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Re: Visions, value added memories



Greetings to the circle,
About 15 years ago I lived in a small community in NE Washington state. Every
Wednesday morning a couple of farmers from down the road would drive up to our
place of 500 acres and about 30 people of various ages. The man and woman brought
hand-made cheeses, milk, yogurt and best of all, ice cream. We walked 1/4 to 1/2
mile from our homes to the parking lot to receive them.  It was the perfect model
of no trash and great pleasure. Our job was to bring containers to hold what we
purchased, their job was to bring top quality dairy. The kids would come with glee
and excitement, a bowl, a spoon and what change they could muster for their scoops
of ice cream. The ice cream was hand-cranked and was available until the middle of
July when the snow the farmer buried under straw from threshing his grain finally
melted.The cheese aging house was also encased in straw to keep the temperature
even through the seasons. The cheese house was wood-fired. It is a sweet memory
for me and my 2 sons, now grown men. The woman went on to get grade A dairy
certification, (the only wood-fired grade A dairy in Washington at the time) and
become a supplier of excellent hand-crafted cheeses to specialty markets from
Seattle to New York.
I'm glad we were just a bunch of hungry folk in the mountains, we didn't think of
health departments (at that stage) rather we saw resources and needs and put them
together for everyone's benefit. We were given a moment in time where a beautiful
vision saw the light of day.
Best wishes to all of you who grow food out there, may we all find the needs our
resources best fulfill in this coming year.
EagleSong of RavenCroft Garden

Anna M Barnes wrote:

> As long as it is your members picking up their veggies and consuming ice
> cream, then you should be able to operate under the radar of health officials.
> We frequently make homemade ice cream at our potlucks. Nothing quite like
> cranking to occupy kids. Just need to keep an adult on hand or teenager to
> make sure that salt and ice get added occasionally.



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