Dahlia passed away last night. She came to the farm in 2005 (pregnant, which the previous owner and we didn’t know). So she was at least 22 or 23 years old. She’s been with me through this farm journey for so many years. She is the only one of my cows that I ever milked (her calf was not drinking enough so I had to milk her out). None of my other cows were ever personable enough. Dahlia was also the only cow that would let me pet her. All the others would back away if I got too close. Her bull calf was the last one I kept since I wanted to bring her gentleness to the herd, so the other cows that remain are her grand children. She had been slowly declining the past couple years, but in March she started going downhill fast. In my conversations with her these past two months, she shared with me her wish to die on the soil, connected to the land that she belonged to. I hoped she would make it to when the snow melted. She couldn’t move fast, but as soon as I opened the gate a few days ago, she got up and immediately went out into the paddock. It’s been raining so much so there is a lot of mud, but she chose a high spot with the newly sprouted stinging nettle and laid down and did not get back up. I wanted to let her die on her own terms. She truly embodied the deep philosophy of the cow, giving more than she took. She was a role model I can try to follow. Thank you Dahlia.
The first plants for the spring shares are in the ground in the greenhouse. We’ve had a taste of spring, but winter is biting back. I’m still not sure when the Spring Shares will start, but after the middle of April…. stay posted and salivating 🙂
Hello! There are just a couple of Spring shares left and a few main season shares still open. Sharee sizes and prices are posted on the Basic CSA Info page. If you have any questions you can reply to this post, but give your name and contact info since the website doesn’t tell me who has replied. Or email saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com
First I want to thank all of you who helped keep this community supported farm going through 2025! 2026 will be the 30th season for the Saugeen River CSA. It could never have kept going without the commitment of so many of you! It’s a testament to this amazing community! As a reminder, return members can sign up through January for a spring or main season share. It’s great if you can make an initial payment now to help cover the seed costs. In February, if there is space, I will start accepting new members.
And also, as a reminder, tomorrow, January 2, is the next winter csa pick-up. With the weather and holiday schedules I know some of you may not be able to make it tomorrow. If you can’t please let me know so I’m not waiting for you, and you can arrange another day to pick-up.
Finally, starting this week I’ll be leading more Taiji and qigong sessions Sunday mornings at the Durham Art Gallery and Monday and Wednesday early afternoons at Golden Tiger in Hanover. Contact me if you want more information.
Not exactly a farm post, but related to the School for Sacred Agriculture (in the sense that our body is our most important tool which needs to be maintained, and our connection to the Earth can be deepened).
Taiji and qigong have been part of my life since I was 15 and I began teaching in my twenties. Since then my practice has ebbed and flowed. 13 years ago I joined the Golden Tiger School of Kung Fu in Hanover and attained my black sash last year, in which Taiji sword is part of the practice.
This fall I began teaching a Taiji Qigong class (empty hand, no sword) at the Durham Art Gallery and will be starting another 6 week session on Sunday mornings January 4. There’s room for others to join. Also, starting January 5 I’ll be teaching this same form at Golden Tiger in Hanover on Monday’s and Wednesday’s from 1-2pm. This is an exercise and moving meditation for all ages and fitness levels. If you are interested in joining either of these groups let me know and I can share more info.
The best is to email me: saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com
A big thank you to those who were able to come out at the last minute. Plans changed but a big job was made enjoyable with the community support! No pictures of us digging since we were all focused on getting it done (like real farmers!). Topping and bagging went so fast! Even the cows enjoyed the harvest with treat of carrot tops!
What’s a bit of rain? Some of us got drenched as we began our planet walk and had to rush inside. Luckily we had decided to hold Ansley’s show in our back room. It was a little tight, but a lovely evening. Thank you all for going with the flow! I have a stock of her CD’s in the CSA store that are available by donation.
Starting at 6pm we will do a welcoming planet walk. You can walk the paths of the planets (from a Geo-centric perspective) to experience how plants express the connection between the heavens and the Earth. At 7 Ansley Simpson will play songs and tell stories from her album “She Fell From the Sky” exploring the Anishinaabe creation story of Sky Woman. She will also be debuting some new material. You can find her music at: https://ansleysimpson.bandcamp.com/ “Ansley Simpson is an award-winning Anishinaabe singer-songwriter from Toronto, and a member of Alderville FN. A weaver of haunting vocals and poetics, their songs unfold as stories, immersing the listener in vibrant imagery, journeying us through themes of vulnerably, love, and heartbreak.” She’ll be playing from our back porch with seating around our yard and camp fire. We’ll have marshmallows for roasting, cold herbal teas and Georgia will be selling her cookies. We are limiting the numbers because of parking and the space in our backyard, so please let me know if you want to come by emailing saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com Suggested donation of $30 for the concert also gets you a copy of Ansley’s CD. Bring your own chair or blanket.
