Theme: Dru Rivers

News From the Farm | March 9, 2015

March 9, 2015

Flowers

I remember quite clearly writing my annual “flower article” last year and starting off with a confident statement about how consistent the flowers were despite mother nature’s follies of no rain, warm climate and sudden whacky freezes. Well, this year I might have to rescind that statement  – but just a little. Yes, this year nature’s idiosyncrasies might have fooled us all, including the flowers, with her warm, balmy days all throughout January (the driest and warmest in recorded valley history) then brief flooding in February and then back to a sunny and warm March. How could we not be just a tiny bit confounded to know what the time of year is?

The bulk of our spring flowers were planted months ago, way back in October, which my feeble memory has a hard time remembering. Yes, back when the leaves were turning a golden fall yellow, we were digging thousands of holes for tulips, ranunculus, and iris.  We were transplanting thousands of little snapdragons, godetias, sweet Williams, delphiniums and Canterbury bells. The tractors were loaded up with special seeders and we planted rows and rows of sweet peas, larkspur, nigella, calendula, flax and sweet smelling stock. [Read more…]

News from the Farm | January 19, 2015

January 19, 2015

There are few seasons on the farm that we meet with such jittery anticipation as lambing season.  For the next few weeks there will be a flurry of “getting ready” tasks as we approach the February date when the first lambs are born. Fences must be set up for the hugely pregnant moms, greenhouses constructed for housing the tiny new lambs and their mothers, supplies purchased for any lambing emergencies. There are 85 ewes this year that will be giving birth in a one month time period to over 120 babies which can get really chaotic if you are not prepared! We have been raising this many sheep and lambs for over 20 years but still feel taken by surprise each year as they begin.

One of the hardest things is “psyching” ourselves up for the sleepless nights ahead. Despite the fact that 90% of the lambs will be born without any fanfare there are potential issues that can arise and we must be there any time, day or night, to help out. We do lamb checks every two to three hours during the night and as frequently throughout the day. Rainy nights and the full moon will definitely bring on a barrage of lambs – a well documented fact known by shepherds throughout the ages – so we have extra recruits on those nights. [Read more…]

News from the Farm | November 24, 2014

November 24, 2014

Thanksgiving Beet

Often people give a gasp when they inquire about the number of guests who will be at our farm home for Thanksgiving dinner and we reply casually: somewhere between fifty and sixty. The numbers have grown slowly over the years because our family, friends and farm have too and this year will be no exception. Fifty eight confirmed guests and then some more that we have surely not counted! The dinner is exemplary of everything that makes up the best parts of this little farm here in the Capay Valley: community, camaraderie and of course the blessings of the incredible food. Our community includes members of the immediate farm family — Andrew and Anna and their two towering teenage sons who could most likely eat an entire turkey themselves! Judith’s family always graces the dinner with her beautiful mother, Noné Redmond, one of the our farm’s longest and sweetest supporters and Judith’s siblings, nieces and nephews who live nearby. Our apprentices who hail from New York, Japan and parts of California will be here with a few sisters flying in to see where their big sister works on a crazy organic farm. Some of the farm crew will be with us including Inigo, the resident carpenter, Jan, our relentless and passionate farm manager and her partner Jordan. Our own family, which is now twelve including the two newest members who will be making their first appearances and may not eat much except from their loving moms.  

[Read more…]

Farm Partners

November 17, 2014

November 17, 2014

about-us_slide1

 It’s unusual to get these four farm owners together in one place at the same time: left to right, Judith, Andrew, Dru and Paul.

Photo by Paolo Vescia.

News from the Farm | March 17, 2014

March 17, 2014

Flowers

The miraculous thing about nature is that no matter how thrown off us human beings may feel, she always comforts us with a remarkably accurate consistency. 

flowers

This winter, despite century record- breaking low rainfall, unheard of freezing temperatures in December, howling winds and record breaking high temperatures in January, our tulips and ranunculus bulbs are blooming right on schedule! How can they know when to emerge and send up their bold leaves when most of the “normal” signals and cues that we think of are off kilter? The magnificent purple lilac blooms with their breath taking perfumes are once again here right on time to herald in a gorgeous spring. One can only be humbled and awed by the force and power of the pulls on this cranking planet we call earth. [Read more…]

News From the Farm | Week of October 14, 2013

October 14, 2013

Fall is here and winter is coming soon. All of us at the farm are ready for shorter days, cooler nights and…rain! We absolutely can’t wait for the clouds to gather and give us that much needed winter burst of moisture – cleaning off the dusty, hectic days of summer.

The women at the farm who pick and make the flower bouquets all summer long are very happy as well. As the days become cooler and the fresh flowers come to an end in the fields their jobs move into the “wreath room” using the colorful dried flowers that have been hung from the rafters over the summer months. The barn, which we now call the wreath room, is one of the older buildings on the farm and is sided with beautifully weathered redwood. Inside are hundreds of flower bunches – I wish I could give you a tour! Yellow yarrow, blue and pink larkspur, bright red cayenne peppers, nigella, white winged everlasting, round golden drumstick, baby pink globe amaranth, black-awned wheat, all in gorgeous lines dangling from the old ceiling. As the wreaths and dried bouquets get made, flowers get pulled from the ceiling, and new bunches that have been carefully packed away in June, July and August replace them, making an ever changing array of color. [Read more…]

News From the Farm – May 2, 2013

May 2, 2013

The farm is so alive during this time of year! Everywhere you turn, it seems like something new is blooming, growing or coming to life. Though the hot summer seems to be racing towards us, with harvests of tomatoes, melons and squash coming soon, everyone seems to be totally rejuvenated by the bright green hills and blooming flowers. We invite you to come experience the farm in its full spring attire – chock full of flowers, baby animals and bright green hills for the 2013 Capay Valley Mother’s Day Country Gardens Tour. 

The Capay Valley Garden Tour is proud to feature nine gardens this year, including Good Humus Produce, Cache Creek Lavender, Leapfrog Farm, Lloyd Ranch and Full Belly Farm. The Gettleshtetl Garden is a wonderful homesteading garden that has over 20 varieties of fruit trees, nuts trees and even a home olive grove! Also included will be the Seka Hills Olive Mill open for olive oil tasting and Chamisa Ridge Nursery where you can purchase many of the natives that are low water use. You can bring a picnic and lunch on the lawn at many of the gardens or purchase a delicious lunch from the Grange Hall in Guinda. Not only is this a fun and relaxing way to spend Mother’s Day, but it is an opportunity to see the farms where your food is grown. 

[Read more…]

News from the Farm | March 4, 2013

March 4, 2013

I just returned from a serendipitous Sunday Stroll around the farm with my six-month old grandson, Rowan. He was bumping along in the farm stroller as I pushed in any direction that the dogs were going, making my companion squeal in delight. The day was gorgeous – a quintessential one on the farm – with soft white clouds in the spring sky and a hint of rain coming in the air. Everywhere I looked today made me proud to be a farmer: clean neat rows of broccoli, arugula and spinach are bursting out of the dark earth in the fields next to the house; cover crops are everywhere, stretching out above and below the ground with nitrogen fixing vetch and oats that will soon be turned in for fertility for the summer crops; peaches and apricots are in their full pink and white regalia of blooms with bees buzzing thick in the air. Hours earlier we witnessed the birth of three baby lambs from a new ewe – yes, a very wonderful Sunday indeed here at Full Belly Farm.

[Read more…]
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