Quiet Creek Corner —  E. T. Phone Home

One of Rusty’s favorite memories visiting the 1965 World’s Fair is the future phone featured in New York City.  He recalls the Buck Roger’s technology where the two participants see and talk to each other on a large television screen.  Back then computers, blackberries, and Skype were unimaginable; the thought of communicating “in person” seemed impossible.

Fast forward twenty-some years, Rusty was looking for a pay phone in Washington DC to call his sister.  A friend handed him his gym bag and said “use my phone.”  Farmer boy from the backwoods of Pennsylvania still tells this story with amused amazement, “you won’t believe what I am calling from, Marilyn.”  That same awe is expressed by our boys regarding cell phones; they are accustomed to wired home phones.

The cell phone is as ubiquitous as tennis shoes.  Not only has it reached developing countries as Rusty and Walker witnessed in the Jamaican mountains, but it has transcended all generations.  Our octogenarian mothers love being equipped with cell phones.  They find the security needed in an emergency plus the convenience of making a call to celebrate the New Year justify their technological dependence.  The younger generation tends to use them constantly – texting or talking while tasking on additional responsibilities.

Let’s continue to teach all the beauty of eye contact, the thrill of face to face discussions, the reward of completing a single task without interruption, the intimacy of a family game night, and a hike outdoors toting only a water bottle.  Such experiences could be as novel as letting E. T. phone home about earthlings enjoying simple pleasures.

Blizzard of 2010 - When Claire announced she had a “Restoring Our Community” conference in Washington DC, Rusty and the boys volunteered to drive her south and see the historical sights.   Having a concrete sequential personality, she had the boys list their interests and research tours and make appointments to insure the time would be meaningful.

Senator Specter offered the White House and Congressman Thompson came through with a tour of the Capitol.  The Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit topped the boys’ interest since studying China’s history, as well as the Air & Space, Art, and Natural History Smithsonian Museums.

Luggage, coolers, and books were packed when news flash -- DC received thirty inches of snow.  A conversation with reservationist Erika confirmed that the snow was over, the roads were clear, and the conference center was ready for us.

We set out stopping only briefly at the end of our driveway to ask God’s blessing on our exciting adventure.  All was clear in Pennsylvania, but it soon became evident that Erika must walk to work.  The roads leading into DC were a foot thick with slush, snow and ice.  Accidents and abandoned cars were as common as front end loaders and dump trucks loading snow, while Map quest directions were as horrific as Rusty’s hasty wrong turns.  After seeing all sides of the Pentagon on five different passings, he decided driving in the city may be the cause of the high urban homicide rate.

The hotel appeared before any murder occurred; bed never felt so good.  We arose rested ready to take on a new day.  Claire headed to class and the boys ventured out.  They boarded the National Geographic shuttle to view the warriors that surrounded the tomb of China’s fiercest emperor. As it turned out,  this was the only sight open in the paralyzed city.  With all government shut down, they hiked the rest of the day to view various memorials from afar.  The snow was knee deep and no amount of walking warmed the boys’ frozen toes.

The next day was similar, except the White House was open for tours.  We jumped on the Metro and jogged down Independence Avenue; we were on the fast track to see the President.  With moments to spare we arrived out of breath to be checked off on the security clearance.  Discovering that backpacks were prohibited, Rusty volunteered to wait outside until his family returned for his opportunity.  Michele Obama’s “Let’s Move” press conference closed the doors early, but Rusty enjoyed watching the VIPs arrive at the gate.

Our remaining time at the hotel was spent with 2000 conventioneers attending sessions on building positive opportunities for youth, exploring the tropical rain forest in the hotel’s massive atrium, and watching Michael Moore’s latest movie– Capitalism:  America’s Love Affair.

The boys loved the trip but diplomatically suggested visiting in the summer next time.

Providing for a Livable Tomorrow - For the past twelve years we have treated the winter blues with a special treat:  a trip to Pennsylvania’s Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) annual conference in State College.  Most years we report out after the event; to be proactive we are offering this opportunity early on inviting all of you to join us!           

This year’s conference titled “The Sustainable Challenge:  Providing for a Livable Tomorrow” promises to be the best PASA event yet.   Do you have children or teens?  Bring them along February 4-6, 2010; PASA School is a huge hit.

Plan to recharge your batteries with sustainable living workshops, meals, trade show, and entertainment.  The preconference will give you a full day in topics, for example, Green Living for Teens, Pastured Poultry, and High Tunnel Production concluding with dancing and networking.  The next two days offers sixty workshops including building a cheese cave, lacto-fermentation, composting, raising rabbits, growing ginseng, root cellar storage, and nutritional alchemy of plant bio-diversity.

The keynote speakers are topnotch.  Michael Reynolds, the designer of the Earthship, will open up the conference Friday morning.  Later that evening his documentary, Garbage Warrior, will feature sustainable housing techniques.  The closing speaker, Lisa Hamilton, a photographic journalist will share her farming, ranching, butchering, and baking stories.

Each day you may start in a knitting circle, yoga class or auction -- all will entice you to value local products, services, and artwork while benefiting the lifeblood of sustainable farmers, consumers, educators, and chefs.   Plan ahead to purchase meal tickets with locally-grown food prepared by Pennsylvanian chefs; the culinary creations are incredible.

We are proud to be lifetime members of an organization with organization. Hundreds of committed hours of preparation await you as you pilgrimage to this sustainable Mecca.   Check out www.pasafarming.org; we’ll see you there.

Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer in the Floor  - As a tea totaller since birth, Rusty isn’t known to “slam down the brew.”  Humbly he lives by the mantra “you can’t take your second drink, if you don’t take your first.”  However since Thanksgiving, he has been frequenting the bar weekly and dreaming of empty beer bottles nightly.

 His obsession coincides with Quiet Creek’s latest construction project – a yurt.  This Mongolian tent structure will be used as a classroom and bunk space for our valued students and interns.  Typically, the nomads move a yurt from place to place so the floor is built on a plywood platform elevated by poles.  After much research, Rusty and the crew decided Quiet Creek’s yurt floor should be much earthier, literally.

First they leveled the ground, dug a rubble trench, encircled it with gravel bags, capped it with mortar and slate, and then placed the lattice yurt walls on top.  The thirty foot diameter donut was then filled with shale and packed down with Jimmy’s tamper leveling to six inches from the top of the ring.  Next the earthen floor crew placed a thin layer of sand, ready for beer bottles. The bottles (filled with air and not beer) will offer four inches of insulation to the floor.  This thermal break will keep the cold temperature from migrating into the learning space of the yurt.

