18. January 2010 by David.

Registration for 2010 harvest-shares is now open! To reserve a harvest-share, please take the time to read over the membership package and send in the completed form, along with your deposit.

2010 Registration Package

You can find out more about Community Supported Agriculture at Riverglen Farm by reading up the relevant sections on the website. Past newsletters have been posted to the ‘Communication Archives’ section so you can get a feel of what members were doing and eating over the course of the year. Of course, you can also send me your questions by email and I will do my best to answer them.

I greatly appreciate your willingness to join our CSA. Thank you for your time and your positive energy!

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16. January 2010 by David.

Newsletter January 15, 2010

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4. January 2010 by David.

Hello and best wishes from everyone at Riverglen Biodynamic Farm!

I’m happy to write that I had a fabulous time during my Christmas and New Year holidays. I was able to enjoy some well-deserved rest in the company of my loved ones and it was absolutely terrific! It’s nice to put aside a few of your more tedious responsibilities, if only just for a few days.

That’s not to say we’ve all been farting around over here. Just doing a little hiding out… You know how it is! So, since the last time I’ve entered a blog entry… well, the big field was plowed. I’m lucky to have a good relationship with my neighbour Kevin, with whom I often exchange favours. Kevin brought over his equipment in mid-November to turn over the soil in one of the garden areas. This will help break down both garden crop and cover crop residue, as well as expose the roots of any perennial weeds that are trying to take hold of the garden.

Kevin plowing

There has also been a good deal of wood cutting. Thanks to the generous help of my brother, my friends, Johann the mason and the good people from Canada World Youth, we were able to pack the porch with a few cords of wood. We’ll need to chop more to make it through the cold weather, but what a great start!

CWY gathering  CWY chopping

My neighbour Kevin also does another kind of plowing at the farm. Snow plowing! He does a fabulous job opening up our lane-way, as well as clearing out the farmyard and the barn entrances. He only comes out every now and again, however, and sometimes perhaps a little later than sooner… We got a tone of snow over the weekend and even my AWD Subaru (thanks mom and dad) had trouble getting through. Thankfully, it only took a little digging to get through the offending snowdrift. And not that I can complain about the snow. It has been an incredible winter for cross-country skiing!

subaru stuck

As for the critters out in the field, they have all been moved to their winter homes. The paddock on the North West side of the barns acts as the temporary home for my Highland cows and Shetland sheep. There they find shelter from the wind, a big heap of hay and a bathtub full of water. An electric tank heater keeps the water in the tub from freezing. A similar system of heated buckets ensures a supply of fresh water for my flock of chickens. I’m very impressed with the dozen and a half eggs I still collect daily. I’m also quite impressed, as were our Christmas guests, by the quality of their meat. Caro and I slaughtered, plucked and cleaned 4 roosters, on Solstice, to share with friends and family. The full-textured meat was bursting with flavour.

caro wire  indoor flock  plucking feathers

So what about buying harvest-shares of delicious biodynamic vegetables this season? Stay tuned; I’ve got a little something up my sleeve…

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15. November 2009 by David.

Hello again!

It’s nice to be back at the keyboard after somewhat of a hiatus. Did anybody else fall flat on their backs after the last CSA pickup? Luckily it was muddy and the landing was cushy…

Much has happened in the last month or so. We’ve been picking surplus vegetables here and there and packing them away in the basement. A few members have been visiting and participating in a little gleaning. Even the cows, who now have roam of the entire field, have discovered the tasty tops of carrots, kale and broccolli.

Besides putting all the toys away, cleaning up, wrapping up, packing up and battering up all the hatches, there’s a mighty chunk of administration work to do. My understanding, and appreciation, of accounting is once again expanding in leaps and bounds. There’s a pile of wood expanding on the porch and a pile of garbage shrinking in the barn. The chicken coops have been cleaned-out, stack with fresh hay and sealed up for winter. One by one the machines are getting a cleaning, oiling and hanging.

We’re also loosing two very special people on the farm. Jean-Leon and Kristina have moved into their new house on the Quebec side. There’s a big hole left behind which Johann and I are trying to patch up, one step at a time. Over the year and a half that Tina and J-L have been around, they’ve put a tremendous amount of energy into renovating, fixing and upscaling Riverglen. They’re presence will be missed!

But even in the cold and rain, there’s always something about November that is somewhat re-assuring. Amidst the calm crumbling of the delicate structures erected over the summer, there is a sense of returning home. Energies are now clearly directed inward as friends and communities come together to ensure each others’ warmth and comfort. Thank you for your patience as I take some time to settle a few loose ends.

In the coming weeks, you can look forward to a survey with a few feedback questions from myself as well as from our coordination group. You’ll also receive information about next year and how to go about saving your spot for a 2010 harvest-share!

