Paul Wenger, President January 22, 2012 California Farm Bureau Federation 2300 River Plaza Drive Sacramento Ca. 95833 Dear Mr. Wenger, We have been farmers in California for the past 25 year and have been members of the Farm Bureau most of that time. My wife, Patricia and I are from farm families in the Midwest,… Read more »
Monday: ’twas a symphony out there, water rushing everywhere! —after a weekend of over 6 inches of rain! The smaller irrigation pond is now full; the large one has quite a ways to go. In just four or five days the ground cover in the orchard has thickened and grown a good two or three… Read more »
Snowberry grows on the forest edge and is largely responsible for holding our slopes in place, particularly important this time of year when the earth can become so waterlogged, it flows. View Our Lavender Products
What to do while it’s raining? During the Biodynamic crystallization period, January 15-February 15 (see last year, Crystallization), the earth is at its most dormant, but it is also most receptive to the cosmic forces. It is agreat time to read and to ruminate on the greater questions in life! Recommended Reading:The Earth Has a… Read more »
Recycled Plum Prunings, forcing blooms! —we took a long walk, cleaning up stray coyote bushes and madrone on the way. —accidentally flushed a covey of quail into the willow by the small pond. —”recycled” plum prunings. View Our Lavender Products
Finally, after a month of no rainfall, rain is predicted! The clouds gather this morning. I take the goats on an extra long walk, as they hate rain and may be barnyard bound for several days. We stop pruning to replenish firewood, clean ditches and gutters of leaves and debris, cover equipment. And we give… Read more »
First Milkmaid, January 15, 2012 The first wildflower of the season was spotted Sunday in the ditch of our driveway: milkmaid. Milkmaid is a member of the mustard (Brassicaceae) family whose ancestor is a wild cabbage. It seems late arriving, but I see in our notebook that actually it is just in time! These are the dates… Read more »
Carpet of calendula. The beautiful sunny days bring the wild calendula into full bloom. It is like a carpet of gold. The goats love it! They also have been known to do a little freelance pruning, so we have to be very careful taking them on walks through the vines and move rather quickly! Wild… Read more »
Watering new plantings. We remind ourselves that many years about this time we have a dry spell and worry: is this drought? global warming? or is it the normal ebb and flow of rainfall, year in and year out? We water new helichrysum plantings this week with overhead sprinklers to help consolidate the… Read more »
January 6 is celebrated as the date the Magi arrived with their gifts. On our ranch we do the Three Kings Preparation spray, a gift spray to the land and all who reside there, human and non-human alike. The following is a gift story —that might have happened! Once there was a herd of goats… Read more »
© 2026 Patricia Damery.
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