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Quail Hill Farm eNews

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September 2008

AT THE COMMON TABLE
Our Grateful Thanks

Many people and businesses contributed to the huge success of the August 16th AT THE COMMON TABLE benefit dinner. They include:

The Benefit Committee... Hilary Leff, event chair, John and Lindsay Landes, Steve Frankel, silent auction chairs, Scott Chaskey, Jennifer Desmond, Judy Freeman, Ronnie Grill, Pam Greene, Linda Lacchia, Susan Malfa, Kathleen Masters, Leigh Merinoff, Geraldine Pluenneke, Alan Sosne, Nick Stephens, Rand Stoll, Veronique Stoll, Jane Umanoff, Jane Weissman

To all who helped before and at the event...  Katie Baldwin, John de Cuevas, Beverly Deak, Jennifer Desmond, Jane Dudine, Devin Foote, Judy Freeman, Jonathan Groffman, Emma Rose Malfa, Andrew Merinoff, Leslie Merinoff, Amanda Merrow, Steve Munshin, Caitlin Palumbo, Liz Searl, Wendy Shuster, Ben Sosne, Jake Sosne, Nicole Spinelli, Ben Stoll, Emilie Stoll, Emilie Woods, Gabrielle Woods AND the Trust's Rebecca Chapman, Yvette DeBow-Salsedo, Pam Greene and Robin Harris

Those who generously donated Silent Auction items...

Artwork: Abby Abrams, Mary Ellen Bartley, Michael Butler, Rowenna Chaskey, Danielle Frankenthal, Gerry Giliberti, Mary Grossman, Amy Chase Gulden, Annette Heller, Daveen Hurley, Janet Jennings, Phil Lehans, Charles Ly, Kate and Jim McMullan, Joanlee Montefusco, Gabriele Raacke, Sam Raffel, Jerry Schwabe, Joyce Silver, Cynthia Sobel, Frank Sofo, Aurelio Torres, Peter Hamilton Travis, Marcie Tucker, Lisa Weston, Carolyn Zapp. 

Wonderful Things: Jonathan Adler, Art Barge, At Home En Provence, Baiting Hollow Golf Club, Julia Barr, Brady Design, Bravo Network, Bridgehampton Florist, Cee Scott Brown, Cate Lewis Jewelry, East End Books, Edible East End, Elegant Setting, Fishers, Fort Pond Native Plants, Judy Freeman, Ina Garten, Hamptons International Film Festival, Hildreths, Home James, Illusions, In Home, Inside Actor's Studio, John Bjornen Interior Design, Sari Kessler, King's Stationery, Lee's Jewelers, LeVain Bakery, Lift Hampton, Loaves and Fishes, Long House Reserve, Magaschoni, Mandala Yoga, Metaphysical Book Store, Morris Studios, NBC Group, Neutrogena, Margaret Parke, Privet Cove, Provisions, Roseanne Pugliese, Rumrunner, Edith Seligson, Kim Seybert, Springs General Store, Steele Antiques, Stevenson Toys, Sheila Sweeney, Sylvester and Co., Top Chef, Turpan, Twist, Yoga Shanti. 

Wine & Liquor: Adi Vineyards, Amagansett Wine and Spirits, Cain Winery, Channing Daughters, Cliff Lede Vineyards, Jennifer Desmond, Domaine Franey, Leigh Merinoff, Miner Family, Sag Harbor Liquors, Martin Scott, Springs Wine and Spirits, Ristow Vineyards, Teira Winery, Wölffer Estate. 

Restaurants: 75 Main, Alison at Maidstone, American Hotel, B. Smith's, Bay Burger, Cherrystones, Citta Nuova, Dave's Grill, The Dock, Duryea's Dock, Eli’s Vinegar Factory, Fish Farm, Fresno, Golden Pear, Mary's Marvelous, Meeting House, Ram's Head Inn, Salivar’s, Saracen, Second House Tavern, Taste, West Lake Clam and Chowder House.

THANK YOU, ALL!

