September 25, 2015
WoW! What a season. With a spring that started in late January and temperatures in the high 90's for most of the summer months, Western Washington farmers were faced with watering and cooling issues that just aren't usually part of our annual challenges. Who knew I'd be struggling to keep plants cool and wet in the PNW?!
Well, I saw many farms and gardeners take the 2015 growing season by the piping hot horns, and what a bounty it provided! We have seen success with every crop we could keep watered, and though many of our cool weather perennials and nursery stock didn't thrive in the heat, almost all of them survived with our careful nurturing in the new creekside potted plant hideout. Harvest season is busier than ever, as there are not only more options, but more of each option for preserving and marketing. I love to see the pantry shelves fill up, an altar to abundance as well as a sense of security leading into the cool, dormant winter to come.
Here at Coffee Creek, we shared in this beautiful, bountiful season with friends, family, volunteers, and WWOOFers from around the country. Between cob building projects, new hoophouse and expanded gardens, feed business, the introduction of bees and pigs, and the always exciting human dynamics, there were many valuable learning and growing opportunities. I am ever grateful for all of the presence, support, and ingenuity it took to make 2015 an amazing season of growth and expansion!
Posted by Mokey Skinner.
October 26, 2013
With
harvest season upon us and autumn in full swing, I find myself
reflecting on the busy days in the bountiful gardens, the long
nights spent around a bonfire or preserving produce in the kitchen bus, and the challenges
of living close enough to the earth under my feet to be truly affected
by the changing seasons. With each passing day, the list of projects and
preparations is shifting. With each change in the weather, importance
and time frames are re-established and a new list is c...
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Posted by Mokey Skinner.
July 27, 2013
The garlic is harvested! This is a most exciting time, seeing the product of our gardens' winter work piled in the sun, ready to be hung in the Longhouse for curing. Working together in the fields on hot days pulling out the hidden bulbs, it is always a surprise to see which varieties got the biggest, which smell the strongest, and which were most prolific.
I love thinking about all the tasty dishes that will be inspired by this harvest as much as our health will improve from the amazing bene...
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Posted by Mokey Skinner.
July 13, 2013
There is nothing quite like a summer day in the garden- dogs laying in the shade after chasing butterflies with Waylon, the sun on my back as I weed gardens in preparation of the next planting. Watering the plants, myself, and and the nearest person who is least suspecting it...!
Now that the rains have subsided, the plants are shining with the sun. Dark green potato leaves are shading cool and colorful tubers; spiny, curling leaves hide little yellow flowers that are quickly developing into c...
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Posted by Mokey Skinner.
May 23, 2013
Good Morning!
It is chilly and drizzling for butcher day. I started out by taking the puppy, Luna, for a bike ride and making breakfast for the crew, who will emerge from their warm homes at the sounding of the Kitchen Bus bell. We always know there is something good to eat when chiming echos across the field and forest of Coffee Creek!
Our next delivery is this Sunday, the 26th of May. Please be sure to refer to the schedule of dates, times, and locations in the first CSG which is archived on...
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Posted by Mokey Skinner.
November 14, 2012
Aloha! Thank you for sharing in our harvest this year!
Turkeys
and CSA shares are available for pick up (Coffee Creek, afternoon) or
delivery (Tacoma, morning) on Monday, the 19th. The Matrix Coffeehouse
is not open on Mondays, so all Lewis County shares shall be picked up at
Coffee Creek after 3pm. Turkeys are fresh, never frozen, and
can be refrigerated or brined until ready to prepare on Thursday! Even
if you plan to freeze your turkey for later days, we recommend that you
refrigerat...
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Posted by Mokey Skinner.
August 7, 2012
With community comes much communication, and with much communication comes much personal and spiritual development as well as a state of joyous exhaustion. This year has been unlike any before it, and as our community has formed, morphed, grown, shrunk, and cartwheeled through the seasons, the fruits of our labor -both physical and emotional- have sweetened and become increasingly abundant.
My hopes are that our returning shareholders are as pleased with the quantities of produce, and larger ...
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Posted by Mokey Skinner.
September 7, 2011
What a whirlwind this season has become! From the excitement of a growing community to the expansion of our living spaces, we are fueling ourselves on fresh veggies and utilizing the sunny days to the best of our abilities. Coffee Creek Community welcomed Shane Keller and Joe Smith to the farming family and is pleased to have celebrated by exercising our creativity in the building of a hot running water station and a kitchen bus (in the works). We have also broken ground on the first of our f...
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Posted by Mokey Skinner.
July 20, 2011
Late last winter I began to dream of July. While I was not envisioning woolen shirts and slug hunting as much as, say, summer squash and peaches, this is Washington. I should know better. But if July won't warm me up now, at least it did in February! Some crops really enjoy the cooler, wetter days, and for these plants I am ever thankful. Alas the slugs are every bit as eager to enjoy them, so we continue the food fight to the death with our mollusk forest friends. Thank goodness for ducks. W...
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Posted by Mokey Skinner.
