Farmer John writes . . .                

Greetings from Angelic Organics

Extended Season Starts this Week

If you have not signed up for a 2012 extended season share, last week was your final week of deliveries.

A Major Farm Event Approaches Angelic Organics

On Nov 14, Angelic Organics will host 3 all day conferences simultaneously on the farm. Awakening to the Farm as a Social Organism (sold out),  Re-connecting to the Earth: A Farm Based Educational Initiative. and a Mentor Farmer Gathering, in addition to an evening performance on Kaspar Hauser by Glenn Williamson.

I will be hosting Awakening to the Farm as a Social Organism. The social organism of the farm is a most compelling topic for me. I have been preparing for my presentation for several weeks, thinking about the various social initiatives that the farm & I have undertaken over the last 40+ years, and organizing these impulses into a narrative form:

* Social Life within the Farm Organism during the Time of The Midwest Coast

* Touring the Midwest with the Play Resolution and Teaching a Workshop The Art of Neighboring

* Touring the World with the film The Real Dirt on Farmer John and Farmer John’s Cookbook

* Architecture, a Transformed Social Impulse: Designing and Creating Social Spaces on the Farm

(Of course, Community Supported Agriculture is a social impulse that could be profiled, but on this conference day, I am choosing to present on social initiatives that are less common on farms.)

I will probably have the whole presentation recorded so you can access it online. Topics will range from this farm as a social impulse over the years to the idyllic age of agriculture in the Middle Ages in Europe to social initiatives on Biodynamic farms in Europe today (farms which I have personally visited.) I will do dramatic readings from plays and stories I’ve written. Chris Voss will read his beautiful poem Barns and Land, in addition to presenting on Europe’s farms in the middle ages. My friend Hannah Spencer, who toured Biodynamic farms with me in Europe, plans to fly in from New York to co-present on their social initiatives. Nancy Melvin, esteemed delivery site host for over 20 years at Ravenswood Manor, will lead a short Eurythmy program and offer an introduction to Lazure painting, an artistic method that can enhance social experiences. Ideally, the conference will inspire farmers in their social initiatives on their own farms.

From Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Biodynamic agriculture: “Today human beings know little about human beings. Spiritual science is only at the beginning of its cosmic assessment of human dignity and human nature. In real life, people today know little about human beings. As a rule, we do not penetrate deeply into the soul-essence of our fellows. A more profound social system, however, will require a new understanding of the human being, and this new understanding will have to become a factor in human evolution.”

I am honored that I have been asked to lead a conference on building up the social organisms of farms that will ideally lead to more social warmth and deeper insights into our fellow human beings.

cabbage

Box Contents

Please Note: this summary is written before you receive your box—please be aware that some guesswork is involved. As always, be sure to thoroughly wash all of your vegetables.

Brassicas – a stalk of Brussels sprouts cut in half, cabbage, broccoli

Salad Greens –lettuce, spinach

Cooking Greens – kale tops

Root crops – potatoes, carrots

Herbs – cilantro or parsley