You know what we need?

Maybe you know how exciting it can be to come across a real treasure at a flea market or yard sale. I have the fondest memories of scouring the vendor tables at the stock yards with my grandma in their tiny Michigan farming town.

When she died last year I was heartbroken. And it was more difficult than it should have been to visit the Yards later that summer, knowing she’d never go with me again.

But lo and behold did I find a treasure of which she would have approved – a collection of glass milk bottles, which represented our little homesteading family perfectly, both because of the sizes (2 quarts for my husband and I, and 4 pints for our 4 children) and because the name of the old dairy family happened to be our last name as well!

Now, my in-laws have always been very sweet about asking if there’s something in particular we need for a Christmas or birthday present. So when happily we found I was pregnant with our 5th child, we knew just how to break the news to them!

When they asked their usual “So think about what you need for Christmas, and let us know”, we showed them the milk bottles lined up so smartly on the shelf, with a very conspicuous gap at the end, and told them we had everything we needed except a 5th pint… and it was immediately evident by their dumbfounded stares they caught on right away :-)

And we haven’t found our newest addition’s bottle yet, but we’ll keep on looking, and are thankful little Anna Rose (FINALLY) arrived this week, as healthy and vocal as the rest of the clan (and just in time for a very tired Daddy to go finish the chores and bring in the morning’s milk)!

Knowing in her matter-of-fact way, Grandma would say “Well I like babies, I had 10 you know”, she was always the first person we told when we’d find out we were having another, and I do love looking up at those bottles, sure of how happy she’d be as our little family and our farm dream continues to grow.

www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net

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Tea at the Tavern May 4th!!

Our very own McGuffey Herb and Tea Co. and the historic Overfield Tavern in Troy present the Second Annual “Tea at the Tavern” on Saturday May 4th!!

Experience early 19th century elegance as you sip historically inspired teas and sample pastries – all served by authentically costumed volunteers!

Period music will complement the company of friends and family in the warm, intimate environment of Troy’s oldest structure.

Tea will be served at two seatings, at 1 pm and again at 4 pm. Tickets are $20 each and may be purchased through Eventbrite (subject to fee), or by mailing a check payable to the Overfield Tavern Museum and mailed to the museum at 201 E. Water St., Troy, OH 45373. Please specify number of guests in your party and with whom you would like to be seated!

Visit the Overfield Tavern Museum Facebook page for more information :-)

And remember we close the Market tonight at 8pm!!

www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net

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Saturday - King's Poultry Customer Appreciation Day!!

This Saturday April 27th, join the King family at their Bradford farm for their First Annual CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY!!

“We want to thank all of our customers, friends, and neighbors who have made our business a success! Please come join us as we celebrate another great year!”

10am to 3pm with lunch beginning at 11am!!

EVENTS INCLUDE:
Free Meal
Guided Plant Tours
Bouncy House for kids
15% off all Chicken Products at their Country Market Store
And a brand New Product will be revealed! Yum!

King’s Poultry Farm
King and Sons Poultry Service Inc
8091 Horatio Harris Creek Rd
Bradford, Ohio 45308

Welcome BACK!!

So glad to be back after a beautiful Easter Break!! Gotta love Spring sunshine :-)

And thrilled with the new offerings we have for you on the Market…

Black beans, cilantro, specialty cookies, more microgreen varieties and Weekly Specials…

And so much more to come!

Happy Shopping, and have a lovely week, Everyone!!

We are CLOSED for One Week!!

Remember we will NOT reopen until next Tuesday :-). Everyone have a safe, relaxing Easter Break, and we’ll be back, ready to go April 23rd with all your favorite local goodies!! Take care and enjoy this glorious Spring!!

More deals, specials, and a boost for the food pantry!

We were surprised how well the Buehler’s donations of lard went over at the Food Pantry! But they have so many clients who know the benefit of this old fashioned gem, whether for biscuits, pastries, greasing your pans, frying, or more!

Now Phil has a new deal to offer… When you purchase his Special on two containers of lard, one goes to you, and one goes to the Food Pantry! All you have to do is cover the processing costs for the second container that will be donated to the Food Pantry, and Phil donates the lard!

Be sure to check out all the Weekly Specials, and get your orders in before 8pm Sunday…

We will NOT be open for orders next week!! But as so many of you know, an extra order of our fresh eggs and greens will easily last for you during our short drought! :-)

www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net

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Last week to order before our Easter Break!!

We are open for orders as usual this week… But we will NOT reopen next Tuesday after pickup! Market will be closed for just one week! We’ll reopen on the 23rd!

So grab your favorites or a new item while you can this week!

Thanks to Mucci’s Sweet Treats for her help tonight at pickup, and for the delicious fudge samples!! Mmmmm!! Be sure to check out her new Lemon Cookies and Confetti Bars!!

And 6635 Studebaker brought back her famous English muffins for One Week Only!!

Plus plenty of eggs, greens, meats, desserts and more!!

Happy Shopping, and Happy Spring!! :-)

It's a Ruff life

Deb Spencer, aka 6635 StudeBaker of “History in the Baking”, is truly to blame.

Last year, just before Thanksgiving, she came to Market with a wild idea – “so Jennifer, wouldn’t it be wonderful if your children took over making the dog biscuits on the Market? I’m happy to share my recipe and cookie cutters?!”

To which I wanted to reply, "Deb, I love ya but you’re crazy – sure they love to bake, but for us! When I bake for our CSA members, their first question when they see me pull out the pizza pans is, “Is this for us or for people?”, knowing they aren’t allowed to help unless it’s something only we are actually eating ;-)

Plus, Deb, remember our oldest is 7, Baby #5 is due this Spring, and with all the general craziness on our farm, there’s only so much Mommy can handle!" Instead of course I told her we’d love to, but let’s see how things go.

