Farmers Market, Pollinator Sanctuary, and... Baby!

Dear Friends and Family,

First and foremost, lets just get it out of the way in case you haven't heard... Steph is growing a new baby! And we're not talking seedlings here. This one is due October 14, and Insha'allah will be born here at home in the yurt on Laughing Linden Farm. We have the same wonderful midwife that delivered Linden, and so far Steph has been feeling really great (for a pregnant lady)!

We have put together a baby registry that can be found at this link:

https://www.babylist.com/Rhodzell-Family

We really don't need a whole lot, since this will be our second child. But what we are really excited about is hiring a local birth photographer to capture the scene during the birth. She comes highly recommended, having been hired by several of our close local friends. You can find a link to her website on our registry.

And speaking of local friends... This year Laughing Linden Farm has a booth at the Thursday Farmers Market in Elberta, MI. We are sharing the stand with our friends from Red Bush Farm, selling an assortment of naturally leavened breads made from organic, Michigan grown and milled, %100 whole wheat flour. One of our best sellers has been our naturally leavened Challah, made with local maple syrup, and Laughing Linden Farm eggs. And for all you locals who are familiar with the history of Pleasanton Bakery, our breads contain the original sourdough mother, which is over 25 years old, and still going strong.

We are also selling incredibly beautiful flower bouquets, as well as other products grown and/or produced on our farm.

Please stop by - we'd love to see you there!

(And by the way... Tomorrow, June 28, we will be performing at the market with our band, Oak in the Heart, between 10am-noon)

In many ways is feels like we've been here our whole lives. We feel so connected to our land, our community, our mission. But what we keep reminding ourselves is that this is actually our first full season of working the land, and building up our farm.

We moved onto the land (in to the barn) on June 1, 2016, and spent that first summer building the yurt, settling in, learning about raising a baby, and oh yeah, prepping and hosting 300+ folks for our wedding.

Last season was going to be our first full year of operation, but my injury set us back.

So this year, 2018, will forever be remember as the year we finally got things rolling.

Our NiftyHoops hoop house has been exceeding expectations, our garden is flourishing, Steph's budding cut flower business is booming, and we've even surprised ourselves with taking unexpected turns, such as our bakery business (we've begun construction on a large outdoor brick/clay oven), and becoming the permanent home for the Save the Honeybee Foundation's Honeybee Sanctuary.

Constructing the foundation for the brick oven

Of course, all our business tie in with each other, and many overlap. The most obvious example being the flower business, and the pollinator sanctuary.

Thanks to the many donations sent to Save the Honeybee Foundation from around the world, we've begun acquiring the necessary equipment for keeping bees, as well as the plants that will act as forage and habitat within the sanctuary.

One of the goals of the sanctuary is to create an environment that is as pristine and free from environmental toxins as possible. With that in mind, we are planning on building 'bee platforms' where the hives can be protected from bears, without the need for electric fencing. Most bee-keepers in bear country use electric fencing, which sends out a vibration that may interfere with the bees natural abilities to communicate and their overall wellbeing. Our raised platforms will be built from locally sourced, rot-resistant, Black Locust lumber, and will also mimic the honeybees preference of living higher off the ground, more in level with the many flowering trees that bees love (and need) most of all.

One of our longer term goals is to clear or partially clear our spruce valley, which will then give us an opening to plant our sacred food and medicine forest, in the center of which will be our geodesic dome medicine and education center, and the heart of the sanctuary.

If you or someone you know are interested in sponsoring this endeavor, please contact us HERE.

And if you are interested in supporting Save the Honeybee Foundation, consider buying THIS ALBUM, by Maz and the Mystic Bee. All proceeds from music sales go directly towards the non-profit, and the mission of building up the sanctuary on Laughing Linden Farm.