Artist in Residence: Larry Grob

It was a cold day back in February that I first approached Grey Lee with some ideas about bringing art to Land’s Sake. It took but a few seconds to realize that something similar was already on his mind, and that using creativity and creative programs to connect people to the land was secure on his agenda. So began the concept of the first Land’s Sake Artist in Residence (AiR) program.

A sampling of Larry's work.

In case you hadn’t noticed, every day, every hour really, brings something new to Land’s Sake. The energy here is amazing, and it is bursting forth all around. In the pre-season, it was subtle—a wildflower poking up at the edge of the last snow, or the sun offering ever increasing warmth as its morning rays broke over the sleepy farm stand. The daily changes are dramatic. If you blinked, you missed the strawberries. And who can even remember the rhubarb and asparagus?

So this is a big part of why I do art—to capture these special, fleeting moments and try to chronicle the magic that this place gives us through the season. For me, it all fits into a broader endeavor: to promote the notion of sustainability. I truly believe that art of the land helps us be more thoughtful and approach our surroundings with a lighter hand. It awak

ens our eConsciousness, as I like to call it, allowing us to realize the power we have to turn natural order and balance into something quite other if we’re not attentive and principled in our actions. In words, no one puts it better than the noted biologist and environmentalist, David Suzuki, who writes in his book The Sacred Balance, “Each of us is quite literally air, water, soil, and sunlight, and what cleanses and renews these elements of life is the web of living things on the planet. These are the fundamental building blocks of sustainable lives and societies.” Expressing this for the left side of the brain is what the AiR program has given me a chance to do.

So, I’m a pastelist, inclined to work in the field–en plein air as they say–as much as possible. That means porting a few dozen sticks of dry, breakable pigment, and my easel, to a spot where the view’s just right and the wind is strong enough to sweep away the dust—but not my paper. I used to think that the oil painters would be envious of the simplicity of my set-up, but I’m not so sure any more. Regardless, both in the studio and out in the field, there is more to capture than I could possibly keep up with.

I began with an image of ‘the bear’, a beautifully rust colored iron and wood sculpture hiding out in a grove of trees (ok, near the bees). One look told me his story. Bearing a fish in his mouth, he became, on my easel, Spring Awakening, emerging from winter rest to grace the land with his offering. An early morning walk past the ’stand’, shelves bare of goods for not too long, graced me with a sunrise peeking from behind. This was my Awaiting Spring Light. I then captured daffodils saluting, and fields of straw waiting for strawberries to come, and of course an overflowing berry harvest in the hands of a willing farmer. Perhaps my favorite to date was prompted by a flight of imagination combined with a hint from Google Earth—A Farm Point of View. What I like best about this piece is the bird’s eye perspective, which reminds us of the land that connects both country and city, and of our need to tend it well, wherever.

This pastel adventure has allowed me to explore not only the beauty that surrounds us, but also the boundaries of technique, and the vagaries of displaying art outdoors, on a farm, in the rain. I have had fun learning about reproduction processes, and the extraordinary art of giclee printing. Plus, I’ve met some wonderful and dedicated people…like Melanie, and Liz, and Glenn, and Ronnit, and Ben, and Dave, and Dan, and others who’s names I’ve let slip.

Bottom line (sorry, that sounds a bit much like business speak), I’m very appreciative to have the chance to pioneer a program that, for Land’s Sake I hope will catch on and grow. Art can truly help us all—kids and grownups—stop and look. Really look. Which I’m afraid isn’t nearly enough done nowadays as it should be.

Larry Grob

To order notecards and originals of Larry’s work, please call the Land’s Sake office at 781-893-1162. Larry will also be displaying his work at the WACA (Weston Arts & Crafts Association) Holiday Show and Sale, December 3-6. A portion of sales of these original artworks will help support Land’s Sake programs.

Afterschool on the farm!

A parent volunteer blogged about a few afternoons with Farm and Forest Explorers, our fourth and fifth grade afterschool program. Check it out!

http://kidsatthefarm.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/kids-at-the-farm/

First Eggs of the Year!