The work crew was excited about this thermodynamic discovery, but where would the beer bottles come from to complete the project?  A few volunteers pledged to help with this dilemma. Thankfully, once we realized we needed 5000 beer bottles, we met John from William’s Sanitation Company.  He offered his stockpile of bottles from his Punxsutawney recycling pick-up.  When we tapped that resource dry, we discovered the Hourglass Bar.  The owners, Tracey and Bud Miller, willingly saved their “empties” for us.

The “green” generosity of these two businesses resulted in a glistening glass sphere too pretty to cover up.  Sadly, we found treading on glass falls just short of walking on eggshells, so we have begun the process of packing in the bottles with sand.

This spring we’ll finish the earthen floor with clay and sand once it is warm enough to mix it up with our bare feet and apply it by hand trowels.  Then a layer of linseed oil and beeswax will make it as tough as linoleum.   We’ll leave a small window in the floor to remind us of Rusty’s addiction and the friends that helped make this unique recycling project come to life.

Snow Much Fun - Darlene, our diligent rural mail carrier, delivered a box of seeds yesterday and commented on our extravagant ice sculpture. In her travels throughout the county, she rarely sees kids out playing during the winter months.

How refreshing to see Ashton with his new friend, Stowe, building a six-foot snow dude with a Mohawk and hear about Walker’s Boy Scout challenges from Polar Bear Camp. Winter activity is especially beneficial to combat the doldrums attributed to low sunlight levels. Racing down slopes on sleds, tubes, and snowboards here or Camp Mountain Run creates life time memories with rosy red checks.

Our boys lose track of time and temperature when they are careening down “the Rib cracker.”  This appropriately named hill includes bumps and stumps.  The ice-filled pavilion makes way for ice-skating ventures and the open fields are always available for snow angels.

This Sunday, January 24 from 2 to 6 p.m. we welcome you and your family to join us for Quiet Creek’s annual snow party.  Bring your warm clothing and a healthy snack to share.   If there is more mud than snow, we’ll play board games in the barn.  The focus of the day is to enjoy community with good old-fashion fun.
Hope to see you soon; if not here, then in your own yard forming snow art and ramps.

Please, No Peeled Grapes  - We tend to eat our fruits, vegetables, grains and meats fully clothed.  How about you?

Whole foods grown or raised in healthy soil, air and water are void of synthetic chemical pesticides and herbicides.  Fruits, vegetables and grains guarantee a nutritious snack full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber which is slowly absorbed into the digestive system. The chicken and fish skins are full of Omega-3s. Omega-3s are essential to the human diet and will reduce inflammation and depression. 

For years now, we’ve been canning pears in plain water by coring and slicing them without removing their skins.  The result is a golden sweet treat enjoyed all winter long. When pears are cooked down with apples, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries and pureed into fruit sauce, it is full of pulpy flesh and fiber rich skins.

As for pared vegetables, we find them better eaten fully dressed.  Beets, carrots, and turnips (raw or canned) are simply delicious with their skins left on.  Non-peeled potatoes – fried, baked, and mashed are even considered trendy in gourmet restaurants. If you have any of these left-over veggies, merely throw them into a blender and add the puree to soup.

Quiet Creek’s whole grain bread and pizza shells have a mighty crust.  It tends be chewy and flavorful.  The same is true for brown rice, millet, quinoa, barley, and steel-cut oats.    

We always invite our dining guests to enjoy the skin from our free-range chicken and wild caught salmon. 

When it comes to fully clothed food, some folks accept our invitation and some politely say “no thank you.” We never judge what folks want to eat. Our goal is to keep clothing on our food, not because we are prudish. We simply want humankind to appreciate a hardy meal full of God’s gifts. Maybe you too become a little shy around prepackaged, crust-less peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made with peeled grapes?

Eating Out   Recently we were introduced to a gastronomical guide called Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America.  It is a Peterson field guide that promises to please our palate for years to come.

There are hundreds of misplaced plants growing at Quiet Creek that have been under utilized.  Based upon the book, we now are broadening our horizons of wild treats to include spruce pitch chewing gum and wild ginger root candy. 

Many roots, nuts, tubers, bark, and pollen yield many delicacies.  We’ve been a big fan of elder flower fritters for years, but now we’re eager to try black locust flowers.  In addition, young pickled marshmallow flowers sound like an appetizing substitute for capers.

Using various plant species has many benefits.  It is a free source of locally-grown, organic food and medicine which mentally and physically empowers the collector.  For example, our boys gain a huge sense of freedom and self-reliance knowing the plants they harvest will nourish and cure them.

Lee Peterson, the author of this field guide and the son of Roger Tory Peterson, shares that foraging for wild edibles will give a feel of natural cycles and the flow of energy.  Searching for wild food increases our awareness of the climatic seasons and how plants store their nutrients.  In spring and summer a wild crafter searches for leafy shoots for green salads and in the fall -- seeds, fruits, and nuts.  The best time to harvest plant roots is after a heavy frost. 

If we are willing to try something new, there are treats to be had from the wild.  It is exciting to explore these free gifts from God, especially with young students.  So grab a reliable field guide, step outside the (cereal) box, and discover the delectable delights for an outdoor dining experience. 

No Contra indications - Traditionally Quiet Creek has hosted a summer square dance each year.  The evenings have ended with our faces sore from smiling ear to ear.  This year’s dance event promises to be even more face wrenching; we are having a contra dance.

Contra dancing utilizes Celtic, jazz, blues, old time, jigs, and reels to appeal to all ages.  This English country dancing was popular during the seventeenth century and the French called it contredans with means opposite dance. 

Partners stand in parallel lines opposite each other while a caller and live band set the night in motion.  The partners interact in a set of four, but over the course of the dance each partner moves up and down the line dancing with other partners and other sets. 

Contra has been described as “an amusement park ride we make ourselves” and “where else can you be thrust into a different person’s arms every thirty seconds?”  There is no fancy foot work involved as with other line dances, no affiliation with Oliver North and the Nicaraguans, and no medical contraindications unless your doctor doesn’t want you to raise your heart beat. 

Early in our marriage we have enjoyed contra dances from New England to the Pacific Northwest.  Now is the time to introduce this fun activity to our Quiet Creek family.  We encourage you to put on some tennis shoes and come stretch your face muscles this Saturday night, Aug 1, 7-10 p.m. 

It All Started When  . . .  Rusty loves to tell the story of Quiet Creek’s first and only employees.  It started thirteen seasons ago when we were inspired by five thirteen-year-olds who helped us establish Quiet Creek’s mission. 

