A little late day relaxing time playing ball with Tater. It’s been a beautiful day filled with lots of work. We’ve been busy planting crops and getting the market ready to open on May 1st. Hope you all had a good day too 💕
Peas are up, greens are growing, onions are planted! Things are definitely busy here at Blue Barn Farm. We hope to have a bountiful crop for you this year!
We’re excited to announce that our farm market will open for the season on May 1, 2025!
Come stock up (you know you can because ours are fresh!) on greens 🥬 - lettuces, spinach, salad mix, spring mix, arugula, kale. We also have crisp apples 🍎 and all your favorite prepackaged goodies including jellies 🍓, salsas 🌶️and pickled products🥒. Don’t forget other locally produced favorites including
Clover Creek Cheese Cellar cheese 🧀
Hess Maple Syrup products 🍁
Appalachian Coffee Roasters coffee ☕️
And new this year , fresh sourdough products from Seraphim Sourdough Co. ! 🍞
UPDATE #2: We received our funds! We had to jump through a few hoops, but are thankful that it has come through.
UPDATE: I received an email from USDA on Wednesday. The email does confirm that the government’s goal is to fund projects that align with their values (as pointed out in comments below). We have 30 days to “voluntarily propose to change” our project to “better address President Trump’s January 20 Executive Order Declaring a National Energy Emergency”. I’m not sure how to respond to this. My proposal is pretty innocuous - does not include any DEIA features or such. But I will admit that I feel that I’m being forced into submission to get the funds that were contracted to me.
Remember these solar panels that I posted awhile back? I had a contract with USDA to install these solar panels. The deal was that I would receive a USDA REAP (Rural Energy of America Program) grant to pay half the cost. I had to pay everything upfront and I could then submit for reimbursement after they were in successful service for 1 month. I upheld my end of the contract, filling out all paperwork and having the panels installed. The system went into operation on December 23,2024. I submitted for reimbursement on January 23, 2025. The government has frozen the funds even though they’ve been approved by congress and I’m now out of $16,000. This REALLY hurts.
I don’t run my business like this and it disgusts me that my country’s government isn’t honoring a signed contract. I’ve written to my Congressman and the Secretary of Agriculture. Haven’t heard back from any of them. I thank any of you who will advocate for the funding of signed contracts.
Right now, these little plants are just getting started—tiny, green, full of promise.
It won’t be long before they grow strong and are transplanted in the field.
But for now, it’s all about beginnings.
Watching something take root, knowing that with just a little time and care, it will become something beautiful (and delicious!).
Maybe you’re in a season of beginnings too—starting something new, making small changes, or just dreaming about what’s next.
These little plants are a reminder: growth takes time, but it’s always worth it. 🫛💚
It is with sadness that I tell you that our older Golden Retriever Teddy passed away last night. Our good boy was 13, old for a Golden. He would have turned 14 in April. He spent most of last summer near the house as his hearing and sight were failing. Many of you may remember him the year before lying in the market on the cool floor during the summer. We will miss him 😢. Tater does too.