Keep cozy,

-David

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13. November 2009 by David.

Christmas Craft Show

Saturday, November 14^th

1:00 p.m. To 5:00 p.m.

Champlain Park Fieldhouse

149 Cowley Avenue

 (Corner of Clearview and Cowley Ave)

Local vendors with a terrific variety of handmade goods for sale:

 Jewelry, baked goods, jams and jellies, soaps and lotions, hand knit goods,

organic honey, Christmas ornaments, note cards and much much more!

** Your chance to buy Riverglen Honey! **

For a complete list of vendors and directions to the craft show, please visit

our blog for this year’s event:

 http://champlainparkxmasfair.blogspot.com/

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28. September 2009 by David.

September 8th, 2009

Our Journey Begins

Early in the morning of September 1st, 18 “fairy jam children” from all over Canada prepared to meet for the first time at a Greyhound bus station in Ottawa. Complete strangers, they cycled in groups on their inaugural Otesha ride to Riverglen Biodynamic Farm outside of Ottawa. Greeted by their “fairy jam mothers” who fed them homemade local and organic strawberry jam, they were initiated into the Otesha way of living. Thus, they began to build a mobile sustainable community together, one full of joy, friendship… and jam.

Since our first meeting, we, the Great Lakes Tour 2009, have spent one week getting to know one another, setting up our own guidelines for our community, and preparing for life on the road. A lot can be accomplished when 18 people sit together in a circle on the grass, patiently allowing each individual to express their thoughts and ideas in turn. Moving forward with a decision only if the entire group reaches consensus, we are striving to make this a community that suits each individual that comprises it. We talked for hours (and hours, and hours) about the way we will reach out to others, how we will ride together, what we will eat, how we will respect each other, what we will do to reduce our environmental impact, and even talking about how we will talk. But we didn’t just talk – we played, laughed, loved, listened. As twilight settled in every night, we opened our eyes to a new activity – showcasing our individual abilities in a talent show, sharing our enviro-knowledge in a game of trivia, and even “shooting for the moon in an old tin can” at a hoe-down on the farm! With a chorus of crickets singing each evening as we walked back to our tents and a moonlit river to bathe in only a short walk away, 18 people began to adapt to the life of the bicycle traveler – connected to nature, enjoying each moment, and focusing on community-driven sustainability.

Throughout the week, we have worked on strengthening our theatrical ability, our environmental focus, and our community, all culminating with our premiere performance of our version of the Otesha play, “A Reason to Dream” at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa. Full of nerves, we huddled together in a hallway outside the theatre and sang together to our heart’s content, a melody that had been introduced to us earlier in the week – a melody intended to be used to indicate that something very important is about to happen. Each one of us was feeling different things as we prepared for our first performance, but exuberance, eager anticipation, and the feeling that we are part of something truly inspirational were certainly feelings bubbling up inside each and every one of us. As our first performance came to a close and the realization that we can now all sincerely say that we are being the change we want to see began to set in, the bonds we had formed over the past week were cemented together with a sense of hope and accomplishment. We received a standing ovation from our first audience and after chatting with many friendly faces, we got on our bikes and began the night ride back to the farm, only to be greeted by a tunnel of all of our supporters cheering us on as we rode away. The impact this enormous display of love and support had on our tour is almost too much for words. It was a moment we will never forget.

As we leave Riverglen to begin our 2000km journey across Ontario, we would like to express our gratitude to the many people that made our first week together so phenomenal. To the Otesha staff members that facilitated our meetings, planned our week, and inspired us to exceed all of our expectations, to Riverglen biodynamic farm that hosted us with open arms and an amazing atmosphere, to the volunteer chefs that created amazing gourmet vegan meals for us, often from veggies picked only hours before, to the lovely couple that taught us the boot scootin’ ways of the hoe-down, to those who donated food to us (from fresh veggies to muffins to hemp ice cream, and more!), and to our extremely receptive audience that showed up in droves to support us – thank you so much! Our gratitude toward each of you is enormous!!

And with that, we’re off! Here we come, Ontario!

***

Donate to support our ongoing efforts to train sustainability advocates by clicking here.

The Otesha Project
72 Riverdale Ave.
Ottawa, ON K1S 1R2
613 237-6065

www.otesha.ca

______________________________

_________________
Greatlakes09journal mailing list
Greatlakes09journal@otesha.ca
http://otesha.ca/mailman/listinfo/greatlakes09journal_otesha.ca

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28. September 2009 by David.

Riverglen Biodynamic Farm’s

first annual
Harvest Open House and

Ottawa’s Hugest Hundred Mile Potluck!

