Genes are not our destiny; they are our potential

Perhaps we all have the narrative in our heads that we are certain ways – smart or dumb, talented in sports or music or not, in line for a heart attack or in line to die in our 90’s, all because of our genetics. And although research shows that we indeed have certain propensities, both lucky and unlucky, the study of epigenetics is all the buzz these days. Defined thus, “the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself.”, a lot of study of late is around potential to beat the odds as it were, of expressing certain diseases or so called negative attributes that we might have inherited. I encourage anyone who is intrigued by this topic to get a copy of Pottenger’s Cats: A Study in Nutrition, a book about Frances Pottenger’s experiments with cats to improve overall health of the family line with excellent nutrition and also decrease their chances through poor nutrition. I like this quote that I ran across this week, because I am all about beating the odds, in all aspects of my life. Moving away from a feeling that I am stuck with this body or this attitude, or this level of intelligence, or musical ability, or what have you, to a realization that my life is in my own hands is quite invigorating. As we enter this time of renewal on Tuesday with the passing of the Solstice, this knowledge is just the ticket as we consider our New Year’s resolutions.

Speaking of the Solstice, Clare is a Solstice Baby.
Click on picture to watch video!

Daughter Ellen’s Annual New Year’s Cleanse
Hello! The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree in the Rawson/Kittredge family. As I’ve been contemplating my new and exciting focus for my upcoming Gentle Winter Cleanse, I recalled a conversation I had with my mom (Julie) a couple years ago. We were discussing the meaning of life, and she promptly said something along the lines of: “To have the healthiest gut microbiome possible so that you can live a long and healthy life and do whatever it is that you love!”
Well, I intend to support people in doing just that in 2022!
If you would like to join me on my upcoming Gentle Winter Cleanse, you’ll have a chance to not only avoid all the toxic and inflammatory foods that might be causing a host of health issues (mental and physical – did you know much anxiety and depression can be directly linked to the gut micro-biome, and/or food sensitivities?), but also learn how, in just 24 hours of eating certain specific foods, you can support the growth of the ” good guys” in your gut, so you can have better immunity, reach an optimum weight, stabilize blood sugar, and correct a host of other imbalances you may be experiencing.
I’ve been offering my gentle 21-day food-based Cleanses for almost 13 years now, so it’s a tried and true program, at a very low cost, which I’d love to have you join if you want to get a handle on better health for 2022!
All the details are here, including what we do and don’t eat, the various bonuses I’m offering with this Cleanse, and the registration/cost. Early bird discount good till Dec. 31st, and save even more when you register with a friend/family member! https://ellenkittredge.com/cleanse.php. Please email me with any questions. (ellen_kittredge@yahoo.com)

Ellen Kittredge, CHC
Evolutionary Wellness
Nutrition Counseling, Energy Healing, Nature Connection
US Cell phone/What’s App: +1 202-577-1940

Job Opening at MHOF
Many Hands Organic Farm is looking for a full-time farmer. We are a certified organic highly diverse family farm in Barre, MA raising vegetables (2 acres), large and small fruit (1 acre), pigs (8 seasonal), chickens for eggs (175) and meat (250-300), and turkeys (100-150). We focus heavily on carbon sequestering methods on our 55 acres of land and prioritize maximum nutrition and biodiversity and stacking of enterprises. We are no/low till. In Barre for now 40 years, we offer a lot of wisdom and perspective to aspiring farmers looking to gain agricultural understanding. You must be physically strong and have a positive and convivial attitude. Duties include animal, vegetable, fruit management, machine and hand work, carpentry, some chain sawing, sometimes leading volunteers, food preservation and making value added products – you name it, we do it. We start at $15/hour and will pay more depending on experience (and hustle) for 40 hours of work each week (Monday – Friday), with a rare need on weekends. Omnivorous meals (breakfast, lunch and morning snacks) are provided. We are looking to hire as early as February 1 and have work through the year, with fewer hours over the winter months. Apply to farm@mhof.net or call 978-355-2853. Check us out at www.mhof.net. Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge

Pre-Order your 2022 CSA Share
Last chance. We are going up next year. Thanks for the continual stream of subscriptions for next year – 17 folks already. Your commitment to our solvency as a family, and more and more a community farm, inspires us to more agricultural aspirational heights..