They were Ben, Heidi, Jason, Jeff, and Ryan – Claire’s eighth grade students from her first year of teaching at Brookville High.  These fine young people “wanted to work at Mrs. Orner’s herb farm.”  As a mismatch of shy, mischievous, studious, and outgoing personalities, this five-some arrived wearing baggy pants, shorts, overalls, t-shirts and a few with skateboards in hand. 

That summer we paid them minimum wage and threw in an extra quarter for every bucket of weeds they filled.  It was definitely hard work, planting and weeding five hundred strawberry plants while shoveling soil to create a spiral of Echinacea in raised beds.  After ten days off for vacation, two of the young men, Jason and Ryan, returned saying “Wow, those German Johnson tomatoes really grew.”

We were so excited that summer.  Not only had the willing workers noticed a change in the garden, but they remembered the name of the heirloom crop they had planted.  In addition, we discovered how important kids (and adults) need and want to take ownership in a meaningful project. 

Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living was truly birthed that summer by five teenagers struggling to understand their adolescence while digging, weeding, planting, and watching the growth of baby plants on an organic herb farm. 

Imagine our excitement this spring when one of the original five contacted us to complete his college internship here.  Ryan has been a blessing to us all summer with his easy going attitude and encouragement to the other members of the Quiet Creek volunteer crew.   Then to add to our pleasure, Jason stopped by this week while home from Louisiana.  A few years back, Heidi invited us to her special wedding day. 

To share memories and to plan new adventures with these three has brought tears to Claire’s eyes.  They are fine people now grounded in sustainable living and they were the first to help us put our dream into action –to nurture ecological thinking.  

Thank you Ryan, Jason and Heidi; let’s get together more often and invite Jeff and Ben next time.  

Love Triangle - The Quiet Creek crew has been spending every free moment in God’s creation hunting mushrooms.  Our favorite finds are golden orange chanterelles, tasty black trumpets, and prolific chicken-of-the-woods.  Yesterday we spied the bright red (non-edible) Russula.  The crispy red caps are easy to spot; Walker and friend August refer to them as smurf houses.  Neighboring the Russula was Ashton’s favorite treasure, the Indian pipe.

Scientifically, Monotropa uniflora is commonly referred to the ghost or corpse plant because of pale grey appearance and drooping flower.  The American Indian used the six to eight inch flowering plants with roots to treat warts, inflamed eyes, restlessness and pain.  The single flower is pollinated by bumblebees and produces thousands of microscopic seeds distinctly composed of ten cells each.  The seeds are dispersed by the wind.

Since Indian pipes are non-photosynthesizing; they depend indirectly on trees and mushrooms to obtain their food.  This is done in a clever, round-about, three-way love affair.  

Chlorophyll-rich trees, such as oaks and maples, surrounding the Indian pipe produce sugar as they chemically interact with the sun.  Some of this sugar is then traded for minerals and water from the Russula mushroom which grows near the roots of the trees.  The parasitic Indian pipe then steals some of that sugar from the Russula to feed itself. 

Lee Peterson, the author of this field guide and the son of Roger Tory Peterson, shares that foraging for wild edibles will give a feel of natural cycles and the flow of energy.  Searching for wild food increases our awareness of the climatic seasons and how plants store their nutrients.  In spring and summer a wild crafter searches for leafy shoots for green salads and in the fall -- seeds, fruits, and nuts.  The best time to harvest plant roots is after a heavy frost. 

Goodness Snakes - A few members of the Quiet Creek crew are over six feet; some of them don’t see eye to eye.  Specifically, Rusty and intern Ryan don’t particularly care for “Bert,” although they sure do respect her. 

This affectionate name, coined by apprentice Kevin, is our resident black rat snake, Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta.  Bert and his mate Ernie, who is only five feet long, show up in the strangest places. 

They set up housekeeping in the dead sugar maple behind the honeybee hive a month ago.  There they were spotted stretched out on a limb collecting solar rays for a few days.  Following that rendezvous, they snuggled into a big black ball nestled high in a large knot hole of the same tree. 

Bert made her acting debut during theatre camp by climbing twenty feet straight up a hemlock tree while twenty-five youngsters played underneath her on the tire swing.  An adult observer was amazed and pleased that these children showed no fear of  the climbing serpent.

Ryan admits he’ll squeal like a pig, if he is surprised by a snake; Rusty agrees.  The entire crew, with our boys at the forefront, help educate visitors on the benefits of our big black buddies and their smaller slithering allies. 

Bert and Ernie have cleaned out the chipmunks inhabiting the rock wall and a nest of starlings in our family tree.  They left their skins on the stone ledge in the basement no doubtedly taking care of any unwanted rodents. 

The garter snake, a much smaller cousin found in the worm bin, is a great insect eater as well as a consumer of slugs and worms.  Milk snakes, a bit larger than the harmless garters, are the true constrictors that help keep down the mouse and vole population in the compost piles. 

To mimic snakes, Stephen our summer student worker, hung black pipe in and around the blueberry bushes in hopes that the hungry robins will give the “snakes” a wide berth, just as Ryan and Rusty do. 

In speaking for the majority of the Quiet Creek crew, we welcome all slithering reptiles to the farm and will continue to encourage the uncomfortable with fascinating sightings. 

Get Thee to a Crepery — Our friend Pearl worked at a crepery in Vermont called the Skinny Pancake. They served many a sauce, savory and sweet, in and on, thin French pancakes. On the same note, one of Rusty’s favorite meals to fix and eat is a crepe filled with chicken, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese smothered in a cream sauce. These delicacies are rich, filling, exotic and time consuming to prepare. 

A few months ago, we met with a young couple interested in having their wedding rehearsal dinner here in the Quiet Creek herb garden. Many locally-grown entrée items were presented as possibilities for the upcoming meal. The soon-to-be newlyweds stewed over vegetable lasagna and chicken salad, but nothing quite sparked their taste buds. Rusty foolishly suggested his chicken crepes. The bride-to-be eagerly bit on his ambitious task and tightened plans for the remaining menu with Claire. 

The evening began at the earthen oven with ninety-second pizza appetizers topped with fresh basil. Iced lemon verbena sweetened with stevia quenched their thirst after a stroll through the garden vibrant with pinks and blue salvia. Next guests found a dish of pickled and fermented vegetables resting under the kiwi arbor. Once seated, the wedding party enjoyed fresh salad greens topped with sugar peas and pansies with a balsamic vinaigrette and/or Quiet Creek ranch dressing. The segue was set for the piece de resistance – Chicken Crepes ala Rusty. He added extra flavor and color with morel mushrooms and spinach. As the last touch, the raspberry strawberry ice cream ended the crystal clear and stress free evening elegantly.

