
Now, they flow peacefully as they did before, providing a beautiful setting for enjoying a day outside. The memory of Helene was still present in the erosion of the banks, but leaves had quietly fallen, covering the destruction.
Over the coming months as we continue to recover from Helene, I know we will have times of both peace and turmoil. Sometimes our sadness and anger will be covered up, just as those leaves have covered the debris.
My hope is that we can work towards peace- within ourselves, with our neighbors, and in our country and world- learning from the gentle side of those creeks. My hope is that we are gentle with ourselves and with others.
Peace be with you, friends!
We have also been collecting and shredding LOTS of leaves this week.
These leaves will slowly decompose and create a wonderful addition to our soil to help amend the beds that eroded during the hurricane.
Called “leaf mold,” composted leaves have so many benefits in the garden. We look forward to having this valuable resource to build our soil in the coming years.
Be kind to others and to yourself. Thanks so much for your support and love. We appreciate you!
The cover crops we planted last week are germinating! That is where I am finding hope. Look how much the rye has grown between Tuesday (left picture) and Thursday (right picture)! Hope that our remaining soil will be held in place over the winter.
This has been a challenging week. We are exhausted. We are at the point in hurricane cleanup where the easier tasks are finished. As a farm, and as a community, what lies ahead are big things.
Things that take time. Effort. Resources.
There is so much rebuilding to do in Western NC that it feels overwhelming. When will we be “back?” The destruction around us wears thin on our minds, bodies, and hearts.
We are grieving beloved places that are gone or destroyed. Some days life feels normal. Other days, life feels turned upside down.
Our children had their first full day of school on Monday. Then, no school on Tuesday. I am just so ready to get back into a routine. It will help things feel normal.
On Wednesday, we rented a chipper to begin to work on some of the piles of branches. I highly recommend renting a large machine to do manual labor on the day after an election. Whether you are celebrating or mourning offices won or lost, putting branches into a machine and watching those limbs turn into little wood chips felt really good after a stressful fall.
There is so much we can’t control, but it sure felt nice to feel in control of making a small dent in the piles of trees around us. Of turning something lost into something gained. We lost trees, but we can now use those wood chips for mulching the aisles in our vegetable beds or to add to our compost.
I have also been collecting bags of leaves from around town. We shred them, let them sit for 6 months or so, and then add them to our compost pile. Composted shredded leaves are wonderful for adding organic matter to soil, increasing fungi, and retaining water in the soil- all of which make the soil more drought resistant. If you see me lurking in your driveway, I am probably just checking out your leaf bags. I only pick up the ones with all leaves. No grass clippings- we don’t want to add weed seeds to our beds. Then we have to weed more!
On a lighter note, we let our chickens carve a pumpkin over the weekend. We just scratched out the places we wanted them to carve, and they went to town pecking just those areas. Within a few hours, we had a mouth, nose, and eyes! The chickens were hilarious and provided entertainment to children and adults at our neighborhood gathering on Sunday. I am thankful for our neighbors and that this storm has brought us closer together. Another silver lining.
This newsletter was a ramble. But that is what I have today- a ramble.
Be kind to others and to yourself. Thanks so much for your support and love. We appreciate you!
We have been busy this week! Five weeks ago, it seemed impossible that we would have cover crops in the ground and be harvesting vegetables for market.
A dump truck from about 3 hours away arrived on Tuesday, and our hero Roger backed his giant dump truck all the way down our dirt road to deliver a large load of organic compost from a trusted source in the Piedmont.
Claire used our BCS walk behind tractor (looks like a big lawnmower) to loosen up the hard packed clay in the aisles of our field. We then shoveled the clay from the aisles into the craters and low spots where we lost a lot of topsoil. We plan to fill those aisles with wood chips to replace the soil. Then, we used two wheelbarrows and two shovels and some strong legs and backs to get that dump truck load of compost spread around the field to help bring organic matter and beneficial bacteria back to our soil.
