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| Hello Farm Friends: Welcome to our September Newsletter, EGGSPRESS
Wow! According to our marketing and communications team, response to our inaugural newsletter sent last month was "off the charts." Thank you for your interest in what's happening on the Farm. Please enjoy this newsletter and be looking for future ones as well. Next month's will give a progress report on a possible, large solar array to be located on the Farm as we as progress on a 'Strings Generator.' That is a renewable energy device conceived by Nikola Tesla and which we are exploring in conjunction with another Friend of the Farm.
Much love to you all!! Farmers Julie and Nevin
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HALLOWEEN HAYRIDES
The dates for our world-renowned Halloween Hayrides are October 9th, 10th, 23rd and 24th. Tickets are on sale on our website (FlamigFarm.com), and we are already on track to selling out earlier than last year. Please visit the site and order on line right away so you won't be disappointed. There will be lots of scary and odd things for you to enjoy as you travel through the deep, dark woods in one of our hay wagons. You wouldn't want to miss the fun which will include the slightly zany (maybe even politically incorrect) skit, "Cecil the African Lion Does Dentistry." |
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FEATURED EMPLOYEE
Nobody does it better than Christopher Knight who joined our staff early this spring to feed and care for our petting zoo animals. You'll see him on his golf cart towing a wagon filled with hay, various grains for the different animals, fly spray, supplements and other ointments and tools needed to take great care of our animals.
Christopher cares deeply about the animals and notices everything. He will find the tiniest of scratches or scrapes or even sense when an animal seems lonely or bothered. He will take care of it or report the situation to Farmer Julie or Nevin. It seems that if we put an extra chicken in our large coop that holds 350 chickens, he would notice it!
Christopher is our resident fish expert. Before he came we used to have trouble keeping goldfish happy at our house. Now with Christopher's help our newly adopted, HUGE goldfish named "Tank" is thriving like never before. Christopher has also put in a saltwater aquarium in our office with three fish in it. These guys are:
-- 'Nemo' a clown fish who looks like the star from a movie with the same name,
-- "Julie' the very colorful, very pretty , very young-looking fish,
-- And 'Nevin,' the one who is not too colorful and spends his days and nights "cleaning the tank," (a much nicer way of saying eating algae and perhaps just a little poop).
Thank you, Christopher, for all you do!
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| SUMMER CAMP
This year's camp was full to capacity, and we need to say a HUGE thank you to the entire staff whose hard work, dedication and cooperation made it such a success. Our staff members not only love their jobs, but they truly care about one another and have forged some great friendships.
Camp ends a 1 PM. After camp chores and a meeting are usually done by 1:30. Oftentimes, a majority of the counselors are still hanging out in the pavilion, talking and laughing for a couple of more hours or out doing various things together. Friendship and community are beautiful things to witness.
The thanks and praise we've gotten from both children and parents often has brought tears to our eyes. And just to get more input to keep our camp the best it can be we will be sending out a survey to all participant families to get their input. Thanks everyone!
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| EARTH PRODUCTS
Spring will be here before you know it, and it's time to think about nourishing your soil before winter so it is ready to grow delicious, nutritious vegetables and also flowers next year. As you put your gardens to bed for the winter, it is a great time to add some 'spicy compost' to infuse organic matter loaded with nutrition to your soil. Feed the soil and it will feed you. Our good friends, Chris Latz, and Patrick McCue are running the Flamig Farm Earth Products Division and can help you out with compost, mulch, and soil needs or any questions you may have. Products can be picked up or delivered.
And don't forget, we have the best, freshest fertilizer made just for you by our very own hens. Pick up bags of chicken poop at the petting zoo.
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FEATURED FARM RESIDENT
Nine years ago, Julie went to a horse event in North Carolina and came home with a young Lusitano horse named Vico. Julie and Vico were an amazing team that traveled the Eventing Circuit, and in competition, the two of them jumped over some crazy obstacles together while covering the country side on a timed basis. Vico (not Julie) was getting 'older,' and Julie thought "if the right person comes along I will sell him so he can show a new partner the joy and fun we had." Low and behold the right person did, and Vico got a great new home, and I got my wife back! Priceless.
This Spring Julie went to North Carolina again, this time as a spectator. A few days after her return we were sitting on the couch in the evening and she said, "Chadam and I have a surprise for you." The image of a horse popped into my head along with the thought of being without my partner during long hours of lessons and weekends of Eventng. So I did the only thing I could think of, issue a delicate question. The conversation, word for word, was:
Nevin: "Is it bigger than a bread basket?"
Julie "Yes."
Nevin: "Is it a horse?" (I can still feel the cringe that went through my body as I awaited the answer.)
Julie: "No." (That word released a several hundred pound weight from my being.)
Nevin: "Is it a dog?" I asked with glee. (Anything other than a horse would be fine.)
Julie: "Yes."
At the horse show, someone from a dog rescue group had been walking a Beagle Bassett hound cross on a leash with a vest on which read, "Will you adopt me?" Julie fell in love with the dog and thought nobody would adopt him. She said, "I'll adopt him but I can't take him back home with me because I'm helping to truck horses." The guy walking the dog just so happened to be coming to Connecticut that week to visit his brother who lived in Windsor. Sweet karma, right? Did I forget to mention that Trooper (his new name) is blind? He also came with a 'slight heartworm positive' diagnosis.
I've learned a lot from Trooper.
- First, of all there is no such thing as slight heartworm. You've got it or you don't, and he had it. It's expensive and tricky to treat. It's involves giving the dog an arsenic derivative, just enough to kill the parasites but not enough to kill the dog. He has done well, and one more check up should confirm he is cured!
- Second, sometimes the ones with the toughest lives are the strongest and kindest. Trooper is the happiest, sweetest dog in the world. He bumps into things at times, but it never gets him down. Matter of fact he used to be very bad at getting down. (Read on.)
At first we only took him out on a leash, of course. Fairly quickly, he learned how to get around near the house and in the yard, so early one morning I let him out the back door for what I though would be just a quick minute. But in spite of calling him very soon after he went out, he did not return. Hiking around in my bathrobe and slippers, I spotted him on the top of a 20 foot tall mulch pile behind our house. I climbed the pile and once at the top saw dog footprints which indicated he had traveled from one end of the pile to the others dozens of times but apparently was too afraid to initiate the decent to the level ground.
I led him by the collar until we were about half way down, figuring that he would follow me the rest of the way. But the minute I let of of the collar he turned around and bee-lined back to the top of the pile. I climbed back up and this time, led him all the way down. I guess he had figured out how he could get down on his own, but wanted to let me know he was OK. What courage! - Third, trust can come from adversity. When Trooper is standing on the edge of the truck bed or at the tailgate of our van, he waits for an '"OK." When he gets it, he will jump down, safely to the ground. How many creatures have the guts and trust to jump into the air not knowing what's below?
Writing this has reminded me that for a long time after he arrived, Trooper never barked. That would have been a handy thing for him to have done at the top of the pile, saving me from that potentially embarrassing outing in my night clothes. But now he has learned the barking thing which magically opens door at our house for him. He graduated from having no home to having his own door people!
Trooper has won the hearts of many folks at the farm. You can find him in our egg room office, and if you'd like to take him for a walk on a leash throughout the petting zoo, just ask at the window. That would make his day.
Imagine being a blind, stray, heartworm-filled, non-neutered male (think dog fights and injuries) in North Carolina finding his way to a cute, little farm in West Simsbury where many people give you lots of love, and a family feeds and cares for him each and every day. Glad you found us Trooper. Welcome home!
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