We’re nearing the end of the year and our employees have all stepped away for a couple weeks to take some much deserved time away with friends and family.  The farm is a wonderful place to spend your days, but a solid chunk of time away from it always refreshes the spirits.

   Speaking of refreshing your spirits, we hosted our employees and their families for a year’s end appreciation party and it was a lulu.  Naw Dee Poe and Eh Plaw showed up with about 15 young kids we weren’t expecting and it quickly upped the fun level.  We made them break into teams and put them in either funny wigs, or funny glasses.  The winners of the 1st round got mustaches.  The losers of the 2nd round had to sing karaoke.  It got colorful and hilarious very quickly with about 30 people of all ages in bright wigs, with huge glasses, and handlebar mustaches running around with eggs on spoons and singing Jingle Bells.  

  We followed that up with Mr. Tony’s Low Country Boil and some traditional dishes that Naw and Eh Plaw brought and everyone was full and happy.  The children left and the festive libations coaxed karaoke out of even the shyest of people well past when the temps dipped below freezing.  A good time was had by all and a hangover was had by most.  A joyful end to a really good year at the farm.

  Mandy and I were hoping to get to CA to visit my family, but the weather got treacherous, so we need to stay home in order to take care of all the Spring flowers and to deal with any fallout that might arise from 20 degree below freezing temps. 

  We will get to spend some time with our family on Mandy’s side though, so we are grateful for that.  

  Mandy and I will be around trying to tie up loose ends from the year, while dealing with  all the weather related farm work ,and trying to squeeze in some family time, so if you place any orders between now and January 4th, please know that there will be a delay in filling them.  We will try to find time to fill them if we can, but it’s possible that not all orders will be filled until the crew returns on January 4th.

  Debora’s fundraiser is going very well and we are incredibly grateful to all of you who contributed.  I went over there and insulated some pipes, added a heat lamp and put a tarp on her well to temporarily protect it from freezing, but her whole pump house is torn apart by wind and her bladder unit needs to be replaced.  We moved the fundraiser to Instagram and upped the goal as we’ve discovered that even more help than we initially requested is required.  We’re trying to find her an affordable old Honda or Toyota at this point too, so she can make the 30 minute commute to work without leaning on friends and family every day.  Ultimately though, this has been an unbelievable surprise to her and an incredibly positive end to a brutal year for her. We’ll send out more updates through GoFundMe for those of you who are interested.

  So, that’s all from me for awhile.  I’ll get back into weekly updates after the new year.  We feel honored to have such an amazing community connected with our farm.  Y’all have big hearts!  I hope they are filled up with lots of joyful social interactions these next 2 weeks and that momentum slings you into a great start to a new year.

   Wishing you all the best this holiday season.

With Love,

Steve, Mandy, Rachel, Naw, Eh, and Marry