A day before the extravagant meal, Rusty found his culinary role  didn’t quite flow as smoothly. Once he consulted Food for Fifty cook book and realized the crepe batter needed to chill overnight. Seeing that he was half a dozen shy of a gross of eggs, Rusty called sister Melora who delivered neighbor Rick’s eggs on the spot. It was whipped together with spelt flour in honor of the bride’s sensitivities to wheat.

At ten the next morning, Rusty heated the cast iron skillet and tested out the crepe flavor and texture – it seemed perfect. An hour later with a few interruptions, he had ten crepes cooked, cooled, and stacked between wax paper. By noon, there were fifteen.  Somewhere around two o’clock Rusty realized he better ramp up production and focus on French flapjacks, if they were going to be ready by six that evening. 

Knowing so well that he filled his famous saying  -- “ there are people who can multi-task and there are men,” Rusty shifted into female mode. Chopping chicken, reconstituting the morels in warm milk, and barking orders to passers-by for fresh cut spinach and grated cheese, Rusty continued to crank out a total of eighty crepes. 

By four thirty he could see the light at the end of the tunnel and hoped it wasn’t an oncoming train. The thunderstorm had passed, the seating arrangements were installed, the earthen oven was fired – all responsibilities delegated to very important people and a Higher being.  With ten minutes to spare before the guests arrived, “the last little piggy” was stuffed, rolled and “sent to market.” 

Pearl has remarked more than once, she never wants to cook another crepe in her life. Rusty now understands her sentiment. If they ever go into restaurant business together, they plan to call it Holy Crepe. 

Dirt Cheap Fun — A few weeks ago Quiet Creek offered an earthen construction class to introduce folks to the marvelous world of mud. The project for that day and for weeks to come is to create a circle of benches surrounding a fire ring. 

One participant in the class, Christopher, commented that he hadn’t for the past forty years intentionally put his feet into mud.  This fellow and his mudding friends rediscovered the fantastic fun of pushing soft clay up between their toes.  Not only is it enjoyable, but mentally and physically therapeutic. 

Bare feet are massaged in the clay, sand, and straw opening up blood, nerve, and energy flow to vital organs throughout the body.  Many workshop attendees commented on how relaxing it was to shape and sculpt in this stress-free environment. 

Before construction, Rusty and Claire surveyed the perfect spot -- a  grove of Frazier firs.  They cleared the area of branches and stumps and then placed field stone and feed sacks of gravel for the bench bases. 

On mudding day the crew mixed equal proportions of clay and sand with straw and water.  This sticky cob was tossed from hand to hand where mudders shaped the bench seats and backs.  As the sculptures grew, individuals added their unique ideas creating beautiful outdoor furniture. 

The final layer will consist of clay and sand (no straw) and will be allowed to completely dry.  It will be topped off with a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine to seal and harden the earthen plaster.  The final linseed oil and beeswax will keep the seats weather proof. 

How wonderful to see “kids” of all ages getting down and dirty.  Come on out and mud with us to enjoy this community space for years to come. 

The Name Game — Our friend Newt is preparing for surgery so his doctor took him off his prescribed blood thinner.  It has a fancy name coined by the pharmaceutical company, but pragmatically speaking it is rat poison.  That handy pill taken by many heart patients has the same active ingredient to make rats bleed to death.  It’s all in the name and the package it comes in. 

For example, Rusty went to the local lumber store and bought linseed oil this week for his earth building project.  After reading the label he discovered it is the same oil from the flax seed he eats every morning.  When he smelled the nutty aroma, it reminded him of the Omega-3 additive he puts in the boys’ fruit smoothies.  The linseed oil was a lot cheaper than the pricey flax seed oil sold at health food stores. 

Continuing to make earthen bricks, the Quiet Creek crew came across another name discrepancy.   As they split open a bale of straw, they compared what a straw chunk may be called in different parts of the country.  Kevin, apprentice from Tennessee, said definitely a “flake.”  Rusty said farmers from Erie call it a “plate.”  A visiting pastor overlooking the mud and straw project said he always referred to it as “a hand of straw.”  How funny to think something so simple could hold so many names.

So back to Newt -- he went off his blood thinner.  He is now taking a fancy named drug with a lengthy booklet.  After reading the many fine-print pages, he wishes he would not have.  The two ingredients included in the medication are saline solution and porcupine intestinal mucus.  There’s nothing like doctoring with salty porcupine guts. 

Hopefully after his surgery, our buddy can get pack to his rat poison, eat some flax oil, and spread a chunk of straw on his newly planted grass seed.

Banking on Good Food — Mid-March when Rusty and Walker were helping build green houses in hot Jamaica, the Quiet Creek crew was busy planting peas, spinach, lettuce and kale with preschool parents.  The class objective was to interest guardians to help their children get nutritional jump start while saving on their grocery bill. 

Those seeds have flourished in Pennsylvania’s cool rainy weather and now we are bursting with greens, greens, and more greens.  Even with apprentice Alice’s love of eating salad three meals a day and feeding a thousand school kids this spring, we have plenty of bounty to share with others.  The solution – we contacted our local Food Bank (Ed Pearce at 814-849-3469) who is willing to distribute the extra. 

With tough times trickling down from huge manufacturers to small industries, communities are finding more friends and neighbors out of work.  A simple way to lend a hand to those in need is to share your garden harvest directly or through the efforts of Food Banks.  Economic and health issues are in a state of turmoil; a gift of locally grown food will feed body and soul.  

This is the time to plan ahead, plant some extra tomatoes, put in another row of beans, and contact folks who can benefit from your benevolence.    Choose to grow something that you are successful and valued by others.  Ask around to discover who may benefit from your generosity; they may be willing to give you an extra hand in the garden.  Your local Food Bank will have coolers to store your extra goodies.  If you are really ambitious, preserve your excess by drying, canning or freezing to share in the future. 

We all need help sometime in our lives.  Try a little pragmatic giving by planning and planting.  You will feel the rewards of your gifts. 

Replant! — In the past financial trouble, social unrest, and pending doom have spurred Americans to turn to backyard gardening.   The Victory Garden during World War II is one such example.  Eleanor Roosevelt had the White House lawn tilled up to plant vegetables.  Incidentally, the soil is not the only thing that got worked up.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) with agribusiness frowned upon the First Lady’s suggestion.  She wanted “small town” America to grow its own food to insure plenty of food for the military troops.  USDA feared the American people would lose their dependency on food production from large-scale farms. 

By the mid 1940s, the victory over the Axis and cheap food soon lured the public back into grooming large lawns with petroleum-based fertilizer and pesticides. 