When I went to close the big chicken coop last night, I found the first four eggs from this year’s chickens, all together in a nesting box. The first eggs ever from these chickens! Four perfect light brown eggs! Chickens have a special cackle right after they lay an egg, and I had my own squeal of delight, and joy, and pride, upon finding such a deposit.

As the preK-5 educator at Land’s Sake, I have been doting on these chickens since they arrived day old in a box large enough to hold a pair of men’s size 10 running shoes. It was the day before St. Patty’s Day, when the evaporator in the sugar house was still steaming and the snowpack, though present, was ever diminishing. They were fuzzy and peeping and perfect themselves as they ran to and from either end of the brooder in a pack, just like five year olds playing soccer. By the time the cherry trees and lilacs were blooming, they were at the main farm, living in the refurbished horse trailer and going outside. And then they grew, and they grew, and they grew! They had the diet that any chicken would dream to consume! Overripe strawberries and split Sun Gold tomatoes, week old pastries, earthworms dug up from the compost pile and slugs by the thousands after the rain….oh, do they feast on an embarrassment of riches! First, they were celebrities for a parade of school children on field trips, and then, over the summer, Farm and Forest Explorer participants spent countless hours petting, holding, and caring for them.

When I saw the rich orange yolk of one of the eggs, I thought of all of this. Chickens generally start laying eggs at 6 months, though some chickens start earlier and others start later. I am not sure who was the mystery mama who laid those eggs. I think it was one hen, though it could have been several. Chickens are inclined to lay eggs where there are some already, which is why you can use wooden eggs to convince them to lay in a certain place. Some of the eggs may have been laid over the weekend. Nevertheless, all the chickens will start laying in their own time.

You and your family have lots of opportunities to be involved with the Land’s Sake flock. As you may have noticed when you visited the farm stand, up front we now have one of our chicken tractors and two hens, currently Sassy Lassie and Fancy Boots. Land’s Sake has A-frame chicken coops that can be rented for two weeks so that you can test the waters of owning chickens and enjoy delicious fresh eggs (until more of the Land’s Sake flock is laying, we have a partnership with a local chicken owner to borrow already laying chickens). For more info on chicken tractor rentals, contact greenpower@landssake.org. Chickens are an integral part of both Farm and Forest Explorers, an afterschool program for fourth and fifth graders at the farm, and Greenpower, a work-based program for middle-schoolers. Information on these programs can be found at http://www.landssake.org/education. Finally, Land’s Sake is partnering with the Weston Recreation Department to host a Chicken Open House on September 19 from 10am-12noon. This will be an opportunity for your family to learn more about chickens up close and personal as you will be invited into the chicken yard to pet and even hold a chicken under the supervision of a Land’s Sake educator. Registration for the Open House is through the Rec Dept.

See you at the farm!
Amy
Farm-Based Educator

Plenty of Vegetables for You

Plenty of Veggies for You

We had some great press from the Town Crier this week.  There was a splendid spread of photos from our recent Supper Club. It was wonderful to see all those familiar faces in the Weston Life section. Thank you Barbara Elmes for coming out and bringing your trusty camera!

Page 4 has an article about our current farming situation titled “Land’s Sake handling crop failure”. Lest there be any confusion, “crop failure” implies one or all rather than one of many crops which may have failed. I would have preferred to title the piece “…crop failures” as we have had a few. Those crops include our early brassicas – broccoli and cabbage type veggies, our onion and scallion crop, and, what was not known when the article was written, our tomatoes. They now have been written off on account of the late blight.

What was reported was based on our suspension of CSA share distributions effective until the end of August. This was detailed in a letter to shareholders which is quoted in the article. Unfortunately, the reporting confuses the CSA – the 130 shareholders – with the entire Land’s Sake Farm. Another two-thirds of our production is sold at the farm stand, the farmers’ market, and shipped to hunger relief agencies. The farm is half of Land’s Sake’s total operation. While we are unable to provide adequately to our shareholders for a few weeks, we continue to produce and sell a lot of vegetables every day.

Another correction I’d add is that the late blight (Phytophthora infestans) affects potatoes and tomatoes, not corn and not squash. We don’t actually even grow corn. And the blight has cut into our potatoes and tomatoes and will cause approximately $30,000 in losses this year, over 10% of our gross income from the farm.

