Summer is moving right along, and the pace seems to be keeping up with the frequency of thunderstorms these days:) We had the pleasure of hosting a wedding celebration for our friends Aidan and Dave. Aidan worked with us here at Reber Rock Farm for three seasons and she met Dave, now her husband, while living in our basement apartment and working with us.
Aidan is an incredible woman full of spice, wisdom and heart. Never afraid to forge her own path, she left home at 16 to pursue her passion of food and farming, which brought her to our town. By the time she came to Reber Rock Farm she was a seasoned butcher and studying at night to first be an EMT and then to be a midwife.
Aidan met Dave while he was working at Essex Farm down the road and he quickly won over the whole family. We were sad to see Aidan and Dave pack up their belongings and move to Wheeling, WV. A few years later they approached Racey and I to see if we would consider hosting their upcoming wedding. Racey and I had been considering the idea of hosting events and bringing people onto the farm to continue our work as farmers and educators.
Aidan and Dave were clear they wanted to put the wedding on themselves, saving money and spending time wherever possible. So off to the adventure of wedding hosts we went.
What a weekend it was. The weather cooperated, and the thunderstorms held off until we were all fed and dancing in the tent on the day of the ceremony. Aidan and Dave crafted a beautiful circle of spirituality, grace, music, love and honesty in a mowed patch of our back field. Ringed in a stunning display of wildflowers in bloom in our pastures, we all sat encircling Aidan and Dave while friends and family shared stories and blessings.
Admittedly hosting a wedding was more effort than I initially thought or planned for, though Racey did her best to convince me it was worth the significant effort. Racey and I learned many valuable insights into the world of hosting events. Perhaps most importantly we learned what it felt like to work together outside of the farming business. We have been farming together in various iterations for more than a decade now, and those years have forged some strong patterns and beliefs, some of which can cause friction between us.
Working on this new project together we found a fresh perspective on each other’s strengths and how we compliment each other. Perhaps one of the most valuable nuggets of the weekend.
We are so proud to share the beauty of this land with others and build on that beauty to also share our mission of food and health. We love to share what we do in the form of delicious and nutritious food and to feel and see the beauty of the land and animals we care for. Thank you Aidan and Dave for a beautiful weekend. Congratulations on putting together such a genuine celebration of your love and friendship, and may health and strength accompany you in your next chapter together.
Update on Pigs
Our group of pigs on pasture have been enjoying the frequent rains to keep their mud wallows moist and the ground soft enough to root. During a dry summer, the ground gets so hard they cannot root in the pastures and we will intentionally water part of the pasture so they can root.
We work hard to keep all our products in stock so they are available for purchase when our customers want them. My forecasting abilities are as good as a mediocre weatherman and this year we have the compounding issue that one of our piglet suppliers just stopped returning our calls the week before they were supposed to deliver our summer load of piglets.
All this to say I am anticipating running out of some pork products before we’re able to get some back in stock. We try to give our newsletter subscribers some advanced notice so they can stock up before we run out.
For our Farmer’s Market customers, this is also a great time to place your first online order and fill your freezer.
We are running low on most of our popular pork products like No-Nitrate Bacon, all sausage flavors (including our new and popular Pork Hot Dogs), and some products like chorizo and pork chops have already run out. Our next processing date is at the beginning of September, so that should mean we have most items back in stock by the beginning of October.
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