We mixed the clay, any remaining soil, and the new compost together, and then smoothed out the rows to get them ready for planting cover crop. Some areas received winter rye, and some received a mix of peas, oats, vetch, crimson clover, and tillage radish. It is a little late to be planting these crops, but we hope that they will germinate and put down roots to help hold our soil in place over the winter. Our irrigation has been running to try to dampen the dry soil- we’ve just had 1/8 inch of rain since Helene 5 weeks ago!
Our bodies are sore, but we are grateful to be making progress on building our farm back! Slowly but surely, businesses are recovering and opening their doors again.
As we consider how to build back our community better and stronger, it is time to think about what we can all do to help. The last five weeks have been draining, physically and emotionally, and it is important for us all to take time to be filled. As we are filled, it is then time to consider how we can use our gifts and talents to help rebuild. Rebuild homes, businesses, lives, and hearts. How?
A smile for a stranger.
A hug for a friend.
Cookies and extra patience for the linemen and women working to get utilities restored.
Inviting a neighbor that you don’t know very well for lunch.
Working towards more affordable long term rentals and homes in order to keep folks of all income levels in our community.
Delivering firewood to a home that relies on wood heat.
Helping to clean out or rebuild a flood-ravaged home.
It can be overwhelming thinking of all there is to do. But we can all do something.
When we feel weak, we can draw on the strength of our tough mountain community. I am filled with hope that we will work together to create a Swannanoa Valley that is more compassionate, equitable, and resilient!
The last three weeks have been a whirlwind. It feels like ages ago when things were normal. On Friday morning of Helene, I was trying to calmly play a board game with my children in our basement as they took turns looking out the window, yelling- “there goes another one!” as the trees came down one by one and water rushed by the house.
Here we are, three weeks later, and so much has happened.
I know my neighbors so much better. We came together and continue to help one another as we navigate each day. Strangers and friends have showed up with strong hands and willing hearts (and sometimes chainsaws and a tractor!) to help us get back on our feet on the farm. We are so lucky. Some farmers have lost everything- their crops, their buildings, their soil. My heart breaks for all of the losses in our community.
The hardest loss on the farm was our soil. Structures can be rebuilt quickly, but soil takes years to build. In some places, the topsoil is completely gone, washed down 1-2 feet, leaving rock-hard clay. This cannot be replaced. Our cover crops and vegetables were trying to hold on tight to that soil that we have worked so hard to build for the last 8 years, but a river of water formed coming down the mountain and picked it right up.
We have been shoveling precious topsoil out of the ditches between our high tunnels and fence lines to try to move it back to where it came from. Every little bit helps! We hope to bring in some certified organic compost from a reliable source in the Piedmont to help rebuild areas of the field with the biggest losses.
On a completely different note, I traveled to Washington, DC last week for a Farmer/Rancher event at the White House. I was invited through the Farm Services Agency and planned to go with the whole family as it coincided with some teacher workdays for our children. After Helene, it felt impossible to think about leaving when so much needed to be done.
However, I felt like it was even more important to show up and raise awareness about the needs in our area. It was surreal to go from hauling water and rebuilding fences in Black Mountain to the intensity of our nation’s capital.
In the days before the event as I traveled to DC, I collected some stories and needs of farmers in the area to try to get a better idea of what to share and how to explain the effect of Helene on farms, especially small farms in western NC. Most farms in western NC are small or microfarms, and do not always qualify for the traditional crop insurance programs provided as a safety net from the USDA.
At the White House, we gathered with 60-80 farmers from around the country to hear from and speak with White House and USDA officials about existing programs and possibilities for the future to strengthen agriculture in our country. I wanted to be a voice for small and microfarms as they are usually situated right in the communities they feed and are more poised to pivot to provide food security during times of crisis like COVID or natural disasters. I was encouraged to learn more about many different programs that the USDA is implementing to strengthen our local food system.