The days are shorter, the pumpkins are plumper and the harvest is coming in.

The fields are getting emptier and our cupboards and root cellars are getting fuller.

The work is winding down, and it’s time for
a festival celebration!

Come celebrate the culmination of the season with other members of the CSA Community. Bring your friends and neighbours who may be interested in the farm or joining the CSA next year.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

3:00 p.m. Children’s harvest activities

Gleaning the fields and farm tours

5:00 Ottawa’s Hugest Hundred Mile Potluck
(featuring Beau’s beer!)

7:30 Music and dancing

Save the date- more information to come!

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23. September 2009 by David.

Hello Every One!

I would like to start by wishing everyone a great fall season. As of today, there is officially more night than day. Now, don’t be too sad! Although very challenging, this summer has certainly brought us its share of rewards. Of course, in the heat of the moment, we sometimes overlook our achievements. Equinox is the passage to a season where taking a few moments to relax and feel good about our accomplishments.

For one thing, I’m happy about the volume and the quantity of vegetables we have been able to offer you. There has been great progress from our two previous years, and I hope to continue seeing the quality of our produce increase over the years.

Now, don’t worry. There are still three more weeks of vegetables coming up and you can still look forward to seeing new things in your weekly bounty! There was a strong current of cold air moving around Ottawa over the weekend.and although it seems to have passed by Ottawa, it did settle down our neighbourhood. When I surveyed the garden on Sunday morning, I saw the squash, tomato and basil plants were no more. Fortunately, the fruits hang on the vine unscathed and we scramble to pick them and get them in our storage room. If we’re on the ball, there might be tomatoes available right into October!

Besides vegetables, it has been a very busy week. One section of the barn was raised and reinforced, the hayloft has been filled with bales, we’ve had a visit from a film crew and a school group, we made prep 500 and even took the time to do an application on Saturday evening. It’s been pretty non-stop!

After all this great work, what better thing to do than party! Please come to our end of season celebration on October 17^th. Riverglen Biodynamic Farm and the Community Shared Agriculture Community are thrilled to invite you to the first annual Harvest Open House and Ottawa’s Hugest Hundred Mile Potluck! We’re hard at work to make this one awesome party. For those who haven’t visited the farm yet, this will be your last chance this year. So put it on your calendar!

- David, Robin, Marah, Jen, Roseanne, Sarah

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8. September 2009 by David.

You can’t swallow Rudolf Steiner’s work in one gulp and you don’t have to. The Explorations course offers a first introduction to the concepts which underlie so many of its successful applications. The series has seven sessions. Check out what this is all about!

Ottawa ­ Start: Wed. Sept. 16, location t.b.a. $160 with Hamo Hammond, <hamohammond@rogers.com>

Rudolf Steiner Centre Thornhill ­ Start: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 7-9 p.m., $160 with Paul Hodgkins

Kingston ­ Start: Wed. Sept. 23 at Mulberry School $160 with Kristin Wise

Guelph ­ Start: Wed. Sept. 30, 7-9 p.m.,Trillium W.S. with Paul Hodgkins

To register or for more information contact Rudolf Steiner Centre Toronto
<mailto:info@rsct.ca>info@rsct.ca - www.rsct.ca - 905-764-7570 - fax 905-889-3336

To be removed from this list please reply to me at sbeals@magma.ca

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8. September 2009 by David.

We are presently seeking a host family for one pair of young people (aged 19-24) —  one young person from Canada and one young person from Kenya.

The team arrives very soon: September 12th and stays until December 8th. The Youth Volunteers have local placements three days a week, and meet as as team on Wednesdays & Fridays to explore the community & the millennium development goals. Evenings and weekends they have the option for many activities and events and to join in what their host family is doing.

For more information, please check out our local website at http://sites.google.com/site/cwykenvo/ Especially the HOSTING section of the Program FAQ.

The Youth Volunteers three-month stay in the community will be the first stage of a CWY Youth Leaders In Action Exchange Program. The second half of the program will take place in Kenya.  Integration into the community and volunteer work with local agencies and organizations are key goals of the program. It affords participants an opportunity to learn about the region as well as the local lifestyle and culture.

Canada World Youth seeks hosts with a diversity of experiences. We are looking for an openness and enthusiasm to share your home life with two young people, and likewise, to allow your life to be enriched by these new relationships. We invite all types of households-retirees, single parents, same sex partners etc.-to host. One spare room is all that is required. Host families receive an allowance of $12 per participant per day ($672 / month) to help differ costs.

Please contact us: (613) 883-0792 / cwy.kenvo@gmail.com–
Anne-marie Henry &
Rahab Njeri Mwaniki
Project Supervisors
Ottawa / Kenya Youth Exchange
Canada World Youth

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