A few people were asking, and it’s a stormy afternoon, so I thought I’d share how the capital contributions are working this year. A capital expense is something (usually over $500) that provides a new direction (even in a small way) for how the farm operates. A couple of years ago this was the building of our movable chicken wagon that allows the chickens to move through the garden’s rest areas during the growing season. This year the capital contributions are going towards mini hoop greenhouses for peppers and eggplant in the garden. I used to grow them as greenhouse crops. But after two years of late blight affecting the outside tomato crops, I realized I needed to grow more of the tomatoes under cover. Since tomatoes need height it made sense to move them all into the existing greenhouse space and put the eggplant and peppers (shorter plants) outside in mini hoops. Below is Simon and I setting them up early June. I don’t have an updated shot, but the plants are liking the extra protection.
This past Sunday there was a community memorial/celebration of life for Barney and Liz Barningham, hosted by Dyan Jones and Randy Martin. It was a beautiful event bringing together so many within the community who were part of these amazing people’s lives. I wanted to share with the broader Saugeen River CSA community my gratitude for what they brought to the farm and our lives. To say I don’t know if I would still be farming without their contributions is one of those “what if” questions that’s impossible to answer. The picture above was taken at the farm’s 20th year celebration. We couldn’t remember if Liz and Barney had joined the first year in 1997 but for sure by ’98. They were part of the first CSA core group, and again when I formed one in 2010. As you’ll see in a bit they had a big role in the current core group’s formation. For many years they would purchase a CSA share for themselves, but also purchase one for someone in the community in need. They did this anonymously, but I’m sharing it now to honour what that meant to me and to many people in the community. Before we renovated the current CSA space, the pick-up used to be in the upstairs of the barn. Barney and Liz saw the state of repair the barn was in, and being on the core group were aware of the financial position of the farm. They donated enough money to replace half the roof and half the siding of the barn. This gift was humbling to say the least. It lives in me still when I think about community supporting agriculture and agriculture supporting community. I continue to funnel that gift back to the community in honour of them, knowing the work I do is an important part of the community. A funny story related to this… one year we had a load of firewood delivered and dumped at the entrance to the barn where the CSA pick-up was. It was intended to be moved just inside the door. But as the season gets so busy moving it was low on the priority list. Members walked by it each time they would get their veggies. When Barney walked by, he would always pick up one piece, and only one piece, and carry it in and toss it where it was supposed to go. If anyone was coming behind him, they would do the same. He never said everyone should do it, never said anything, just knew in his heart that he couldn’t walk by without doing his part. When the micro-fit energy program was active in Ontario, Barney and Liz wanted to join a solar co-op. They wanted to have a solar array installed at their house just outside Durham, but they had too many trees. They asked us if they could rent a small section of pasture for the array. That is how the solar panel near the barn came to be there. Once they had been paid back for their initial investment, and before Liz’s passing in 2020, they transferred the membership in the co-op to the farm. This was yet again another gift that helps the farm sustain itself, and which I try to honour by giving back to the community. And now I want to share a more personal story. 2025 marks 20 years since Holly, who I started the Saugeen River CSA with, left the farm. Carrying the management on my own for that long has been filled with joys on many levels, and challenges on many levels. Something that inspires me to keep going and to continue to wonder is working with the animals, plants, soil, weather, seasons… and community, and knowing that what I experience of the physical in nature isn’t all there is. There is spirit too. Of that I’m certain, but the depth of what that is, is an on-going learning. In exploring the spirit in nature for many year, it has seemed to me a connection exists between those who have passed away and the spiritual side of animals, plants, soil, weather. It has seemed to me that as we, in our lives in a body interact with the physical side of nature, those who pass away, get to experience nature from the other side. The spirit in animals, plants, soil, weather, the seasons is a bridge between the world we know and the one experienced after death. This is something I’ve been wrestling with and don’t mean to convince anyone of anything… just wanted to share an experience. Having lived with these ideas for so long, when I received Barney’s email, announcing his passing (he was a firm supporter of ‘Dying with Dignity’), I read his final words: “You’ll have to manage the world without me,” and said aloud to the computer, “I’m sorry Barney, but I’m not sure it works that way.” Many times I’ve felt the presence of those who have passed in the blossoming tree, in the whispering wind, in the tilted expression of an animal. For me no one is gone, but simply experiencing another aspect of what it means to be human, and what the meaning of the Earth is all about. At the time of Barney’s passing, in late 2023, I was at a particularly low point of trying to keep the farm going on my own. A couple weeks after Barney’s email I was in the barn doing winter chores, pushing hay down the trap door, when I heard, very distinctively, Barney’s voice say, “Well it is ‘Community’ supported agriculture isn’t it?” This inspired me to re-form the CSA core group again and try to engage the community where I can. This is ongoing and evolving. Barney and Liz have always inspired in me a love and trust in community. This spirit will continue!