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

The incomparable Quail Hill Farm Crossword (PDF), number 4
created by farm member John de Cuevas.

And, the solution to the mid-July 2008 (number 3) crossword, and since this is our last issue, the solution to the September 2008 puzzle (no peeking).

RECIPES
Recipes from the Recipe Irregulars.
Contributors are: Katie Baldwin, Sigun Coyle, Barbara Dilorenzo, Linda Lacchia, Ursula Lee, Kathy Masters, Sybil Schacht, Laidain Smith, and Jane Weissman.

mid-July 2008

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

The incomparable Quail Hill Farm Crossword (PDF), number 3
created by farm member John de Cuevas.

And, the solution to the Late June 2008 (number 2) crossword.

RECIPES
Recipes from the Recipe Irregulars.
Contributors are: Sigun Coyle, Barbara Dilorenzo, Judy Freeman, Hilary Leff, Kathy Masters, Jane Umanoff, Sybil Schacht, and Jane Weissman.

Nature Notes: Bluebirds of Happiness (continued from eNews)

Our first year started off very good as a pair of Eastern Bluebirds set a nest in one of the boxes near the apple orchard. Unfortunately the female of the pair went missing and the nest was abandoned. Tree Swallows came in and nested in the box.  The next year, 1996, Bluebirds also built a nest in the same box and actually laid some eggs. Again the nest was a failure as the Bluebirds again abandoned the site.  I decided to place two more boxes in the valley this time on the other side.

The following year, 1997, Bluebirds started to build a nest in one of the new boxes.  Unfortunately English House Sparrows came and chased the Bluebirds away.  Now we go to 1998. Bill and I visited Quail Hill farm in late March of that year. I think that we were looking for some leftover Brussels sprouts. We didn’t find the sprouts but we saw a male Bluebird close to one of the boxes in the apple orchard. It was a very beautiful sight. The bird didn’t stay and no nest was built. Bill passed away that April.

From 1998 to 2006 Tree Swallows and House Wrens used the boxes on somewhat of an alternating schedule. No Bluebirds. Then in May of 2007 I found an all grass nest in one of the boxes near the apple orchard. It wasn’t a Tree Swallow nest, they use feathers as a lining, it wasn’t a House Wren, they use sticks. I left it alone. Checking the box in June I found a female Bluebird incubating 4 eggs. Could we have success at last?

In early July the eggs hatched and now there were four Bluebird nestlings in the box. Now the best part, in mid July the nestlings fledged, they could be seen with their parents in the apple orchard. After thirteen years we were successful.

Just as good as this success, the Bluebirds have returned again this year and have already fledged three more young and are presently working on a second brood for this year of four more youngsters.

Down in the Valley: Farm Member and Apprentice News (continued from eNews)

Continued from Melanie Woods, Principal at PS 29 in Cobble Hill:
With the enthusiastic and nurturing guidance of our science teachers and the support of our families, our children have been planting, studying, maintaining and harvesting foods since the spring.  During poetry month children were outside composing poems inspired by their new farm and the lovely creatures that call it home. At a June PS 29 Block Party a spring salad and sautéed broccoli rabe were served to hundreds of eager tasters!  Through our summer enrichment program, in addition to reading, writing and math, children are experiencing a bit of farm life.  This fall we have been selected to participate in the Garden to Cafeteria Pilot Project.  We will collaborate with School Food (NYC Dept. of Education’s catering service) to grow vegetables and herbs that will be featured on the lunch menu as part of NY Harvest for NY Kids Week.

We look forward to expanding our program and we envision hiring a farm manager to help coordinate our efforts.  We will also move to a larger and more permanent location in our schoolyard.  And all this – the birth of a small farm in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn – began with casual conversations in our beloved fields here in Amagansett.   The joy that my own two 14 year old daughters have experienced over the years at Quail Hill Farm, now, in a more humble way, are shared by 700 children on the blacktop of a school yard in New York City.

