Bluebird Meadows
of Stevensville, Michigan
Newsletter

March 2005

Sign our Guestbook and get update notices about our Newsletter

Overview	Although you would think winter would be a quiet time for a 20 acre Organic Farm, we just shift gears for other forms of "busy." I have placed my daily journal notes from the farm in an "Owner's Web Log" (see What's New? below). That was a good experience for me to be able to share my experiences with the farm as well as my thoughts on all sorts of subjects. I'm also adding on to our greenhouse to allow growing more plants in the spring as well as dry more sunflower seed heads in the fall. Turning the calendar from February to March is important to me as I feel what winter weather we might be seeing should not last much longer.
ORGANIC Farm	I've currently got 27 flats of seeds growing under lights in my basement greenhouse: 4 lavender, 2 eggplant, 3 rosemary, 16 onion, 2 ornamental sunflower, 1/2 peas (early germination test). I've started the foundation work to add an 8x16ft wing to our greenhouse. A little less snow would help those efforts considerably.
Sunflower Seed Heads	Our dried Sunflower Seed Heads are keeping well in their winter quarters in our greenhouse. We have sold most of our largest seed heads but we still have a few LARGE size left and a good supply of MEDIUM, SMALL, and TINY sizes. Our local birds are eager to take care of any defective or broken seed heads. In SW Michigan we get abundant Lake Effect snow from Lake Michigan. This morning we have about 6" of fresh snow so I put a couple seed heads face up in our covered feeder. The squirrels had the first feeding followed quickly by cardinals, jays, woodpeckers, junkos, and finally those nasty starlings.
What's New?	Owner's Web Log	I have taken my journals from working our 20 Acre Organic Farm and placed them in our Web site. In addition to working the farm, the Web Log (or Blog) has provided me an opportunity to share a paragraph or two about topics that I have been pondering. As an example, wouldn't you like to know about Lima Bean Welfare ?
		When I was doing research on making a Web Log, one article suggested including a "Donations" option. At first it seemed like a strange concept, but the logic goes that some visitors to our Web site may not need any products or services - on the other hand, they may wish to help support our efforts to run our family business and keep our Web site running without advertisements. After some pondering, I went ahead and made a Web page.
		Eye Of The Child I have always been impressed by the drawings and colorings of children. Each time we have filled an order for quilt blocks or note cards made from somebody's children art - I wished the artwork was mine so we could share it with others. I finally decided to buy a box of crayolas and make my own colorings - they way I think a child would see and draw a scene. Although I have just started, I have had a real hoot with the process.
"God's Gifts To Us All" (Author's Perspective)	Chapter 6 - Prelude	I had planned on having a formal TV interview in Chapter 7 but wanted to have an informal setting first that would both recap what had happen so far and outline what was to come. I thought Chapter 6 was a good place to have the first confrontation from an established religion - and felt that it should happen one-on-one rather than in a group setting.
Our Next Shows and Events	April 2,3 - Lansing, MI Haslett Quilt Show 9 - LaPorte, IN Quilt Show 16 - Allegan, MI Quilt Show	May 1 - Opening Day for our Organic Farm Stand. We should have all sorts of tomato and pepper plants as well as herbs and lavender.
Don't Forget Your Discount!	10% Discount On ALL Your Orders! As a Bluebird Meadows Guestbook participant, you are entitled to a 10% discount on ALL your orders from our Web site. On our Shopping Cart where you enter your credit card info, find the DISCOUNT CODE blank and enter: bluebird (lower case letters). The computer should reduce your subtotal on the next screen by 10%
What Else? Comments?	Are there any other topic areas you would like to see in this Newsletter? Any comments? Click this E-MAIL and let me know what's on your mind.
Tell A Friend	We would be pleased to have you tell a friend about our Web site and our Guestbook Newsletter. There's no cost to you or them - you gotta like that!