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| | Dear Flamig Farm friends,
Please join us in thinking about all the blessings we have. In the months since our season opened we have been grateful for sharing joy and learning with you, and we're not done yet. Our VISIT WITH SANTA festivities are in full planning mode, and we invite you to join us for them in December. More on this fun appears below.
And before you read more, please know we wish you and your family all the best.
Farmers, Nevin, Julie, Pete and Chadam. |
| | | DRAWING IS FUN FOR ALL
Here's an idea: come by the farm soon and bring your sketching supplies. Whether you and your kids are super talented artists or just want to have fun making silly drawings, our animals love to pose.
And in case you think you're not a great artist, below is a cool way to draw a hen, an animal very much a part of our farm.
Bring your hen drawing to the Farm in November and get one free admission. |
| | | TPete's Ponderings
(Note: This article appeared in The Guardian.) We’re all becoming more aware about the damage single-use plastics and fast fashion has on the environment. Yet there is one product we all throw away every single day that, so far, has not been a major part of conversations about sustainability: toilet paper.
But America’s heavy use of toilet paper – particularly the pillowy soft kind – is worsening climate change and taking “a dramatic and irreversible toll” on forests, especially the Canadian boreal forest, according to a new report by two major environmental groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Stand.earth.
The boreal forest covers almost 60% of Canada and its huge size means it can absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the equivalent to the annual emissions of 24m cars each year.
The report found that major brands’ refusal to switch to sustainable materials in toilet paper is having a devastating impact on forests and climate. About 28m acres of Canadian boreal forest have been cut down since 1996, an area the size of Pennsylvania. Virgin pulp, the key ingredient in toilet paper, accounted for 23% of Canada’s forest product exports.
We Americans are particularly to blame for this crisis. We make up just over 4% of the world’s population, yet account for more than 20% of global tissue consumption. The average four-person household in the US uses over 100lb of toilet paper a year.
Major toilet paper brands have refused to use more sustainable materials, the report says, because Americans tend to be more concerned than the rest of the world about ideal toilet paper texture in their homes, largely due to decades of marketing around toilet paper softness.
Previous reports into the environmental impact of toilet paper have found American desire for super-soft multi-ply toilet paper to be “worse than Hummers” for the environment.
Here’s an idea: buy recycled toilet paper. Below is just one option for you to consider.
Thanks for thinking about all this. Mother Earth needs each of us to help her stay beautiful for all. Farmer Pete |
| | | | | Dear Friends, Julie and I apologize for disappointing some of you who were unable to get tickets
for our Breakfast with Santa this year which is already sold out. We know it has become a holiday tradition for many of you, and we and our amazing cast of characters are glad to have been able to serve you breakfast and put on the show that has sold out performances for many years now.
Time marches on and things evolve. Julie and I have decided that we need to
simplify our lives to have a little more time to relax and enjoy our Christmas holiday
with our family. From all the preparation, cooking and cleanup we were left
exhausted by the end of the day. It has been suggested that perhaps we should hire
someone to take over for us but we have decided that is not the right route for us.
We have decided instead to “go out on top” knowing that we did something
wonderful and made lots of people smile.
We have decided to change our Christmas activities to:
VISIT WITH SANTA
December 14,15 21 and 22 Weather permitting 10 am – 1 pm NO ADVANCE TICKETS NEEDED $10 Admission per person (under age 2 free) Includes: • Visit with Santa, Mrs Claus bring your camera for great picture opportunities with The Grinch, Frosty Dominic the Donkey and elves. • Trolley Ride out to Reindeer land. (Sorry the Reindeer are not real ; bring your imagination.) • Visit our outdoor petting zoo and a free cup of grain to feed the animals
And Breakfast Sandwiches, yummy Apple Cider Donuts & Hot drinks available for sale! Our Eggroom Store will be open during Visits with Santa for purchases of Eggs, Honey and our “SGGE” clothing
to help you with your Christmas list.
Join us! Farmers Nevin and Julie
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| | | Who doesn't need a holiday gift idea?
Flamig Farm friends have asked that we create a way for reservations for 2020 Summer Adventure Camp to be a holiday gift. If you would like to delight a child in your family with a guaranteed spot next summer, please visit www.flamigfarm.com. You can now reserve one or more summer camp spots on line! |
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MAGICAL GRANDPA BILL...
another installment of Farmer Nevin memories
In the evening after supper, (yes back when I was a kid we called the meal at the end of the day supper. We had Breakfast, Lunch and Supper. I don’t recall when my world changed to replace Supper with Dinner.)
Anyway after supper in the evening at Grandma and Grandpa’s house we would gather around the TV. And what an amazing TV it was. It was a color TV, and if you didn’t want to turn the knob from channel 8 to channel 3 to channel 30, the three stations we got via a set of “Rabbit Ears," you could push the button, on the right below the knob, and it would turn the knob to the right for you. If you wanted to turn the knob to the left the button on the left would do that. What a wonderful modern convenience.
Grandpa Bill would sit in his big red pseudo leather chair and smoke his pipe packed with liberty tobacco. One time he caught me watching him as he drew the smoke in through his mouth and blew it out his nose. “That was pretty neat that I could blow the smoke out my nose wasn’t it?” said Grandpa. I agreed that it was.
Next Grandpa said, “If you think that was something come on over, and I’ll show you how I can blow smoke out of my ears." He said “You have to look kinda closely,” so I watched very closely as Grandpa took a big inhale on his pipe, and I could see him concentrating very hard on trying to make the smoke come out his ears. “Did you see it?” asked Grandpa. Of course I saw nothing but not wanting to disappoint my Grandpa I told him “ Yes I saw it Grandpa."
“Well now” said Grandpa, “I want to show you how I can blow it out of my eyes. But you have to get really close for this one so come sit on my lap, really close.”
I took a seat on Grandpa’s lap and got probably within a foot of his wonderful smiling face. His twinkling eyes were delightful. I could feel the love emanating from deep inside. “Are you ready?” he asked. “Yes” I replied. “Look real close” he reminded me just before he took a huge draw on his pipe. Then we sat for a while staring deep into one another’s eyes. The concentration in both of our eyes was intense, and then it happened! The joke was over when my loving mentor Grandpa blew a thick cloud of Liberty tobacco smoke, out of his Mouth into my “very close” face. He laughed a big hearty laugh as I jumped of his lap coughing.
I used to think he really loved me. But now when I think about it and the time he sprayed me with DDT I’m beginning to to question my perception of reality………….
Cheers,
Farmer Nevin
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| | For more information about any Flamig Farm topic, please call our office (860.658.5070) or visit www.flamigfarm.com |
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