The pond is not quite finished but it has been filled and is circulating as a trial.
It really is awfully pretty.
My big black cow Tia has been sent to a bull to be bred – Aunty stayed home, much to her disappointment, but I am not breeding her again. As well as losing that calf last time, one of her quarters never really kicked in. So, she will probably always present with mastitis now and I don’t want to risk it again. She can be the companion cow.
I am a weekend farmer now, baking bread and writing to my kids on the weekends. Growing my vegetables and herbs on the porch. Puttering about making pig beds.
I am still putting in 12 hour days at the mill. They have moved me into sales at work which has left me floundering, actually. I have never worked in sales but it is the quiet period in the baking world – too hot to turn on the oven so the online sales are quiet. So I am out drumming up sales in stores. Where did that expression come from ‘drum up’ maybe it comes from the beaters who would scare the forest life into one space so the rich people could shoot them from their chairs without actually going hunting.
People will start to feel the pinch here soon. So, it is going to take some thinking outside the square to succeed in sales, in the middle of a pandemic.🦋 Selling without a handshake and a smile will take some doing. I go out armed with masks and sanitizer but it feels a bit stupid to be going in and out of stores at this time. I am meeting lots of people though.
I must think right outside the square to get our good food into grocery stores around the Midwest. I will focus on small/organic grocery stores – the big supermarket chains are a huge proposition that will take a big set up. Many establishments are not even accepting samples due to the pandemic. And it is hard to meet anyone face to face because faces spread the virus.
Sorry to go on – but you all have always been my springboard for ideas. Now that I am out of the tunnel and roaring along again – this change in job description feels a bit like being broad-sided. Then upended. Then pushed out the door!
If you owned a cool little boutique grocery store /organic store during this period how would you like to be approached? All I know for sure is that my personal approach will not be like the slicked back professional approach. I cannot be who I am not.
I need to look back and see if I have any decent photos for you.
The following week!
I am in the same spot, writing from the sunny coop, that used to be an Airbnb in the olden days. But a week later. I went out looking for photos and never came back!
It is another sunny Saturday. While California is being scorched, we are once again having a mild summer with just enough occasional rain to keep the fields green and verdant. John is bringing in so much hay he is selling it!
We are babysitting two cows and their calves now ( Tia is with their bull) because we have so much grass and our friends lost their rented land. When Tia comes back she will join the others Across the Way and the visiting cows are here by the house.
I am going to post this now before it becomes a novel of epic proportions. I still write to you every Saturday! Now it’s the lack of farm photos that hold me back.
I dream of Sheila often you know. They are not sad dreams but I wake up with such a sense of loss. I know that Sheila is a symbol of all we have all lost. Our careless care-free world is gone. I think we are all suffering from differing degrees of loss. This persistent anxiety that will pass into normalcy as time goes on. But the extra care we must all take to keep our families and friends healthy and safe has to become the norm.
I think we are all thinking outside the square.
How are things in your part of the world? In your corner of the Forest?
As pertains to the Virus and the Social Discourse.
Let’s have another go ’round. This is an incredible time in the history of the world – full of immense change. We need to talk about what we are seeing – not so much to comment but to document as objectively as possible. Though objective is almost impossible, we can try. And if you have a friend somewhere we don’t have a Member of the Fellowship invite him or her to write in.
I saw three little boys walking to school the other day- in Chicago – back packs and new shoes, jostling and fooling around – all wearing slightly different masks. I wonder if some masks are perceived as cooler or more fashionable than other masks!
I love you all! We are so important as a group – the Fellowship of the Farmy- I need to write more! Let’s hold onto each other.
I am going out to change WaiWai’s bedding then Tima’s bedding ( they still hate each other and refuse to sleep together, which is fine. – for the summer!
So, talk amongst yourselves – I will be back.
Cecilia
PS sent without editing!
The Kitchen's Garden 
52 responses to “Stunning Day!”
I’m sure your way of selling is far better for small grocery stores. Going in and talking without pushing something on them will probably get better results.
I hope the black cow has a good time and comes back blessed!
I love the little grocery stores – there are too many of them here but I have a feeling they will have a resurgence if life changes back to more local ways.
They really came into their own here.
Good morning to you Celi and,our collection of people. I do miss seeing the farm and the goings on. Your blog was part of my normal morning and now nothing is normal old normal anyway! Personally I now work at home as an insurance broker and absolutely love being at home instead of the five. Must less stress and also less negativity as no one is bitching about things as they do in an office environment. So this part of my new normal I love. I worry about catching the virus and passing to my mom who is 92. So I limit as much contact With others as possible so I can visit her and keep her safe. Just a new normal. No travelling far but it is what it is. Have a lovely day wherever you are. Del from Alberta Canada
Thank you Del!! Does an insurance broker Sell? Do you have any tips for me?
Hi Celi, I sell all personal insurance like for house, cars, boats, quads, farms. Anything that is personally owned and used. Tips would be have a great broker that you know and make a relationship with them so you can trust them and they have your back and best interests at heart.
Do you mean like a distributor? Mine are not so hot actually
i would say face to face for selling to these little stores, you have such a winning personality and your warmth shines through so i would think those would be your best tools
Though we all have to wear masks now. So face to face is more -mask to mask! I need some really pretty masks!
Yes!