The article writes about our planting a second crop to address the situation. More accurately, we are putting second and third plantings of various (multiple) crops in the ground every day. Actually, we seed multiple plantings of crops every year, regardless of the weather or other conditions. A crop is a type of plant, a planting is the group of those plants that went into the ground at the same time. They are usually described ordinally – first, second, etc. – as it is easy to see the different plantings as they are always in different locations and sized differently based on their age. The article uses the term crop to encompass all the crops we have as if it were one big enchilada. We would use the term “total production” or “all plantings” to describe everything out there. And “all plantings” have not failed. But enough have for us to be in pretty bad shape. Please come to the farm to find the many good things that we do continue to sell – flowers, berries, squashes, beets, carrots, honey, herbs and plenty of greens and other summer delights.

Land's Sake Farm: the Next Generation

I’m attaching a photo of some of those up-and-coming plantings which are seedlings at our greenhouse right now.

Please don’t think Land’s Sake has lost all it’s crops. There is a lot of food available at Land’s Sake. We’ve got carrots and beets, lettuce, squash and zucchini, peppers, berries, flowers and more. We are selling fresh bread from Nashoba Brook Bakery on the weekend. We even have fresh corn for sale, harvested every morning from Brigham Farm along the Sudbury River in Concord. Come on down to the Farm Stand on Wellesley St any day of the week between 10am – 6pm. We appreciate your business.

Tomatoes Before the Blight

The Tomato Plants

It is pretty sad to see the tomatoes hit by the late blight. They were looking great, as you can see in this photo. Full plants, multiple fruit clusters per stem, many just turning orange.

We just went to the fields with Channel 5’s David Brown – to air tonight – regarding the late blight. Big box retailers distributed seedling tomatoes with the fungal blight. These were taken by customers all over the northeast. The blight uses the host plant to reproduce by sending out spores. These spores find more host plants and continue. It is now an epidemic in this region. No farms that we know of have been spared. Many are doing just as we are – pulling up the stakes and cutting down the string to mow or burn the crops to prevent further spreading the blight. This treatment also helps reduce the risk factors for the blight coming back next year.

We’re doing the best we can in light of this pestilence. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Volunteers Make a Difference

Every Monday and Wednesday, our volunteer crew comes out to help us with all manner of task at Land’s Sake. Here’s a picture of the crew helping weed the flower beds in the front garden. With the combination of ample moisture and great heat, the weeds are really going bonkers. We are responding with more mechanical cultivation and also gangs of hand-weeding crews to get right up the plants and eliminate the competing weeds. If you are intested in helping us out, come over to the main farm at 9am on Monday or Wednesday or 1pm on Saturday to lend a hand. If you have any questions about our program, please contact us at volunteering@landssake.org.
Thank you!

Here's a great group of folks helping weed the flowers

Strawberricious!

Our strawberry fields filled with happy pickers

It was a fabulous day at Land’s Sake this past Saturday, June 20st! The weather held, the people came, and the Strawberries were Plentiful!

Thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy the good old times at the farm. We had a great band – The Pretty Pennies – and tons of great food. Grass-raised beef from western MA for burgers and many other goodies. The Education Committee had a bake sale which supports some of our programs to bring city kids to the farm.

The kids had fun making ice cream, jumping on hay bales, and enjoying the wagon rides. I did see some kids dancing too.

It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our many volunteers and helpful board members who rolled up their sleeves and helped put it together. The farm staff and all of the Land’s Sake crew were in good spirits and made everything go smoothly.

We hope you had a great time! If you didn’t make it, we hope you will come to another event at Land’s Sake later this summer.

See you then!

Grey

Beetle Mania

Whitespotted Pine Sawyer, not the dreaded Asian Longhorned Beetle

The other day, a friend of the farm, Oliver Constable, stopped by the office with his mother Melinda and this big bug (in the photo). We were trying to identify it and found a good site to compare this critter to the Dread ALB (asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis)). This is from my alma mater the University of Vermont.

There has been a lot of talk about Asian Longhorned Beetles taking over the forests of New England. Worcester has suffered a lot and had to sacrifice a lot of trees trying to control the spread of these critters. They are a threat to our trees!