Fast forward a few months, and the kids, knowing this was an option, staged an unquestionably rational argument – our (three adorable little) ducks lay more eggs than our chickens, right? So we’ll make Deb’s dog biscuits to sell, we’ll buy more ducks, sell their eggs, and save up to buy sheep!

Now if their logic seems odds, it’d make more sense if you could’ve seen how enthralled they were when we read a series on Laura Ingalls’ great grandmother growing up as a little girl in Scotland, and all the talk about raising the sheep, then shearing, carding, waulking, spinning, dying and weaving the wool (if you ever enjoyed the Little House books and haven’t checked out the more recent series’ on the females going back in Laura’s family, oh my are you missing out! We found them at the Troy and Piqua libraries!)

Now we have some incredible women on the Market who truly know what they’re doing when it comes to working with wool, from raising the sheep (Keba of Innisfree on the Stillwater and Brette of Grumpy Goat Experiment) to spinning the wool (both Keba, and Deb of 6635 StudeBaker) and creating beautiful woolen goods (Lucy of Rosy Toes Designs), and of course the kids know this is a weak spot for both Mommy and Daddy, as we’ve talked about adding sheep to our menagerie since we married.

My husband even built a gorgeous spinning wheel that I keep looking at and telling Keba someday we’ll make time for her to help me cultivate the knack for it (my first efforts were not pretty, folks) – but he also made Lucy, our oldest, a drop spindle for Christmas this last year… a much simpler (at least for me!) concept that still allows us to practice spinning and creating a beautiful yarn. And oh have we had a blast together doing this!

My little farmers have always wanted to be shepherds – they love bringing the cows in from the pasture every day, and who wouldn’t want lambs (especially when one of our girls is Mary)? They’ve even loved when we’ve accompanied my husband when he’s had a sheep shearing job – it is a grueling procedure but fascinating to watch!

And they never tire of collecting eggs – plus the ducks and their inimitable antics have become family favorites, because although all the animals on our farm have a purpose, or a job (down to our excellent cat, the mouser extraordinaire), it’s fun to give the ducks free reign of the farm only to have them hang around all the gardens and flower beds right around the house because they’re so social and love us so much (really they’re probably just looking for food).

The kids also love helping in the kitchen (bring on the practical math applications!) and relished the idea that they would be able to make something to sell on their own. Down to doing the dishes and cleaning the counter (oh, if only the incentive of getting to play in the water would last til they were teenagers)! And we already know we have the perfect number of kitchen helpers for our cozy space – the two youngest sit on the counter, with the older two on chairs beside… hard to picture but it’s our daily routine anyway, and plenty of jobs for all – many hands make light work, right? The more the merrier!

And oh is it “fun” math to both keep track of their ingredient costs and their sales, as well as practice their fractions and measurements! Plus hand-writing practice for neatly writing out the tags. And what kid doesn’t love using cookie cutters? Molly, the two-year old, may be best at snitching samples and enjoying the crunch, but thank goodness I can almost tell myself they’re just crackers – chicken broth, wheat germ, brewer’s yeast, my goodness they’re healthy!

And to think our last name happens to lend itself perfectly to being makers of a tasty dog treat was just too much to overlook – we truly do have a Ruff life, and I mean that in the most wonderful way possible :-) Even if we don’t even own a dog!

So I’m happy to say we again can offer StudeBaker’s famous dog biscuits on the Market!

www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net

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We are OPEN with New Produce and New Winners!!

Tonight in lieu of a winner for our Refer-A-Friend program, our $10 Virtual Market gift certificate goes to MaryAnn Crist as a heartfelt THANK YOU for her support and help in pulling off our Spring Farmer’s Market last week!

MaryAnn and her husband Don are the kind of people anyone would consider themselves fortunate to know – generous, considerate, and fiercely supportive. Having been the perfect Greeter/Traffic Director/all-around Assistant for every one of our Seasonal Farmer’s Markets thus far, MaryAnn has been an incredible asset to our Market family – we love and appreciate them both so very much!!

Whether it’s physically stepping in at Market, helping search and secure funding, dropping off our Market postcards to area businesses, or just being the best moral and technical support anyone could ask for, the Crists have been instrumental in ensuring this Market continues to grow and thrive. Thanks and Love to you both!!

And our Vendor Appreciation Gift winner tonight is….

May Alanzi, of Honey Creek Farm in Tipp City!!

I can’t say enough about this woman’s work ethic, positive energy, and vision. The type of person who’s always first to volunteer for anything and lend a hand without being asked, May has been an incredible contributor to this Market both with her willingness to help out and her fantastic variety of unique products.

Thanks May for everything – we are so fortunate to have you with us!!

www.miamicounty.locallygrown.net

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Lettuce, Kale, Eggs and more!

With his famous green butter lettuce and lacinato kale, Davidson Family Growers is back with a vengeance!

The chickens at J & S Buehler Family Farm must have appreciated all the sunshine recently, and aren’t we glad they have steady eggs available?!

Plus new whole wheat organic pasta from 6635 Studebaker? Awesome!

And she has passed her dog biscuit recipe to my children as a perfect entrepreneurial/math/baking project! From the measuring and reading to the rolling and dishes, they relished having a job the four of them, from 2 to almost 8 years old, can manage on their own, with the goal of saving up for more livestock to add to their menagerie :-)

Always something new and exciting on the Market, particularly with Spring favorites such as asparagus, rhubarb, and strawberries in sight! So glad to have you part of the delicious fun!