and it is worth reposting.
and it is worth reposting.
Just a real cute photo from design sponge
I had the pleasure of spending last weekend working on the Hamilton Cattle Ranch in Central Oregon. We set out to brand, tag and de-worm about 100 head of cattle. A task that I think was accomplished with a reasonable amount of fluidity. Hamilton Meadows is a great example of a thoughtful farm that subscribes to appropriate farming methodologies. They have over 300 acres and about half of that is used as forage for the the cattle to graze upon. Much thanks to Hamilton Meadows for a great experience. Here are a few photos of the farm. Enjoy!
This video tells the story of the ‘Chase Family Farm.’ It is within this video that I have stumbled upon a new venture to aspire too. A small produce store that is clean and simple, selling only products that are from the farm or farms with a similar philosophy. Where produce is beautifully presented in old farm crates, that reside upon old farm buckets which stand upon hardwood floors. I can imagine an appropriate amount of exposed brick and industrial chic piping with fresh-cut flowers filling the room with their fragrance. A “farm chic” produce stand that would create a space for not only selling farm fresh produce but for a direct connection to ones farm and farmer. I can easily picture opening up the space for secret dinners, last thursday art walks, fundraisers that fund CSA boxes for those who can’t afford them, art exhibitions, great bands, etc… Oh, the possibilities! Check out the video and share your thoughts. And if anyone knows of a space in Portland, Yes I am interested. Enjoy the video.
yours truly,
b
I want you all to meet Rose. She is 16 years old and has lived in a Port-Au-Prince tent camp since the earthquake took place on January 12th 2010. She has two children and is pregnant with a third. Her parents died in the earthquake and her brothers and sister died in a cholera outbreak. She lives in a fucking tent in the middle of one of the most horrible places I have ever seen. The smell of burning trash and human excrement so strong that it burns you nostrils. I don’t write this post advocating for change or for someone to donate money to some organization. I am writing this post because I need someone to read it and understand.
Rose prepared a meal for me today and we ate together. We talked about how hard things are in Haiti and how important it is to boil water before she gives it to her children so their diarrhea stops. But it isn’t the things that we talked about that hurt so much, it was what we didn’t talk about: education, having options, dreaming of the future, singing, dancing, having certain unalienable rights such as life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. She told me today that she had never smelled a rose. I almost cried; that has never happened to me before. I have always been able to harden myself off to the things that one sees everyday in the “field,” as humanitarians call it. I leave Haiti on Monday to return home to my farm. How small I feel sitting at my keyboard writing this message to you all.
Here are a few picks of me working with Trees Water People and the International Lifeline Fund staff in Haiti. Both TWP and ILF are excellent organizations and I would encourage all of you to check out their websites. Only a few days left and I leave Haiti and return to the farm. Can’t wait to get my hands dirty.
b
At some point everyman has to draw a line in the sand.
I was invited by Trees Water People to spend a couple weeks in Haiti helping them with one of their projects. It is hard to be away from the farm but I know it is in good hands. This is a picture of a part of Port-Au-Prince called Leogane. It is where I passed much of my time the last time I was in Haiti. TWP and I are working with a couple Tin Smith in this area to develop and produce a fuel-efficient stove for charcoal users in Haiti. The water shed is where the story begins: Healthy forests make healthy soils, which make healthy food, that gives birth to healthy people and it is those people that make healthy nations.
regards,
b
The Admiral is a bit of a contradiction in terms, firstly it is a she, yet she is named after the beloved Admiral William Adama who is a man and a veteran of the first Cylon war. For those that are familiar with Adama no further introduction is needed, but for those who aren’t, William Adama is the faithful Admiral from the TV series Battle Star Galactica or ‘B-star G’ colloquially amongst the buds. My admiral is a 1970 Ford F-250 with a 390 under the hood and a four-barrel on top. No it is not the most fuel-efficient in its class but it has always done right by me. James and I spent last summer giving her a new heart. I always wanted to be a truck guy and thanks to a few important people (Josh, Jamie’s dad Alan, my papa) I am learning the in and outs of these old machines. I love this truck and I hope to pass it on to my 16 year-old when I have one of those and I’ll pass this little bit of advice that Wes Anderson gave to me when I was sixteen “I’m not talking about dance lessons. I’m talking about putting a brick through the other guy’s windshield. I’m talking about taking it out and chopping it up.” 
This video is absolutely beautiful; the concept, the style and the heart all make it worth taking a look at. Enjoy!
Something I thought many of you would enjoy. A friend of mine shared this video with me and it launched me into a delightful exploration. Enjoy!
On saturday a couple of our CSA members swung by the farm to share a delicious blackberry cobbler they had made. Eating that perfect cobbler made my day and got me really excited for berries! Other than some of the native wild berries that we have in Oregon the Hood Strawberry variety will be the first of the berries to ripen this season. Last year they were ripe in June, lets keep our fingers crossed that they will be ready that early this year!
Today I am featuring a pair of boots that Jamie bought me last year. They are the made by the Timberland Boot Company and are simply the finest pair of leather boots I have ever owned. The only thing that might be a slight disappointment is that they are dress boots not work boots. According to James there is a difference between the two and she is always right about these kinds of things. So remember take care of them and they will last you a lifetime.
This is my favorite pair of leather work gloves. I bought them last season and I am hoping that they will last through this one. Someone out there must make a higher quality leather glove. I can’t imagine that cowboys had deal with this stuff. If anyone knows a good local company that makes high quality leather gloves let me know.
“It all started because I couldn’t find a well made axe in my local hardware store. I just couldn’t bare to resign myself to yet another hollow transaction, I couldn’t walk out the door with such a mediocre tool in hand. So I drew inspiration from my love for the axe – the tool I brandished on my family’s cattle farm and in the wilds of Northern Canada as a boy. I amassed axes from Sweden, Germany, New Zealand, and the US. I traveled around the world meeting with great axe makers, and skilled users, and then set out to right a wrong. In our quest for the best made axe we discovered other tools close at hand that were also in need of rethinking, and that lead us to what has become Best Made Company: a vibrant world, a bustling store, a design hub, and a network of workshops and communities dedicated to quality products that will inspire and empower you to get back to where you are happy, where you belong: nature.”
-Quoted from the Best Made Co Website
I
Working Hands is a small CSA farm that is dedicated to changing the way we eat & experience food. We deliver our weekly boxes of fruits & veggies to Lake Oswego, Northeast & Southeast Portland & to the Brewery Blocks in Northwest. We limit our program to 50 shares with the goal of accomplishing two things: conserving & protecting our soils & providing our clientele with the best possible CSA experience. To learn more about our program please take a look at our 2011 CSA brochure & when you are ready to sign up, send us an email at workinghandsfarm@gmail.com. James and I would like to be the first to welcome you to Working Hands Farm, where we have ‘dirty hands and clean hearts’
working hands farm 