We are offering pre-orders for 2022 CSA shares now. Put down a full payment, half payment, or a $150 deposit to guarantee your spot in our 2022 CSA. If you order in this calendar year and put down a down payment you can be assured of this price. Order here: https://mhof.net/csa-order-form/

Pork Cuts and stock
We have made our first round of sales for our pork and have a few cuts left over – ground pork, regular style ribs and roasts. These cuts are $11/lb. and are available until they run out at the farm. We are also making stock from our heads, tails, bones and trim. We boil the parts down for about a day in water with salt and vinegar (from our farm). Then we separate the meat and marrow and puree it with the water it was cooked in. We sell the stock frozen in quart plastic containers for $7.50. It is a marvelous and flavorful stock for soups. We also have chicken stock available for the same price.

https://youtu.be/WdoALYxUSis
Jennifer put together this nice YouTube of pork stock making. Please note that it is four pounds of meat per head, not 10, that I don’t always just stand around while Clare does the work, and yes, I know that it is a bad idea to talk into the wind if I want to be heard . . .

Working Shareholders
Thinking about coming out to the farm to volunteer? If you like cold weather, starting with us in the winter can be fun. We are hosting working shareholders on Wednesdays and Fridays 8-12, with breakfast and lunch included. Your pay also includes a dozen eggs. Coming on an irregular basis in winter is quite fine. We are always involved in a variety of adventures, and there is a lot of soup stock, lard, soap and salve making besides our outside work. Enquire.

Farm store hours
M-F – 12-1 pm
Tuesday 5-7
Friday 5-7
Always call ahead to be sure of supply.Available this week

1. Free range organic eggs at $8/dozen – we newly added free choice kelp to their now full farm free range lifestyle.
2. dandelion, holy basil, burdock, yarrow and yellow dock tincture in 2 ounce bottles – $12
3. frozen certified organic applesauce – just the apples cooked down in water – $7/quart
4. 2 ounce jars of comfrey salve – $10 each
5. 2 ounce jars of hemp salve – $10 each
6. garlic powder – $10/2 ounce
7. frozen lard – $20/quart
8. frozen pork stock – $7.50/quart
9. frozen chicken stock – $7.50/quart
10. frozen pork cuts –regular ribs, ground pork and roasts – $11/lb. – supplies waning quickly

Farm Doins

Over the past two weeks we have made in excess of 100 quarts of pork stock, a couple batches of chicken stock with old layers and feet as the base, 50 or so quarts of lard, 2 batches of soap (lavender and peppermint), and a batch of comfrey salve. Outside, we stacked 6 cords of wood for winter, fixed 3 bird houses and parked them for winter, finished taking down one of the two hoop houses that we will take down, picked up about half of our sandbags and stored them on field edges, gathered 6 1 ton totes of leaves (that’s one ton of feed, not of leaves!), and two truckloads of leaves to use as winter mulch for the strawberries. We had a sad chicken story on Friday. We were on the road raking leaves and all of the dogs were there. A woman drove by fast with barking dogs in her car. Dingo went crazy and chased after her, and a chicken who had come up to check for worms under our disturbed leaves ran across the road just in time to get nailed by the car. Franny quickly dispatched her after her fatal wound. Then there was a huge piece of town equipment that came by followed by a school bus, but no other incidents . . .On Thursday and Friday we staged a last ditch effort to finish weeding the strawberries before we dumped the leaves on them. It was actually quite fun to weed on December 16 and 17! We rehung the barn tractor door, and winterized our mowers. So, to answer the interminable questions about ‘what do we really do in the winter?’ the answer is that we make things to eat and put on or in your body, and catch up on all of the work we should have gotten done in the fall. Well, it isn’t really winter yet, I suppose. But stay tuned for our exploits as we enjoy January, February and March on the farm – more relaxed and also full of good exercise for not too many hours in a row.

Gathering leaves in the driveway while Franny and Skippy supervise.