Morning Song Farm News

Hi, Today's basket has the first of many avocados, it's a Bacon. Soon we'll begin the Hass avocado harvest. As most of you know, we lost the majority of our avo grove in October's fires, but we still have enough surviving trees to keep our CSA supporters well supplied. Hass is usually released sometime in January. (We can't harvest our avocados until the Avocado Commission says the oil content has reached perfection. Release dates for our Hass is usually mid-January, although I haven't checked on-line, yet.) The weird, kind of ugly root thing in this week's baskets is a parsnip. You have to try it! Last night I peeled a few and baked along with a whole chicken, some potatoes and carrots. These parsnips taste something like sweet potato, with a little sharper spiciness. Make sure they're completely cooked, and as soft as a cooked sweet potato would be. Everything else in the basket this week should be identifiable. There's the last of the fioja guavas...

Hi! Basket deliveries will be skipped on December 25th and December 26th. On Jan. 1. we resume January 2nd, which is a Wednesday.

So many of my fabulous customers and supporters have poured in their concern for Morning Song Farm, and I sure want to take a second to thank everyone. This will be the final fire update, after which I'll go back to my usual once a week publishing. Here's where the farm stands: All buildings safe. It’s clear fire fighters fought hard to save my grove, as 6 inches beyond the grove line is total blackened cinder for probably 500 acres. We lost bigtime in one area: the avocado grove. It looks like the fire whipped up really fast, but not very hot. The trees weren’t burnt to a cinder, just blackened and singed. Most of the 2007 crop is lost on the lower 350 trees, but most if not all may eventually regrow and provide a harvest if I can figure out how to operate the farm business with half the income for 2 years or more, while paying for water, input, labor, etc as they regrow. Also infrastructure is a wipeout in that area. The irrigation pipes and water valves melted . I’m maxing o...

Hi, I climbed into my truck before dawn this morning, and dragged girlfriend Maria Thomas out of her bed to accompany me to Rainbow in hopes of seeing to my livestock's safety and my farm's fate. We were stopped, same as before, at Rainbow Glen Road. This time we were able to take Mission Road, which was open for Rainbow residents East of the 15. Again, CHP professionals were kind and supportive, but firm. No one passes. It was suggested that I get in touch with animal control to see if they'd go up and check on livestock. We hung around with the small crowd of would-be Rainbow Glen Road returnees for a few minutes and were thrilled when animal control happened to stop by. They were very happy to take my farm address and check on my animals. They suggested I return to my evacuated position and wait for a return status call, as they had numerous farms to visit in the little Rainbow Glen Valley. We drove into Fallbrook proper in the hopes of getting a view of the farm from o...

I just got back to San Clemente, here's the news: I left San Clemente at 7:00 and was one of the lucky ones that got through I-5 before it shut down. Took 78 across and 15 north. Got off on Mission in Fallbrook, and was turned back, but advised to try the Rainbow Valley Blvd. exit a few miles north. I did that, and got all the way to Rainbow Glen Road before being turned back. I got out and spoke to the CHP officers blocking Rainbow Glen, and during a lull, one was kind enough to go the 1/2 mile up Rainbow Glen to feed the llamas. I waited anxiously for his return and was relieved to hear the llamas are fine. The bad news is that he said a fire crew was fighting to save the farmhouse when he arrived, and that we'd lost trees around the house and some of the grove. He said it looked like the trees that were lost were avocados, and that the macadamia trees appeared to be safe. Great! The macadamia trees, that are nothing but a public service, are left standing, but the trees that...

Precious little is out there for the worried residents of Fallbrook and Rainbow, but here's what I've gleaned from other blogs: The Rainbow fire as of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night is only 10% contained, is currently burning on Rainbow Glen Road, which is the road Morning Song Farm is on. In this "Rice Canyon" fire, 206 homes, 40 outbuildings, 91 vehicles and an astounding 20,000 avocado trees in 7,500 acres have been consumed by flames. No word about livestock rescue efforts. The near-total news blackout of Rainbow continues to leave us very frightened, but hopeful. Roads are currently shut down for returning evacuees, but if there is anyway I can get into the area to feed, water and check on my animals, I will at daybreak.

There will be no Tuesday baskets today, farm is evacuated, Rainbow Glen Road shut down. There is a mandatory evacuation in place in Fallbrook and Rainbow. Not much news is available for the "Rice Canyon Fire" which includes Rainbow. Animal rescue services were unable to get to our farm to bring our herd of llamas to safety.