Continued from Joe O'Grady's Trip Notes:
From that first idyllic day we only ascended higher. After a long desert absence, fluffy white clouds returned to their rightful place bringing out the sky's blue…And the water!  Our cups runnethed over and where there is blue in such abundance there is surely green to follow, and the vegetation did riot 'pon the earth to paraphrase my man Joseph Conrad.  Corn lilies, wild columbine, foxtail pines, aspens (finally deciduous trees in abundance!), ferns, wild onions, lupine (though not as fragrant as in the desert), shooting star flowers, Indian paint brush and countless others.  We've seen heaps of deer (not as odious as the L.I. version), hundreds of marmots and a bear!  I sat down to watch through some trees a young buck with a nice wide rack feeding in Big Dry Meadow…when the biggest, brownest, grizzliest black bear ever seen slid into the meadow.  It was at least 350, probably closer to 400, pounds and a consensus was reached that we probably couldn't take this one in a fight.  Aging Hercules: "I could take a smaller bear."  [Actually] the grizzly bear was hunted to extinction some time ago by the California white man.  Ironically enough, that is indeed a grizzly bear on California's state flag, looking down at them judgmentally like a portrait of one's mother-in-law hanging in the family room.

Noting shrinking funds and high costs of supplies on the trail, Joe offers grateful thanks to anyone wanting to send a care package.  “We go through tons of granola bars, energy bars, power bars, candy bars, bars of all sorts, powdered gatorade mix, DRIED FRUIT, NUTS, granola, cookies, crackers, beef jerky, dehydrated backpacker meals, real bacon bits, tuna in those bags (not canned), and just about anything else.  Please note our estimated times of arrival, and mind that we'll be in town for no more than a day or two.”  Small packages should be addressed as such:

     Joseph & Kevin O'Grady
     c/o General Delivery
     Ashland, OR 97520
       Please Hold for PCT Hiker, ETA: 8/25

Late June 2008

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

The incomparable Quail Hill Farm Crossword (PDF), number 2
created by farm member John de Cuevas.

And, the solution to the June 2008 (number 1) crossword.

RECIPES
Recipes by the Recipe "Irregulars"
Contributors: Sigun Coyle, Susan Cole, Barbara Dilorenzo, Dorothy Dolan, Judy Freeman, Linda Lacchia, Ursula Lee, Hilary Leff, Jerry Pluenneke, Jane Umanoff, as well as past and present farmhands Nikki Conzo and Nicole Spinelli. There are also recipes from three restaurants: Nick & Toni's in East Hampton and dell'Anima and Gottino in Greenwich Village, NYC.

June 2008

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

RECIPES
Recipes by the Recipe "Irregulars"
Contributors: Sigun Coyle, Ursula Lee, Hilary Leff, Linda Lacchia, Kathy Masters, Jerry Pluenneke, and Sybil Schacht.

MEET THE APPRENTICES

Editor’s note:  It’s been a real pleasure and a bit daunting to get to know this year’s apprentices.  What they have done and what they hope to do in the future is nothing short of inspiring.  The following is based on conversations and e-mail correspondence.

AMANDA grew up in Shaftsbury, VT, on what in the 1940s was her great grandfather’s dairy farm.  By her childhood, it was no longer a working farm but there were plenty of horses, ducks, chickens, dogs and cats around.  Graduating from Hamilton College in 2007 with a major in economic and environmental studies, Amanda returned to Costa Rica where she spent her junior year before landing in Amagansett to substitute teach at the elementary school.  Interested in developing-world issues and sustainability, she is eager to apply her experience at Quail Hill to a career working in international social and economic development.  Amanda loves weeding – “it’s so therapeutic” – and she has worked up the chart on the ice box that tracks egg QHF egg production, taking the figures noted from 2007 and adding what she’s noted since March 2008.