Sustainable farms, like Quiet Creek, can be a resource to folks in the twenty-first century wanting to replant (and sin no more).   We welcome your questions to discover how easy tomatoes, peppers, beans, and herbs grow.   We encourage families to become involved in growing food in raised beds where the small space is manageable, attractive and full of edible treats. 

Be sure to seek buy-in from all family members.  Who likes cherry tomatoes?  How about red raspberries?  These need full sun.   What about salad greens?  Part shade is best.

Growing your own food will give you a sense of accomplishment, a break on your grocery bill, and a good health report.  Enjoy your summer; the Victory Garden returns.

Drink Up — We all know the saying – when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  Sometimes it is difficult to see the sunshine when we’re waiting for the rain.   Until recently that was the case, with many “weeds” and “pests” inflicting grief in Quiet Creek’s gardens. 

We used to consider those unwanteds as liabilities, but now we welcome them as assets.  For instance, in our yard grows a choke cherry, a tree thought of as a weed in most settings.  This tree is a host for the swallowtail butterfly which lays her eggs on the leaves and whose caterpillars consume it as youngsters. 

In addition, the choke cherry is routinely the recipient for tent caterpillars.  Many home owners burn these ugly larvae from their trees, however they attract and feed Baltimore Orioles.  We love the sight and the sounds of these flashy orange visitors.  They are beautiful in color and their flute-like melodies are joyous. 

There are even more many “lemonade” plants, we now view appreciatively.  Over the years we have discovered how the multi-flora rose provides winter food and nesting spots for our feathered friends.  The quaking aspen supplies us with peppery-tasting oyster mushrooms.  The young shoots of Japanese knotweed are an alternative to asparagus and treat Lyme disease.  The early dandelion leaves provide a spring salad full of Vitamin C and the flowers feed the honeybees. 

Even animals can satisfy as a “lemony” refreshment.   We gladly give wasps and hornets their freedom to fulfill the purpose of eating aphids and houseflies.  Snakes are welcome to devour slugs, insects, and mice.  Spiders take care of sixty percent of the insect pests allowing us more fresh fruit and vegetables.

The positive attributes of God’s creation quench our thirst as we drink His lemonade with gusto. 

Shrub Planting 101 — Our family traveled south to Wexford last weekend to help brother-in-law Tom and sister Marilyn landscape around their new veterinary clinic. 

Before beginning, the job seemed simple to Tom and Marilyn, but several times during the day they commented “we sure are glad we waited for Rusty.”  He shared many techniques to improve the shrub planting project.

First, he encouraged them to buy fifteen “balled and burlapped” rhododendrons from a reputable nursery rather than potted look-a-likes from a giant buy-it-all store.  B & B plants are locally field grown bursting with the beneficial bacterial and fungus within the soil.  In contrast, the potted shrubs are trucked in from warmer states in potting soil with timed release fertilizer subduing the beneficial soil organisms.  If not planted quickly, the roots grow in circles at the bottom of the plastic pot and can choke the plant.

Next, Rusty insisted they use compost in every shrub hole.  The holes were dug large enough to allow three to four shovelfuls of good organic compost.  From his experience, this soil amendment shows evident growth where shrubs prolifically grow and flower in comparison to plants with no added compost. 

After being placed in the hole, the rhododendrons were placed best side forward with the top of the root ball at ground level.  Then the burlap was unpinned and tucked below the ground.  If the burlap is exposed to the air it will act as a wick and pull all the moisture from the root ball. 

Rusty never recommends landscape fabric or black plastic.  These materials only make a permanent non-biodegradable layer for weeds to grow on top.

Rusty then gave a good stomp packing the soil around each plant ball removing any air pockets and heaped a donut of soil, a foot from the center of the plant stem.  This mound formed a well to help trap water from running off. 

After thoroughly saturating the shrubs, we mulched with four inches of bark chips to retain moisture and suppress weed growth.   He coached us on leveling the mulch along the brick wall to give the effect of a perfect manicure.

To complete the project Rusty guided us to cut a crisp edge separating the lawn from the new bed of mulched shrubs.    Katie, his niece, accepted the unveiling job of cutting the string off the shrub branches while Danny, his nephew, and our boys shared positive encouragement. 

That afternoon will yield years of blooming pleasure a reminder of a fun day when two families came together to work and play. 

Beating for Blooms - Joining the grapes and kiwi on Quiet Creek’s pergola is “one of the most beautiful of all flowering vines” according to Michael Dirr, wisteria specialist. 

For years we have admired wisteria vining on the stone walls of New England and trained on arbors in North Carolina.  A special memory is sitting under Edith’s vining canopy of wisteria’s fragrant purple flowers in Providence, Rhode Island while sipping fresh lemonade.  She was a former landscape client whose garden was over fifty years old. 

Growing wisteria in western Pennsylvania is just as easy.  Our experience involves two vines in two-gallon pots that patiently waited two years to grow on an honorable structure. 

This vigorous vining plant will quickly choke out living trees and crush a weakly made arbor.  We recommend a strong cedar, locust, Eastern Hemlock or metal pipe frame to permit the vines to crawl. 

Getting wisteria to bloom can be a challenge.  Start with a sunny location with lots of damp sandy soil.  Soil too rich will provide foliage but no flowers.  Pruning the vines heavily and root pruning (cutting the roots with a sharp spade each winter) will encourage blooming.  If this doesn’t produce flowers try giving the plant a good beating.  All your gardening frustrations can be bestowed on the wisteria with a wiffle ball bat. 

The hypothesis is that the plant is “shocked” into thinking it is going to die from the abuse, so it then flowers to produce seed to keep its legacy alive.  Rusty has used this method successfully with fruit trees and flowering shrubs. 

The sweet grape-smelling wisteria blossoms are worth the extra care, but don’t fall asleep under them for too long.  You may wake up engulfed in revengeful vines. 

Pergola Promises - Last summer Joe Hanchar and his parents, long-time friends of the farm, spent hard working hours building a pergola at the back of the herb garden.  With the help of Paul, another enthusiastic volunteer, Joe was able to see his senior project rise from the ground to become a beautiful and versatile structure. 

After digging twelve deep holes and filling them with concrete and rebar, the work crew continued to erect, plumb, square, and nail the Pennsylvania hemlock to completion.  The result resembled a railroad trestle, but Rusty reassured Joe the beefy beams were necessary to support the proposed planting of a variety of vines. 

Gracing the entrance to Joe’s accomplishment one will find two “Aunt Dee” wisteria vines.  Running down the sides on cables are an assortment of grapes.  The bulk of the pergola will soon be covered with vines that very few farmers from this temperate climate know anything about – the hardy kiwi.