LOL Celi! While pretty masks would likely help to cheer you up, even the ugliest mask couldn’t cover your obvious love for your product and passion for growing good food; ) so don’t worry about this new turn in the road, ‘cause you’re a Natural!♥️♥️♥️
Lovely to hear from you again. Things sound quite settled on the farm, long may it last. I think your job will be perfect for you. “Meeting” people and being your true self, you will wow them and sell to everyone I’m sure. But, look after yourself and stay well.
Try your luck in Minneapolis/St. Paul–we have a wonderful network of organic coops that are extremely popular. May be worth exploring online. And yes, along with the always-present anxiety, there is tremendous grief about what we’ve lost or are in the process of losing–that sense of childlike care-freeness, our country’s integrity, a kind of democracy, the myth of equal rights, human beings (and animals) that were friends and family, and the health of the earth. It’s a lot. But we can take hope from the thousands of different groups who are working at these issues from different angles with all their might. And those of us who are doing every little thing we can to show compassion, realign our societal values, and demonstrate our human inter-connectedness. That certainly includes YOU! Oh, and remember–you’re selling a great product. That counts!
I find myself becoming annoyed (and maybe a little angry!) with people who keep saying that they are looking forward to getting ‘back to normal.’ Oy! There will not be the same ‘normal’ ever again! I am trying to embrace this new world, but being 66 with asthma and cardiac issues, I don’t go out a lot and see very few people. As for selling, I am not a great sales person unless I am speaking with someone personally, so I think what you are doing, Celie, is a big job that would frustrate me. I don’t like to approach people with something to sell, but if they approach me about something I have for sale, I can sell pretty well! I think you are brave to take this on and I hope you are feeling successful! Our smaller stores herein coastal Maine are really thriving right now; some have been doing deliveries, and most are still doing curbside pickup sales. I think it’s great, and folks seem to be watching out for their neighbors and helping out.
Good Morning. So wonderful to read your words again….and I’m following the Jane’s Mill Baking Group, so I get to read even more of your words !…and a lot of others’. I’m not a bread maker/baker, but I’m itching to try as soon as the Texas weather cools a bit. There is a “boutique” grocery store nearby that I frequent as often as possible, that I can see carrying JM flours….don’t know how to go about asking, but when you’re ready, I’ll approach Linda (owner) or give you her info. As much as I miss the “old” world, I am beginning to embrace this new reality…I never would have had the impetus to try making sourdough bread in the old world ! So glad I’m part of this Farmy ! Stay safe everyone.
Good morning! Lovely to see you pop up in my email feed. You’ve had quite a few changes this past while. I think your disposition will be your best tool in approaching small stores. In our area ‘shop local’ is a big deal. Especially in these Covid times people are very aware of trying to support local farmers and artisans. Perhaps that would be a good argument for people to carry products from your mill. Good luck!
I have no clue about sales, but I wish you the best of luck C. My only idea, besides the small grocers is to try to get the product into quaint little shops that focus on things like kitchen supplies, home goods, even garden markets that sell specialty items like teas, etc. I live in a small town and we have many of those. I think about the products they offer in their shops and bags of Janie’s Mill products would be the perfect fit. The entire state is full of these little places.
Things change, it’s life, and not everything is for the worse. I remember you always worrying about not enough hay, and this year you’re selling some! Personally I think you work too much, but I suppose it can’t be helped. Balance is always the most difficult thing to achieve. I’ve been reading the diary of someone who lived through the German occupation then the civil war in Greece, and I can tell you they had it a lot worse than us. The details are harrowing, and it lasted for years. I do thing the authorities worldwide have mismanaged things, and proved themselves not up to dealing with a crisis, which is scary. However, it is what it is, and we must make the best of it.
Would you please share the names of the books ypur reading? Thanks Maureen
I don’t know if there are any farms in your area selling CSA baskets. There is one out of the Sacramento area here in California and they include flour from a local mill in their baskets. Something to think about if that option is open to you.
Hi Annette, I love this idea and we do have a few – but I need to find more! These have popped up all over the place lately ! Thank you!
I’m in Southern Illinois and there are still various shortages and limits here. We have a number of places here that sell local products. Do you have anything like that in Northern Illinois? Being your in Illinois it would still be considered local down here. I can send you a few links if you’re interested in coming down here. This area is big on local products. We like to know where our food comes from.
I wish I could help in some way, but I’m not much of a sales woman. It’s a tough sell having to wear a mask, but at least your eyes are visible! They are critical. And P.S. Oh I wish you’d photographed your charges–mothers and babies!
Hello… Why don’t you try have a personalised mask printed or embroidered? Here in South Africa my favourite pie shop, the owner’s mask is embroidered “Pie Hole” Something funny and catchy to attract attention… and you are halfway there..
Hi there! I self isolated when I hurried back from Mexico in March. It seemed so strange driving through a subdued landscape. Then I did my 14 days at home. Only going outside to walk my dog. Very lonely time. Thank goodness for video chats! Now in the new normal, very few hugs and only within my bubble. Waiting, waiting. I hope everyone stays well.
Things here haven’t really changed all that much. Mostly having to wear face diapers (masks) when going shopping for anything which doesn’t happen that much in a month. I am no good at sales, I’m the back office type, busy with ordering, keeping the books, doing the other correspondence and so on. There are a couple healthy food stores that we used to send people to when I had my shop, but I don’t know if they’re even still open since so many small stores and businesses have closed and there’s no knowing if they will open again. That is one of the things that bothers me the most with this pandemic, the losses of small businesses and jobs and the hardship it is for those who owned or worked for them. Best of luck and success with the selling, it’s not the easiest thing to do but I think you’ll do well. All the best!!!