Strawberry Hill Farm

We are having a rough week: A couple of nights ago our friend and local contractor’s wood cutting machine was set on fire on our property in the middle of the night. The piece of equipment, worth an estimated $150,000 or more, was destroyed. Upon investigation, the incident is almost surely a case of arson someone set the fire on purpose to make a statement. Why would anyone want to destroy another person’s property like this? Especially as the owner was about to use i...t to selectively cut older and dead trees out of a section of forest so it could rejuvenate, helping the younger trees thrive, and providing better feed for deer and other wildlife. Why? A couple years ago we had some acres of forest clear cut to resolve a 70 year old property boundary issue. Hearsay has it that there was an agreement involving a land swap for a couple of cows but the boundaries were apparently never changed. Anyway, while it was very painful to see this section clear cut, it was the only way we could see to fairly settle the issue. We are now managing the regrowth without spraying or using chemicals in a way that will allow it to grow back as quickly as possible. Since then we have hired a different person, an older gentleman with his tree cutting machine, to thin a few acres each year. He knows how to thin and cut just what is needed. This gives room for smaller trees to grow, stimulates the feed for deer and other forest animals, and is part of sustainable forest management. It also provides us with a source of dead and otherwise unusable wood for our wood furnace which heats the greenhouse, house and shop. This greenhouse is the source of our delicious winter greens and also where we start all our organic seedlings between March and June. I understand why someone would not like clear cutting (though I totally disapprove of criminal arson activity), but to burn an older gentleman’s machine like this when he is here on our request to do sustainable work; this is really devastating. There are so many better ways to make a point. If anyone doesn’t like something being done on our property, the least they can do is come talk to us. Everyone who knows me knows I’m approachable and not hard to talk to

Beef strips with fresh spinach!

Tomato basil pork patties made with basil and tomato from our farm, oven roasted purple and orange sweet potatoes, and carrots. This new type of sausage patty will be available on the online market in limited quantities, starting on Sunday.

Pigs are photogenic and offer some cuteness at this time of year.

Bus broke down on the way so I rented a truck from a friend. We scrambled and are here at the MC parking lot in Fredericton. We are ready with lots of orders!

Getting some things done with the nice weather!

Damien the donkey has joined the cows for the winter and they are happily grazing off some oat cover crop in a field that will be vegetables next year. We are all enjoying the beautiful day.

That was a very full bus today! First big delivery day of our winter season as we enjoyed the really nice weather....

We seeded oats in August as a cover crop after harvesting early potatoes. They grew well so now when the pastures are finished, the cows get to enjoy some late fall greens!

Our whole family got together to carve pumpkins tonight... We are amatures but it was a really fun evening. We have a few pumpkins left if anyone else wants to give it a go. We'd love to see what you create :-)