This kiwi lacks the fuzziness of its tropical cousin and it is the size of a large grape.  The flavor is likened to a combination of a banana, strawberry, pear and its fuzzy relative.  They grow on vigorous vines and once established are winter hardy perennials.  They require a male and female plant to insure pollination and may take up to nine years to produce 50 to 100 pounds of fruit per vine.  Hardy kiwi will “after” ripen meaning that when picked it will continue to sweeten in cold storage for up to two months. 

Joe’s pergola stands proudly and patiently in anticipation of loads of sweet fragrant flowers and fruit.

Grape Joy - As spring progresses, we find planting at Quiet Creek accelerates. Vines, trees and bushes, ordered months ago, when the snow was blowing, are now arriving in bundles impatiently awaiting nutrient-rich soil. 

Rusty’s eyes, sometimes larger than his allotted space, must adjust to finding an appropriate home for his adoptees. Fortunately for the grapes, he knew there was plenty of vining potential under the arbor Joe built last summer for his school project. 

Grapes are easy to grow when offered proper room and board.  They prefer soils that are well-drained with plenty of compost. Full sun is a must and extra heat is appreciated by placing them near a stone wall or building on the south-facing side. 

There are plenty of good grape choices for western Pennsylvania. Rusty is trying Bluebell, Chontay, Reliance and Somerset cultivars, plus a few cuttings from his Dad’s hardy concords.

Bluebell is a dark seeded grape ripening three weeks earlier than Concord. It boasts immunity to most or all fungal diseases. 

Chontay is a Midwest variety that is good for fresh eating. It is very reliable and hard producing loose clusters of large purple fruit. 

Rusty enjoys the convenience of seedless grapes and found the hardiest one listed, Somerset.  It is described by Fedco as “a crispy texture and great flavor.” 

Reliance, another seedless variety, finds a spot in the garden because of its promise of “tender melting sweet pinkish-red fruit with a strawberry like flavor.”

For best grape production, try the Four-Arm Kniffen system. To begin, these vines are planted as a single stem, six inches long, with two or three buds. Next year the vines will be pruned to a single stem, six feet long and trained on wire from three to five feet off the ground while allowing six buds on each wire.  On the third year, select eight canes, four for each wire, while removing the rest. Tie two canes to each wire, one in each direction. Cut these four canes back to ten buds and the remaining to two buds each.  Finally on the fourth year of production, be sure to remove last year’s fruiting canes and select eight new ones and repeat the procedure from the prior year. 

This pruning technique is a bit complicated but well worth the effort. We invite you to Quiet Creek to witness grape pruning in action and enjoy some tasty treats from the vines.

Plum Crazy - Since moving to Quiet Creek thirteen seasons ago, many fruit trees and bushes have been established. Apple, apricot, blueberry, and gooseberry have all been traditionally spaced in rows, so many feet apart. Even our few plum varieties were planted similarly.  Today the boys enthusiastically helped Rusty plant another plum orchard with a whole new approach. 

Fruitless efforts by other growers have prompted experimental spacing and pollinating of various Asian and American plum hybrids.  The most recent discovery comes from an article written by Professor W.H. Alderman from the University of Minnesota.  He states, “Very few hybrid plums will accept pollen freely from other hybrids, but they all accept pollen from native plums.” 

Our plum distributor, Fedco Seeds and Trees, make claim “this is the breakthrough we’ve all been searching for.”  Fedco growers recommend planting hybrid plums in clusters with native plums, three to six feet apart, so branches intertwine and co-mingle. Fedco offers over a dozen varieties. No personal space needed for plums, although they will still need pruned to allow for ample air flow.  Select a well-drained site with lots of sunshine for the plum blooms.  If the plum curculio, a small insect pest, becomes a problem, try an organic control by spraying “Surround”, a powdery coating that protects the leaves from insect damage.  With decent pollinators nearby, “Surround” may not be needed. 

The boys are excited to try this clustering experiment with hopes of sinking their teeth into juicy treats for years to come.

Oysters! - If we were able to ask a mushroom, “What is the meaning of life?” It would surely reply, “To be or to be --decomposing.”  The labor of the mushroom is enjoyed by all at Quiet Creek.  It breaks down rotting biomass to produce soil and scrumptious ingredients for omelets, pizza, and stir-fry. 

Throughout the year Quiet Creek students will learn to collect wild fungi:  morel, sheep’s head and chicken of the woods. This past weekend, three year-olds to adults cultivated oyster mushrooms on freshly cut quaking aspen logs.   

Rusty, who only appreciates wood for its burning ability, used to poo-poo the quaking aspen until he discovered it is the perfect substrate or growing medium for oyster mushrooms, one of his favorite foods. When he sautés oysters in butter and garlic, these delicacies are gobbled up by him and our boys. 

Pleurotus ostreatus, commonly called the oyster, grows wild on most trees and can easily cultivated by the novice. The wild oysters can grow close to the ground, to forty feet high.  This height makes harvest a bit challenging, unless you have a monkey like Ashton to climb the tree for you. 

A simpler technique, for anyone anxious about scaling tall objects, is to cut logs greater than eight inch diameter into twelve inch sections.  These chunks are stacked totem pole style with oyster spawn placed in between each layer.  Spawn is sawdust seeded with the mushroom spore.  It can be bought at mushroom supply outlets.  Once the wood is stacked and dusted with spawn, a wet newspaper caps it and the whole stack is enveloped in a garbage bag for six weeks.

The oyster totem pole is then unveiled revealing its beautiful budding fruit.  In that short period of time, the mycelium (mushroom roots) completely colonizes the stacked wood.  When ready for a delicious meal, slice the mushroom off and begin creating a culinary treat. 

Chopping large trees down, placing wedges in these freshly fallen trees and inoculating spawn into the cuts works well, if you have a forest to cultivate.  Drilling quarter inch holes into logs, hammering in the spawn plugs, and painting on melted beeswax works well for smaller limbs.

If trees are difficult to come by, try growing oysters on other substrates.  A cardboard box filled with straw, a bale of straw, or a bucket of coffee grounds will host the oyster. 

No matter what the growing medium, the mushroom works hard to fulfill its purpose in life.  We enjoy the nutritional treat it provides. 

Thinking Outside the Bluebird Box - Recently Quiet Creek was honored to host Mark Ritke with his passion for the Eastern bluebird. Mark taught us stewardship skills to positively impact the beloved, beautiful, blue buddy so many of us enjoy.

