Welcome
to our Personal Web Pages @ Redbud Farms! It is here that we will tell
Farm and life stories and some of YOUR for our mutual edification and
enjoyment.
"The secret of
life is this: When you hear the sound of the cannons, walk toward them."~~Marcel
France
"As C.S. Lewis
observed, courage is 'not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every
virtue at the testing point.'"
--
Fitzhenry, 1993, p. 111
"Love can walk
through any door." -- Flavia Weedn
"That which
makes each of us unique is also what connects us."
-- Flavia Weedn
Van Dyke Zinnias
@ Redbud Farms is a small, home-based
horticultural business, an enterprise of
LobaTek Incorporated, based near the rural mid-Michigan village of
Stockbridge. Gipson and
Sharon Baller started Van Dyke Zinnias in September 1998.
If I keep a green bough in my heart, the
singing bird will come.
–Chinese Proverb
"Sharing times together is no little thing, for
others help us touch upon our feelings and our dreams." --
Flavia Weedn
The Home Office
"SEEDS 'R US" -- They're in baskets and hutch
drawers all over the house. We'll one day outgrow this arrangement, but
for now, I like the business being close at hand.
"Do all the good you can. By all the means
you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times
you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."
-- John Wesley
Meanwhile, Outside...
Wildflower
bouquet from the wildflower patch @ Redbud Farm
The Ballers and their family operate Redbud Farms on 15 acres. They
started the Flower & Seed Division of their business from a patch of zinnias and
marigolds, a favorite flower combination, planted out near their barn. The farm has over 700 conifer, hardwood, nut
trees, ornamentals and other seedlings growing there. Their favorite,
eastern
Redbud trees, line the circular drive. Several acres are left uncut and a little bit
wildfor the grass-nesting birds, bees, and small animals who also make
their home at the Farm. Lavender was cultivated for the first time during
the 2002 growing season. Sunflowers and Lavender will become increasingly
important product lines.
We dedicate all work on these pages to
our Families, Our Ancestors, for it is because of them -- many of them Farmers
-- that we are here today, and without their wisdom, raw determination &
strength, persistence, love, and greatness of heart, mind, & spirit, we
could not have accomplished these many things. --Sharon & Gipson Baller, March 2000
Il Bacio - The Kiss
"People who
love each other walk together lightly, even over the rough parts of life's long
path."
-- Hallmark Anniversary Card
St. Mark's Lutheran Church, Bell Tower, donated by the
family in honor of David & Marjorie Brown
"Everyone we have ever loved becomes
a part of who we are now. Time never takes the precious things away."
-- Flavia Weedn
(Above:) Marjorie
and John Brown, Sharon's grandparents, her father's people, share a kiss.
The year was 1938. My Aunt Mary Ellen Harmon sent it along to me after the
2001 Brown Family Reunion in Wheeling, West Virginia. She writes,
"Enclosed is the picture I was telling you about. One of my uncles
took it in our back yard. I remember him saying, 'Give her a kiss,
John.' Isn't it sweet! They were lovers first and parents
second. Good parents at that."
(Left below:) Marjorie
and John Brown on their wedding day, early
1900s, in a farm field somewhere in western Pennsylvania, pondering the
seriousness of their decision to live out the rest of their lives
together. They were nineteen years old, so the story goes, when they
secretly married, the same year they graduated from high school. They kept
their secret for one year before telling their families of their union.
(Right below:) Sharon & Gipson Baller
at Quince Cabin, Oglebay Park, Wheeling, WV, October 2000, on their 30th
anniversary. The Ballers followed in the footsteps of their ancestors, both having
Farmers in their backgrounds, just two generations ago. They were eighteen years
old when they married in Wheeling, West Virginia. Today, they enjoy sharing
their farm experiences and opportunities with their children and grandchildren.
"Life is a
carousel of dreams and the tickets to ride are free for the taking."
--
Flavia Weedn
(Our
granddaughters and Future Zinnia Queens, Marilyn & sister Savannah at Marilyn's
6th birthday party)
"Blessed are we
whose lives have been touched by people with generous hearts, for they have
shown us the real meaning of love."
-- Flavia
Weedn
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*News Beams
* from
the Farm!
From time to time, we will offer web-only specials and publish
short stories about the Farm Dogs or the grandkids, and inspirations from life on the Farm in mid-Michigan, the
American heartland. Seasonally, we will write to help Gardeners grow beautiful Zinnias,
learn how to make a stunning
bouquet, or how to collect precious seed when harvest is here. Let us know
if you would like to receive them.
We have moved our web to a new server and resized all photos for faster load
times. As we approach another winter, I hope
you visit us often to see our pretty pictures and read about the simple things
we love most here. Thanks for being a
customer! -Sharon Baller, President
"To see life's
passages through the eyes of your heart is to know that all is happening exactly
as it was meant to." -- Flavia Weedn
(Above:) Marjorie
and John Brown, Sharon's grandparents, her father's people, share a kiss.
The year was 1938. My Aunt Mary Ellen Harmon sent it along to me after the
2001 Brown Family Reunion in Wheeling, West Virginia. She writes,
"Enclosed is the picture I was telling you about. One of my uncles
took it in our back yard. I remember him saying, 'Give her a kiss,
John.' Isn't it sweet! They were lovers first and parents
second. Good parents at that."
