By Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program
Henry David Thoreau once said, “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” Here’s hoping he was right because this week has been a busy one on the farm. We thought it might be fun to write this week’s blog post as an illustrated log of events.
Monday, August 12
2:15 p.m.
Making new friends on the farm is always fun.
It was an unusually cool and rainy summer afternoon when a delegation from Madisonville stopped by the farm to talk about community-sponsored agriculture. The rain stopped and the sun shone brightly as we toured the gardens and shared ideas with each other. We enjoyed seeing our friend Mike with Growing Warriors. He coordinated the visit and is always such a supportive partner in the work. Keep your eyes out for news about the Madisonville community gardening project!
Tuesday, August 13
1:45 p.m.
What a great day!
We were so honored to welcome Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear for a tour of the shelter and farm! Mrs. Beshear is a wonderful advocate for domestic violence survivors in our Commonwealth. Every year in February she organizes a statewide Shop and Share event to collect non-perishable foods and shelter supplies. This annual drive provides much needed resources for our program, and it’s just one of the many ways the First Lady helps domestic violence victims rebuild their lives as survivors.
That same day
1:20 p.m.
Cooking up goodness.
While Mrs. Beshear was touring the farm, Chef Kate and Chef Bryan of Simply Nutritious were cooking up some great dishes for families in our shelter. We couldn’t ask for better volunteer partners! They bring such knowledge and experience to our field-to-table meal efforts. Just like at your home, sometimes our shelter staff and residents need a little inspiration to answer the “what’s for dinner” question. After a visit from Kate and Bryan, we are always inspired! (Kate curates all kinds of great resources on her Pinterest boards. Click here to take a look.)
Wednesday, August 14
7:50 a.m.
The color of summer.
This zinnia doesn’t know it yet, but it’s about to become a beautiful centerpiece for the tables at the Kentucky State Fair Commodities Breakfast on Friday!
Later that afternoon
3:25 p.m.
Well, hello there.
We had another special visitor on the farm! This delicate creature didn’t stay too long. It hitched a ride downtown in the car of our Assistant Director. We like to think it was meeting friends for dinner after a hard day of work on the farm.
A few hours later that same day
5:15 p.m.
Packed up and ready to go.
Our staff and farm stipend participants worked for more than nine hours to cut and arrange 88 beautiful centerpieces for the Commodities Breakfast. The Contemplation Pavilion on the farm provided the perfect workspace for the project, and the cool summer breeze kept all of us in good spirits. This photo was taken just after we loaded up the flowers for the journey to the fairgrounds in Louisville. This was our largest flower order to date!
Still later that evening
7:05 p.m.
Thanks for taking good care of our flowers.
These gentlemen from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture waited patiently for us to arrive at the West Wing of the fairgrounds. We made them pledge to give the flowers plenty of love and care until the big event the next morning. They promised (and even agreed to pose for this photo.)
Thursday, August 15
7 a.m.
photo from @kyproudofficial on Twitter
Our Kentucky-native flowers are on the tables at the Commodities Breakfast. They’re flanked by Kentucky Proud honey and sorghum from Homegrown by Heroes. What a sweet trio! The farm program even got a little media attention thanks to Kristen Branscum from Kentucky Proud. She talks about our flowers in this news interview from the event.
Friday, August 16
4 p.m.
Just a sampling of this week’s share
Jessica loaded up the CSA shares for this week and set up shop at Third Street Stuff for pickups. Our CSA shares cost about $25 a week. They come filled to brim with a generous supply of seasonal produce harvested from the farm. This week’s share included tomatoes, beans, squash, and blackberries. If you’re interested in purchasing a share, send an email to Jessica or call her at 859-519-1902. She’ll add you to the list and explain all of the details.
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