Mark describes our feathery friends as localvores eating year round. Caterpillars and grasshoppers are highly prized in the summer.  Although in the winter, bluebirds love the stag horn sumac, rosehips, and bay berries. In addition to fruity dining, one may provide barn flies and carpenter ants brushed out the windows or knocked out of wood burner logs as done for Quiet Creek’s blue winter companions. 

Instructing on how to improve on bluebird habitat, Mark shared construction and placement ideas.  The typical bluebird house holes are smaller than the head and shoulders.  If a rectangular entrance is built into the house design, the hardworking parents don’t need to expend extra energy crawling in and out of their residence.  A shallow floor, as suggested by Mark, keeps the mother bird from having to make such a deep nest. 

Mounting boxes on metal poles with a baffle is very important.  Trees, fence posts, and telephone poles encourage predators like raccoons and black snakes for unwanted dinner engagements. 

Wooded areas are likely to find house wrens twigging up the boxes, so open fields with nearby posts are ideal for perching when searching for six-legged critters. Mark uses an eighty inch long and three quarter inch wide galvanized conduit for his posts with a capped two inch section of four inch plastic drain pipe that sets eight inches below the bird box.  This wobbly obstacle will prevent squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, cats and other animals from snatching the clutch of eggs or young. 

When renting to bluebirds, we as landlords must seriously watch for invading species. Sparrows and starlings tend to take over a bluebird nest by murdering the parents.  Traps can be installed to catch uninvited invaders.

The bottom of the box should be examined for the blow fly maggot that crawls upon the clutch sucking blood at night. 

The health and well-being of the nest will depend upon your close monitoring.  Bluebird parents appreciate your help and never mind daily visits since they are unable to detect your scent. 

Mark offers expert consultation and supplies for blue birds at 'Bluebirdsunlimit@aol.com'.  He is a selfless, hard-working individual and sets high expectations in helping to preserve Pennsylvania’s favored friend.

Stamped OUT -What a crazy week!  Sam, our golden retriever, followed his nose two miles to our neighbors’ house.  They were not grilling steaks, but their Brook, a beautiful female rotweiler, was the winner of Sam’s heart and nose. 

Heeding Bob’s request for no puppies, we confined Sam to his doghouse along with Brook’s blanket.  He playfully cuddled up with it, but howled throughout the night after realzing ‘it’ wasn’t the real Brook.

Wanting an uninterrupted sleep, Rusty chained Sam to a table in the barn.  The next morning we discovered Sam gone and the table was moved with its top on the floor split in two.  Claire jumped in the truck to retrieve our retriever and to drop off a new blanket for Brook to aromatisize. 

Walker was the one to calm his father’s frustration by showing him the hidden drawer located in the split table top.  In the drawer was an envelope full of German coins from the 1800s and one uncancelled postage stamp. Being avid collectors, the two took the pale blue Benjamin Franklin picture and headed to consult the Internet. They determined the stamp to be extremely rare.

Meanwhile Ashton and Claire arrived home after learning how to spin wool into yarn with their friend Maryann.  Ashton, a concientious young man, picked up a pencil and paper to show his appreciation to Maryann in a thank you note.     

The plot sickens now that Rusty and Walker returned to the barn to dissect the table for more treasure leaving the postage stamp in the office.  Claire helped stamp their note, but realized she needed a two one-cent stamps to add to a forty one.  She sent Ashton to the office to located the stamps and he placed them on his envelop along with the address to their spinning acquaintance. 

The Gift of Spring - It appears that neither the calendar, nor the neighboring groundhog, is needed to know that spring has arrived. In fact, the world-renowned weather rodent has been sighted sunning himself in the field and playing chicken on the road. 

Signs of spring are everywhere. Rusty heard the ‘pete’ of the woodcock; this is his mating whistle spiraling in the air. The robins are flitting here and there. The red-winged blackbirds and multiple Vs of the Canada goose are high and low. Even the bees are out collecting nectar.

You may ask, what is flowering in March? Dale, our bee keeping friend, dropped by to see how our hive survived winter and he mentioned that skunk cabbage is the first flower to provide food to the honeybee here in western Pennsylvania.

Sure enough, when we hiked Quiet Creek’s nature trail last week, Walker excitedly spotted the purple cone poking through the dried  leaves on the forest floor with his favorite insect doing her work.  Nearby, the dandelion look-a-like, Coltsfoot, is showing its bright yellow face. Tulips, daffodils, and crocus are following in its footsteps.

Each spring we anxiously await the sound of peepers, an early morning turkey gobble, and the peewees pee weeing. It is time for new beginnings, another chance at a garden of fruit, vegetables, and flowers.  In addition, we can count on Rusty asking his annual question, “Why do we spend all winter chipping ice and cutting wood?”

The answer is quickly revealed; we step outside and take a deep breath of fresh, spring air. Spring has come to Quiet Creek!

ABC’s of Sugaring  Rusty spent last week showing, Alice and Kevin, Quiet Creek’s newest apprentice couple, the ABC’s of maple sugaring.  To begin the lesson, the A’s consisted of acquiring tools, appropriate atmospheric conditions, accumulating sap, and the unplanned accident. 

Rusty’s dad contributed his three by five foot evaporating pan, as well as a hand brace for drilling holes in the maple trees.  The crew acquired tubing and connectors from the plumbing shop and glass gallon jars from Angelo’s Pizza. 

The appropriate weather appeared, a cold night followed by a warm day, causing all of our juices to begin flowing (especially the maples).  We headed to the woods with our wares when Ashton tripped sailing a gallon jar.  It picked the only rocky spot on the path and it crashed.  No one was injured, and we graciously accepted the lessening of one of our taps. 

Ashton’s accident was a blessing in disguise as we attempted to push a dull drill bit into a tree.  The progress was slow but steady; fifteen minutes later sap was drip, drip, dripping into the bottom of the jar.  Six taps later and almost dark, we tucked the boys into bed with visions of pancakes soaked in syrup dancing in their heads. 

Alice and Ashton joyfully accumulated several gallons and stored them in our refrigerator ready for Saturday slated for ‘B’oiling day.  A cement block pit with metal roof was erected with hot coals from the wood burner.  Even in the pouring rain the sap in the evaporating pan began to steam.  Alice continued to add her collection, but by evening we were down to half a pan.

We charged up the fire with new wood and went to bed.  At five thirty a.m. Rusty awoke to check the process and here begins ‘C’onsternation. 

As he approached the site he noticed a sweet burnt smell and said, “Crud!”  The liquid had evaporated completely, even with the fire out.  The center of the pan was crispy but the outside perimeter was crystallized candy caramel. 