It was emotional to share what has happened to farms in our region. I spoke up for small farms and made contacts with some wonderful folks who are working hard to do good work for farms in our country. I plan to continue to advocate for small farms in rural and urban areas through those contacts.
This is not a time to put band-aids on problems, but to think deeply and creatively about long term solutions that can bolster farms and rural communities to be stronger and more resilient.
May we work together to make our communities better!
We can’t wait to see you at the market on Saturday. Unfortunately, we are not able to run the online store as we don’t have reliable internet. But, we will have lots of greens, lettuces, winter squash, peppers, and our last tomatoes of the season. Please come out and show support for our local vendors in our sweet community.
I am overcome with gratitude for all of the folks that have come into our valley to help. Today, I dropped the children off at a friend’s for a few hours and drove by Ingles. I was in the middle of the workday, but decided to stop to get lunch before getting back to the farm. I pulled in, and the parking lot was full of people giving of their time and talents and treasure to help the people of our valley.
One man from the midwest offered me a box of non perishable food. National Guard helped with filling water containers. A woman from One World Kitchen gave me a hot meal of barbeque and beans/greens from the left side of my window and a Baptist organization gave me a hamburger plate on the right. I pulled up a little more and a man in army uniform handed me two slices of Little Caesar’s pizza from their Love Truck. Then, another man gave me some cookies and water. From the right window, a man came over and asked how he could pray for me. He prayed right then and there for the farmers and soil in our region that were hit so hard from Helene.
It was a drive through of LOVE!! I was definitely crying by the time the sweet man prayed with me. ALL these people came to help us, with a caring smile on their faces, to lift us up in our time of need.
This week, I feel like I alternate between feeling great and life feeling normal to a deep sense of being overwhelmed and on the verge of tears. Can you relate?
On Monday, the boys and I went to our church (Black Mountain Presbyterian) to volunteer for a few hours. Gavin and Xander were sorting and organizing crates of canned goods that had come in from all over. As Gavin stacked cans of vienna sausages, I thought about each person that had purchased those cans. I thought about the number of times I have purchased cans for a canned drive at church or school, wondering who would receive them. Now, we are on the other end. We are receiving. We are being fed, both in our bellies and in our souls, by the kind folks who have descended upon this valley.
On the farm, we continue to repair as well as carry out fall tasks. We will be getting some certified organic compost from several hours away next week to help rebuild the topsoil that was lost. We plan to plant cover crop there to build organic matter and hold the soil in place over the winter.
Repairs will continue into the winter months, but we feel so lucky compared to so many farms that lost so much. Please consider making a donation to some of the farms that were hit hard, including Mark Dempsey (dear friend, bean breeder, and researcher who lost his home, garden, and workshop in Swannanoa) and Green Toe Ground (a mentor and leader at Organic Growers School who led us through our Farm Beginnings and Journeyperson Program). Both pages say their goal has been met, but they will each need much more than what they have raised so far to get back on their feet.
I wrote this several days ago, but have not been able to get connectivity to send out a newsletter:
Thank you all so much for reaching out. Cell service has been spotty and we have not had internet, so communication has been difficult.
Our hearts are heavy with the devastation in our community. Honestly, I haven’t even been able to see many pictures at all of what has happened. We have been able to get radio and hear about so many folks who have lost everything. We are still in triage mode here getting trees cleared from roads and houses in our neighborhood and feed people. Helicopters fly over all day long, still rescuing folks with no way out of their communities.
We are blessed with an amazing group of neighbors. We are lucky to have a generator and have been gathering at our house for a group kitchen to pool resources and make lunch and dinner. Our neighbor has a pool, and we have been hauling water from there in buckets for filtering water for drinking and cooking.
