Afternoon at Johnson's Backyard Garden...

... which is actually a huge organic FARM now. Do you know the story of Johnson's? When we met them, the lived a few blocks down the street from us on Holly. A lot the same size as ours, similar house, and yet... they were using every last inch of their yard space for a garden that supported 20-something CSA members. I was so blown away when I met them and realized that here was a true urban farm right in our neighborhood. Brenton had dreams of bigger and better though and scads of energy to do so (even WITH four children AND a FT job!!) (He's since quit his job and is a full time farmer) (still has the children, though) so they moved out to 20 acres out behind Callahans, which to my mind is still most definitely an urban farm, it only takes me about 10 minutes to drive out there. And we always have SO MUCH FUN when we go. Beth and Brent have Lila, who is, um, uh-oh, I just forgot. Either 8 or 9. Then Drew, 5, Ada, 3, and Jimmy, 1 1/2, so there's a playmate who will match up with almost any age. Beth is so nice and welcoming that she'd probably love to have you out to visit, so if you're interested just email her, or come on out to their Open House on April 19th from 4 pm to dark. Bring a dish to share and your own place settings. More info here. They throw the best parties... the Onion Creek Crawdaddies are playing, and there'll be tons of great food and frolicking under the pecan trees. Last time there was even a barrel roll race! Meaning, one person was IN the barrrel while the other person pushed, and then two by two they all raced... that sounds a little sick-making to me, but Matt (my mate) seemed to enjoy it. He was IN one of the barrels... stout stomach, that one.

Anyway, just a note as to these pictures, apparently an armadillo had been visiting their pecan orchard in the evenings as of late... we went out to visit him and he was surpisingly not very skittish and we all got a really good look at him. Actually he freaked me and Beth out because the kids were ahead of us and went right up beside him and suddenly we realized we had no idea what kind of behavior an armadillo might demonstrate if feeling frightened or threatened... would he eat one of the children? Scratch or bite? This one just calmly waddled away, through the fence onto the neighboring property. Adios, dillo friend!

Get your local food on!

I know, I know, enough with the local foods stuff already! It's such a fad and we're all sick of hearing about it. OK, of course I'm JUST joking but don't worry, I'm not going to start a-lecturin' and a-rantin'... but I just wanted to say that well, for one, teaching this Local Foods class was so frickin' fun it was unbelievable. And the other unbelievable thing was how sweet and welcoming they were at every single place we visited. Busy farmers with a jam-packed plate dropped everything for the most part and were so happy to lead us around and give us the inside scoop. Here in these photos we are visiting an alpaca farm The Old Oaks Ranch in Wimberley, and this fantastic place called the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm at the LBJ State Park outside Johnson City. This place is totally free and I believe they are open 364 days of the year, with volunteers running the farm as it was operated 100 years ago. We also visited Alexander Family Farm (chickens) and Johnson's Backyard Garden (oh delicious vegetables). Oh! And we also visited Kim Lehman, who is a fabulous well known storyteller and beekeeper/enthusiast/educator. Tommorrow we are visiting Simmons Family Farm, heard tell they have baby bunnies, as well as chicks, calves, and lots of vegs.
SO, I just want to say, there are all these fabulous outings out there... so many people out there that are just thrilled to have you come visit their farm and talk to you about their passion. It's really fun and the kids love it. If you're interested, just call around or email and ask...