Morning Song Farm News

Quite a bit of ruckus going on in the goat barn this last week as Lulu, our gorgeous, spotted Nigerian goat was on the losing end of a tussle with a rattlesnake. We've had an unusual breed of rattlesnakes out here this year, many just don't rattle. It's like they're just too lazy to bother. Which is a bummer, because it's the distinctive sssshhhhhhh of the rattlesnake that alerts us of their presence. There was a couple years, about a decade ago...when the rattlesnakes on the farm were wildly aggressive; just exploding with rattles and hisses whenever someone came near. Those got thinned out pretty quickly because they alerted predators to their presence. Some locals are saying that the California rattlesnake has bred with other snakes and the current breed of rattlesnake is a hybrid. I'm hoping that's just folklore because a non-rattling, lazy but still venomous snake is pretty bad news. Poor Lulu's face is swollen to the point she doesn't look li...

Well, we have more honey than ever this year and think our mixed-pollination honey is the best sweetener out there. We still only offer our honey to our CSA members or Rare Fruit Farm Tour participants, as we don't ship yet. Here's the thing: it's not illegal to feed bees buckets of high fructose corn syrup, which unfortunately they love. They scoop that stuff right up, as if it's a competing hive's honey, which they view as a resourse. Like stumbling into a gold mine. So an unscrupulous beekeeper can "make" honey in a few days by feeding their hives garbage HFCS and then selling that nonsense as "honey."  I think that might be what's happening with honey coming from some third world countries. It's so cheap, and there's no oversight whatsoever. I think that might explain why honey doesn't taste like honey sometimes. Also, FYI...if your honey doesn't eventually crystallize, it can't be honey. Left on the shelf, pure honey ...

We're excited to see the start of 2015's Mulberry Season. For those who haven't yet tasted the wonders of a Pakistani Mulberry, this fruit is really special! Never disappointingly sour like a blackberry can be some years, the Pakistani Mulberry can even be enjoyed when completely unripe and green. Not that we pick them green, but I have found myself impatient for the ripe versions over the years and was surprised to discover they are totally tasty even green.

I've always been fascinated with the sordid and bloody history of money, banking and lending. The subject is a lot more swashbuckling that you might think. Riding rough-shod over women, children and the desperate wasn't uncommon among money-lenders of yore. Which is perhaps why, historically, money lenders would from time to time find themselves becoming the subject of retaliatory death squads. Here in the United States, up until...I don't know.... yesterday. ....I was under the impression that there were limits...called "usury laws," that reined in the outer limits of mafia-like rates being offered in polite company. Actually, I think the mafia would blush at this offer....Apparently those usury laws have been set aside if the flyer landing in a friend's mail box is any indication. It's the fine print that just astounds. For immediate service the addressee is encouraged to call LoanMe, because the lucky recipient of the flyer is "pre-approved...

Here's the image for yesterday and today's harvest. The blood oranges have colored up nicely with the help of January's frosts. This doesn't happen every year for us, so it's always gratifying to see how amazingly red our Moro's become when Mother Nature cooperates.

So, it's just an ongoing issue out here on our farm. Really, the whole front 4 acres of the property is targeted regularly, by folks that genuinely do not think they are actually stealing when confronted. What is it about Morning Song Farm that otherwise normal looking people think it's "not stealing" when they park their vehicle, get out, swinging their harvest bucket at their side and help themselves to the farm's tree fruits? Someone maybe can help me out here, because it just confounds me. Truly, I remain incredulous.  I just confronted yet another thief...this one with his small child acting as accomplice. Really, you parental idiot? If I was a cat...here's  my face that this gentleman got confronted with...with pleasantries exchanged, to match the face. His response? He didn't "mean" to steal anything. Oh KAY then.........so I asked him, "You didn't MEAN to steal from us? So you ACCIDENTALLY fell out of your car, after parking your...