On the farm, we had a tree through our greenhouse and a few trees on our barn. There are large trees down on the fence in the field and a river of water coming down the mountain badly eroded about 1/3 of our field. However, apart from the water coming down the mountain, we still have many veggies that are alive and well! We will be donating what we can to our church where hot meals are being prepared every day.
Not a single tree fell on any of our 16 x 100 foot unheated greenhouses. Also, we have close to 40 trees down around our house, but not a single one fell on our house. We are so grateful to God for safety for our family and neighbors. Most neighbors have trees down on house or cars, but everyone in our neighborhood is safe.
Our boys left with a neighbor to Greensboro yesterday and my mom picked them up to take them to Raleigh. They will be with grandparents through the weekend. We do not know when school will start again. I am guessing it will be weeks.
We have been told that the wastewater treatment plant will have to be completely rebuilt, so we have no idea when we will have water and sewer again. A group of neighbors came to help us in the field yesterday with repairs and we took turns bathing in the creek. I felt like I was being baptized again! I know that sounds silly, but right now all I can do is focus on the little things. Chopping veggies. Sharing meals with neighbors. Moving one tree branch and then the next.
Honestly, in many ways it has been beautiful with our neighborhood community. All we can focus on is working together and staying healthy and getting through each day. For the first several days, we were cut off from everyone else, but we had each other… at least 25 people of different ages and stages in our living room each night all sharing responsibilities with food and filtering water and children and medical needs.
We are slowly chipping away at the immediate needs. We are trying to take care of ourselves and each other so we can take care of others. I was thinking about this time period and COVID. At least we can be with one another. I have realized that I would take human contact and community over power and water any day.
But, there are so many needs in our community. One of our employees, Audrey, lost the home she was renting and possessions completely through flooding in Swannanoa, the next town over. Here is a GoFundMe page for her recovery. There is devastation in so many places.
Our church, Black Mountain Presbyterian, is acting as a hub for hot meals and donations. If you would like to make a donation, please visit http://www.bmpcnc.org. You can be sure that money and resources will get to the people that need it most in our community. Money is probably the most helpful thing right now unless you own a logging company or water trucks!
Help will be needed not just now, but for months and years to come as communities are rebuilt. If you are part of a group that would consider a work trip to this area to help rebuild, I think that would be needed once things settle down. I will send out more info as I find out about groups organizing those types of things.
Thank you, thank you for your care and concern. We are going to get through this. I have so much faith in our community and it has been so uplifting to see the help coming in. Western NC is full of resilient people and I know we will come out better on the other end. Sending love to each of you.
I don’t feel like I have many days like that. Trying to balance running a farm and being a mom, among other responsibilities, usually makes me feel like I am not really excelling at anything, but just trying to get through the days with everyone fed and in mostly clean clothes.
There is so much pressure on mothers. The pull between career and family. The feeling like we are never doing quite what we are supposed to be doing. All of the parenting books with all of the advice that ultimately just makes us feel mediocre. I had a conversation with a group of college friends several years back about balance in this stage of life. We range from full time career to part time working to stay at home mom and everything in between. Not one of us felt like we were doing the right thing.
On Monday, an email popped up in my inbox from my 6 year old’s teacher. She requested supplies for making gingerbread cookies as a fun activity to go along with a holiday book they are reading in Kindergarten this week. I looked at the sign up sheet. Icing. Sprinkles. Small candies. Large candies. 24 Gingerbread cookies.
I closed the email. “Someone else will sign up,” I thought. The candies and icing and sprinkles were already taken.
Last night, I checked the sign up sheet again. 24 Gingerbread cookies. The spot for a volunteer beside that was still blank. I was a teacher for 10 years, and I know how much is on teachers. I did not want the teacher to have to make cookies.
“Ok,” I thought to myself. “I can do that. I think I have the ingredients.” I signed up.
In the spring, summer, or fall, I might not have even opened the email. The kids usually get home from school and I am still in the field or washing veggies and I send them into the house to grab a snack on their own. I feel too tired to sit and read with them in the evenings, or I am distracted while reading with them because I feel like I need to get back to replying to emails or doing payroll or ordering supplies after they go to bed.