Luckily the beetle that Ollie found was just a whitespotted pinesawyer (Monochamus scutellatus), pretty regular around here. They started flying in mid-May, whereas the ALB will come out just about now. It does lay eggs that hatch into larvae that love to eat trees, but they love to be eaten by other critters and so the ecosystem stays in balance.

If you see a big beetle with really long antennae (“longhorns”) make sure it has this white spot at the base of the wing covers (the top of the back, as it were). This is the telltale mark distinguishing it from the ALB. If it doesn’t have this mark, contact the Mass NRC.

Thanks for bringing it by, Oliver and Melinda! See you at the farm!

Responses to our recent Town-Wide Mailing

A couple of weeks ago we sent out about 3300 letters asking residents of Weston to become members of Land’s Sake. So far we’ve had a great response and dozens of families have become new members. This mailing has been part of a larger effort to attract more members as supporters of Land’s Sake.

I want to thank all those who have already responded. To those who are still evaluating us, I hope you will come out to the farm stand and pick some strawberries this week! Come to our Strawberry Festival this coming June 20th for a whole lot of community spirit and fun.

Each letter we mailed also included a coupon to be used on one of our various products. I think once people try us, come to us, experience the magic of Land’s Sake, they’ll be hooked and come again and again.

We did get one particularly interesting response. On the reply card, scrawled out loudly, was “You are costing taxpayer money, get a job!” There was no check included.

Just so everyone knows, Land’s Sake is a private non-profit corporation.  We earn money from a variety of sources, including donations and including the Town of Weston. Most of our income is from the sales of our farm-fresh produce, our land care services, and some other products. Taxpayer money is used when the Town of Weston pays us to mow the various fields of conservation land throughout town, to pay for some of our educational programs like when the kids help us collect maple sap, and to handle various conservation land “emergencies” like blocked culverts or downed trees. This work is in a contract that we bid on every few years and is approximately $35,000 of the Town’s budget. We also grow and ship about 10-12 tons of food for the needy. The Town pays us a grant of $25,000 to produce this food and arrange with hunger relief agencies to pick it up for distribution to the needy in Greater Boston.

We sure appreciate the support of the Town for the food for the needy program, and we are proud to be contractors to the Town to take care of conservation land and the public farm land in town. I don’t think this is a waste of taxpayer money in any way, and I’m actually quite honored to have this job, doing this great work to support a vibrant community in this town. So thanks again for your support!!

Summer Programs at Land’s Sake

Both Amy and I are very excited for the summer education season to officially start. I will be heading up the Green Power (GP) program that involves participants entering the 6^th through 9^th grades in the process of community farming at the fields on Merriam Street. Amy is leading our newest program, Farm & Forest Explorers (FFE) at the 40-acre farm that will get participants entering the 4^th and 5^th grades excited about and feeling comfortable on the farm, in the forests, and in other ecosystems through nature-based activities and small scale farming.

Since the beginning of the year, we have been planning our curriculums, putting our plants into the ground, and readying our projects. One of our most exciting projects will utilize the chickens pictured below. Both the GP and FFE participants will care for the chickens throughout the summer learning about animal husbandry, rotational grazing and egg production.

The other project will be the donation of kid grown food to area food banks. Last year the GP participants grew over 3,000 pounds of food that was directly delivered to needy individuals and families at the Walnut Street Co-op in Brookline, MA. This year with the help of help of the FFE participants I am sure we can top last year’s number.

Casey Townsend, Education Director

Green Power Summer is for students entering the 6th through 9th grades. Participants receive a stipend for their work each week. This program runs June 29 to August 21 in one week sessions. Sign up for one week or several. There are new things to learn each week!

For more information about these programs, please visit us online at www.landssake.org. Or, contact Amy or Casey by phone at 781-893-1162 or by email at greenpower@landssake.org.

To register for these programs, please visit http://www.landssake.org/ education/greenpower/registration

For more information about these programs, please visit us online at www.landssake.org. Or, contact Amy or Casey by phone at 781-893-1162 or by email at greenpower@landssake.org.

To register for these programs, please visit http://www.landssake.org/education/greenpower/registration

 

Baby GP and FFE chicks