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The Farm Sleeps in Winter
"The night sky opens to let
snowflakes fall, showering us in the magic of winter's beauty." --
Flavia Weedn
"Even in the
darkest storm, there are millions of stars smiling down upon you and offering
their blessings." -- Flavia Weedn
ORDER ZINNIAS NOW!
The Farm sleeps in winter as the Earth rests. This rest is necessary
for renewal over the many seasons. Modern people have forgotten and fail
to respect this need for respite, reflection, and refueling. Many of
today's miseries might be tamed if we would remember to take a rest. At
the Farm, we use winter to strategize for the upcoming year, to rethink
marketing plans, to package seed, and to order new seed stock to strengthen our
own lines. The pace is a lot slower and easier. Being inside, we
enjoy the quiet and the company of our dogs, old friends who drop by, and the
family.
Winter comes
wild to Michigan! It's partly why we love it so much here. Michigan
does nothing halfway. Before Christmas this year, I bought a flag banner that said, "Let it
snow!" And it DID!
(Above) Statice grows wild around The
Pit at the Farm. On Christmas Day, 2000, we caught the sun just right,
after Mother Nature had sent Jack Frost ahead to paint bush and blade in every
field. The tiny crystalline dried flowers were breath-taking!
(Below) The Big Garden and dead zinnia rows remind us of another day in summer,
when the landscape looked VERY different!
Meanwhile, the satellite dish points silently to the southwest, where invisible signals beam information to
this modern small farm from points all over the earth. The Weather Channel
brings invaluable foreknowledge of problems, or the good news of rain and
sunshine.
Christmas Day 2000. "...Not a
creature was stirring, not even a mouse..."
Prairie grass
blows in waves during the summer, while winter brings fierce winds, ice and
snow. Across the plains, the snow, left unbroken by the wind, drifts into
sculptures reminding me of ocean waves! When the sun's just right and the
light nearly perfect, winter can seem a most passionate and enchanting
season. It's hard for us to imagine the Native Americans
spending northern Michigan winters on the Plains, exposed to the elements.
(Above) the sun catches in the lens of
the camera. It's Christmas Day 2000. A little later in the
afternoon, Gip goes out to make sure the old Ford will start up despite the
bitter temperatures. (Below) the
craft table at a local Christmas craft show. After the hard work of harvest, the holiday
craft shows are our first opportunity to sell some of the fine seed we gathered
during the season. The first photo is "Mickey's Table" at a
holiday craft show around Perry; the bottom photo is the spring show at Morrice
High School, always one of my favorites! These shows were a good way
to get our name around locally.
In winter, now as in days of old, the
family gathers inside where it's warm and cozy, to make crafts to sell at the spring craft shows or
to just spend long hours together waiting for spring to return. Sometimes we
bake warm casseroles and spend the weekend evenings playing board games, Clue,
Monopoly, and Attack Uno. Floral and
seeds are the craft basket themes if we're feeling creative. Easter Baskets make great container
gifts! Notice the craft table with floral craft items for sale at one of the
spring Craft Shows at Morrice High School, Morrice, MI.
Ya'll come back now,
hear?
Whether you take the
Virtual Farm Tour
or the Real
One, we hope you enjoy your visit to
Van
Dyke Zinnias @ Redbud Farms! We strive to make each visit unique
and memorable. Sit back and enjoy your visit, and write us if you have any
questions! Thanks for stopping!
Subscribe or Unsubscribe HERE to our
*
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
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