But today was different. I thought, “I’ll pick them up, we will run a few errands, and then go home and make those cookies.”
It was a beautiful day. After school, I picked them up and we decided to go to the WNC Nature Center to see the animals and burn off some energy. Then, we went to Fifth Season Gardening to pick up some farm supplies.
“Mom, let’s get a snack.” I say no 99% of the time. “They have those yummy Asheville pretzels.”
“Okay,” I said. We sat at the counter at Fifth Season (it also happened to be $3 draft day- yes, it is a farm/gardening store with a bar). I had a cider and they enjoyed some pretzels (“Mom- these are made in Black Mountain. Why are they called Asheville pretzels?”) We chatted about their day at school and enjoyed being amongst the plants and spending time together.
It was later than I expected when we left. Got to get home to make those cookies!
Then, I received a text. Our friend Alvin was vending at the Golden Hour on our way home, a monthly evening market put on by the Black Mountain Tailgate Market. “Come by if you are around town,” he said. So, we went. The boys visited with Alvin and other vendors and we came home with a beautiful wreath from Urban Farm Girl Flowers, bratwurst from Cove Creek Nursery Farm, a dried bouquet from Walkertown Farm, a Black Mountain Tailgate Market shirt, and some elderberry tonic from @Brew Naturals. It was a lovely market and fun to get to shop and see the many amazing offerings since I am usually busy working at the market with these vendors on Saturdays.
By this time, it is dark and past dinnertime. I still hadn’t made those cookies.
We get home, and thankfully I have some leftovers to warm up for dinner. We eat and I start to read the Gingerbread cookie recipe.
“Butter should be at room temperature.”
“Refrigerate dough for AT LEAST four hours before rolling out dough.”
Definitely not going to have time for either of those things. Time to improvise.
I cut up the sticks of butter and put them in the oven at low heat to soften. Gavin, my six year old, helped me measure the ingredients, and then the dough went in the freezer. Seemed like a reasonable shortcut…
Showers, reading, clean up kitchen…
The dough had been in the freezer for about 45 minutes, but I decided to proceed with rolling the dough despite the recipe author’s advice. Gavin helped me cut out the gingerbread cookies and put them on the cookie sheet.
We made 24 and had some extras. They smelled heavenly in the oven and looked so cute on the cookie sheets as they came out of the oven.
So, 9:30 pm. Kids are in bed later than usual, but we have 29 gingerbread cookies (we had 30 but one had to be sampled!). One child did not bathe. Both brushed their teeth. But, it was a fun afternoon. I didn’t get my office work done this evening, but I tucked two happy children into bed.
We pulled hundreds of heads of garlic out of the ground this week. It is our first ever garlic crop, and it was so incredibly satisfying pulling that garlic out of the beautiful soil we have been working so hard to build over the past six years.
Garlic is planted in the late fall, and I was always too tired by that point in the farm season to make it happen. But last year, I got it in the ground- my favorite variety, with nice big cloves so you don’t have to fiddle with all of those tiny papery ones. It was a symbol to me that things felt more under control, that after having two children (now 5 and 7!) and making a big career change to start a farm and a few years of COVID that I could do it. I could be a wife and a mom and a farmer and a yoga teacher and make it all work.
Some days it doesn’t feel like it all works. But nearly nine months after putting those garlic cloves in the ground, it sure felt good to harvest these symbols of making it work.
We eat a lot of garlic in our family. Not only is it medicinal, it just makes everything taste so good. It’s curing in the barn now, and we’ll hold on to some to plant next fall, but we look forward to sharing it with you in a month or so.
Oh, and happy Fourth of July! I just love celebrating here in our mountain community and I am grateful to have been born in this country where we have so many freedoms. Peace be with you on this Independence weekend!