DEVIN writes: Last August I graduated from the Lyman Briggs School of Science at Michigan State University where I majored in Environmental Science. As a student I worked two years with the U.S. Forest Service on invasive species control of insects and furthered my in-class studies with my affiliation at Michigan State's Student Organic Farm, a 10-acre, 48 week, 85-member CSA and campus farm stand. While working at the Student Farm I gathered practical hands on knowledge that provided a much needed experiential learning environment. Upon completion of school I took time off to travel through Central America exploring International Agriculture. After meeting Scott this past winter I sought out an experience at Quail Hill, hoping to work side-by-side with him and try to absorb his years of experience in one season at Quail Hill (wish me luck!). My favorite vegetable: tomato.   

KATIE writes: I grew up in the Texas Hill Country and I attended the University of Southern California receiving my B.A. in International Relations. After graduation I worked for several years at the Council on Foreign Relations, a foreign policy think tank in NYC. I decided to leave the Ivory Tower desk job researching hunger issues for a more tangible "get your hands in the dirt" kind of experience. I worked for a season at an organic strawberry farm in Southern California leading farm tours and teaching children about nutrition and where their food comes from.  I was learning a lot about organic food and farming practices, but I was not actually growing the food.  I read Scott's book and learned of the apprentice program at QHF and here I am!  I hope to use the knowledge and skills I learn at QHF to start my own organic farm and restaurant (food supplied by the farm). I would also like to start a non-profit organization called the Center for Arts, Food, and the Environment (CAFE) in NYC that supports projects and initiatives of young artists, farmers, and environmentalists.

NICOLE comes to Quail Hill from a five-year stint with the Suffolk Country Social and Water Conservation District.  Working with land owners and farmers to implement conservation practices, she wanted more hands-on every day experience beyond surveying and designing systems.  A 2000 graduate of Leheigh University with a major in environmental science, she is fulfilling her desire to be “more active” and loves transplanting the seedlings, “the beginning of it all.”  In addition to fieldwork, she is Quail Hill’s market manager, responsible for the farm’s participation in the Saturday Sag Harbor farmer’s market and restaurant sales. Throughout school and beyond, Nicole worked in an Italian bakery – at the counter and in the kitchen – and she promises to provide a recipe for Rhubarb Coffee Cake.

WENDY writes: I’m a painter and teacher of the same, and I’ve directed my studio school for over 15 years in the Hudson Valley and Brooklyn.  Since I was a child, every year I’ve grown vegetables and flowers in gardens of my own. This last year became even more interesting when I cultivated a plot in a community garden. I’ve participated in a CSA for five years.  During the last decade, I’ve become increasingly educated and excited about food, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, organic and biodynamic farming, and local food campaigns.  I’m passionate about expanding my participation in sustainable and healthy farming. It feels like an important creative and political act.  I’m motivated by a deep desire to be in close contact with the earth and to feel more intimately the rich interrelationships that make growth possible and to explore more deeply the sensitivity and gifts of plants.  I see many parallels between the process of art-making and the way of food-growing.  At the farm, in addition to the work in the greenhouses and fields with the rest of the crew, I am managing off-site garden projects, some member and volunteer activities, and what I hope will be the first summer film series on the farm!

NOTES FROM FAR AFIELD: JOE O'GRADY
From Joe’s marvelous, funny, literary letters:   "We have also met dozens and dozens of hikers in the past week and in general they are a passably agreeable sampling of our species.  However, I am disappointed at the lack of praise and respect vouchsafed me in light of my recent farming life. I would have thought that back to nature hippie types would heed the words of the great American Daniel Webster, who said "Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man.  When tillage begins, other arts will follow. The farmers therefore are the founders of civilization". (May 15)  The Trail continues to amaze with its diversity, only now we are no longer fighting it; after 369.5 miles the metamorphosis is complete and we are living our days deliberately. [The trail is 2650 miles long.] …Other notable events on this leg included a random, vicious assault by mosquitoes, a massive gopher snake at the hot springs, several rattlesnakes on the trail, an early morning meeting with a coyote pup, delectable stretches of fragrant lupine, and a creekside patch of mint that along with honey added much needed flavor to my water." (May 23).  
If you would like to get Joe's news directly, write him at jeo2@aol.com