The trees are still flowing and we anticipate more chances to produce maple syrup, until then, we love the sweet ‘D’elight found from our ABC sugar adventure. 

He’s a Boy - Our youngest turned eight this week.  We’re sure it was just yesterday that Rusty caught this bundle of joy as he made his world debut.  Claire witnessed bewilderment on his proud papa’s face that special day, March 9, 2001.  Our midwife Mary and Rusty were speechless, so his mother announced, “He’s a boy!”

Everyone had anticipated a girl, so when “Bailey Kate” arrived as “Ashton Grey” there was a lot of convincing taking place.  Eight years later there is no doubt, he is all boy.

This kid hit the ground running and has never slowed down.  He doesn’t even stop to put on his shoes.  When winter teased us with near seventy degree weather last week, Ashton was leaving bare footprints in the mud and snow. 

Often we catch glimpses of him on your computer screen saver, an accumulation of photographs taken over the past eight years.  The majority of the photos depict our towhead climbing trees.  If we totaled all of Ashton’s waking hours, more than half would prove to be spent in the air.  We find him in our eighty foot hemlock, the kiwi trellis, the white pines, and/or on top of the roof. 

While Rusty views trees as potential building material or firewood, Ashton sees them as something to explore.  No matter what the occasion, where we are, or what he is wearing, if Ashton can touch it -- he climbs it.  This bothered his parents at first, until Irene, a veteran of two energetic boys, shared “the ground hasn’t missed catching one yet.”

We know our Tom Sawyer who loves pocket knives, rocks, and toads is growing fast.   We’re thankful for the guardian angel who has worked overtime since his birth.

In eight more years, this lad will be driving, in another eight he may be married, finishing college, and climbing Mount Rainer.  We won’t rush any of these years, they come fast enough.  For now, we’ll enjoy him as a precious gift and allow him to be the boy God created. 

Spirited Fruit  - Our first born and his Dad just returned from a week in Jamaica.  This being Walker’s first trip to the island inspired Rusty to guide his soon-to-be eleven year old into manhood by teaching him how to serve God’s people.

The two joined sixty joyful folks lovingly organized by Won by One to Jamaica, a hands-on mission group who has been helping the Jamaican people for over twenty years.  

After traveling three hours up the mountainous trail, Rusty and Walker befriended a tall thin Jamaica named Jerry who ran up an orange tree and threw down fresh fruit.  Jerry borrowed his aunt’s knife who was sitting on a bucket cutting yams.  The knife spiraled the fruit into bite size treasures causing Walker to remark, “Oh my gosh, this is good!”  Jerry’s bright white smile about split his face in two.  This was the beginning of the fruit-of-the-day club. 

Later that night he brought his younger brothers to the Harmony House, where the Americans were staying.  Here Rusty purchased ice cream for the boys from “Creamy” who uses his income to send his daughters to school. 

The next morning Jerry was patiently waiting with two green coconuts to quench the crew’s thirst while building two green houses.  These structures will be used by the locals to grow vegetables without the destruction of heavy rains. 

He expertly macheted the nut, whacking off the outer husk, clipped a nib off the end, and handed it to Walker who kindly repeated his enthusiasm and faithfully continued carrying maul (heavy limestone) up the hill to the construction site.

Rusty bartered a trail mix of raisins and peanuts for the refreshment and gladly provided more when bulging bags of grapefruit from Jerry’s buddy, Garnet, arrived after a long hot sweaty day of building two regular houses for Jamaican residents. 

Walker loves grapefruit, even the bitter kind, but this fruit was bursting with sweetness serving the group with many nutritious breakfasts and snacks.  His spiritual level was overflowing as well, especially, when visiting with the infirmary. 

This is where the sick that have no family are hospitalized.  There Walker sang Amazing Grace, read scripture, and prayed with these smiling, destitute invalids.   He even made sure Gavin, a prisoner who had his Bible stolen, was awarded a new one. 

More trips into the mountainous jungle offered our weary workers papaya and bananas plus many more opportunities to share God’s love with such warm and genuine people. 

Walker was touched by the generosity and the love of his new friends.  He found true peace and happiness in people who are the poorest in material things.  He discovered that hard work can be really rewarding.  He felt blessed by his wealth in God’s love. 

Even after eighteen hours in the air and airports our little boy never lost his self-control as he stepped into manhood.  The fruit of the spirit was flowing super sweet and extra juicy this past week.  Thank you to all who helped share God’s fruit. 

Return of the Victory Garden - There is a renewed interest in vegetable gardening.  Perhaps a generation has passed without exposure to hands-on lessons of this pleasure. Please allow us to share basic advice on our experience granted by our parents who lived the Victory Garden era.

Start small, if this is your first garden in awhile, or ever. No need to plow up the back forty acres. Go for quality, not quantity. A half dozen well-spaced, well cared for tomatoes will yield a greater harvest than twenty crowded, neglected, sprawling plants. 

Keep your garden as close to your kitchen as possible.  You’ll find you use and enjoy it more.  Next, choose vegetables you and your family will eat, that are adaptable to our growing zone, and are easy to maintain.  For example, Rusty has grown okra and artichokes, both with limited success because they need extra hot weather and they weren’t his favorites. Gardeners tend to baby the veggies they love. 

Choose seeds and plants wisely; there are numerous sources for heirloom and organic seeds.  “Heirloom” varieties are open-pollinated meaning their offspring will produce seed that mimics the parent plant. It also means the seeds have been passed down through many generations because of their great flavor.  Using heirlooms may not give you the ability to ship the produce 3000 miles across the country, so more for you and the local market.  

Hybrids are fine to grow. They are defined as two varieties of the same species cross-pollinated.  The only drawback, if you are a seed saver, is that their seed will revert back to one of their parents and/or grandparents. 

Genetically modified (GM) seeds have been spliced with genes from other species and/or other kingdoms. The health risk to humans of ingesting GM seeds and/or eating animals consuming GM seeds is a possible cause for inflammation (heart disease, arthritis, asthma, and some cancers). 

Look for the “Safe Seed Pledge” in the front of the catalog or on the website.  These companies vow to keep genetically modified seed out of their inventory, although research is showing this is becoming a difficult task. What a great reason for all of us to collect our own seed, if possible. The  label “certified organic” will guarantee no GMs. 

Stay away from fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides on and around your seeds.  Instead, be proactive with garden pests. Try fencing off your garden from large pests – rabbits and deer.  Row cover helps rid the smaller ones, such as whitefly and flea beetle.  Companion plant orange/yellow flowers, marigold or calendula, to attract beneficial insects that will eat the bad boys.  If you mulch with newspapers and cardboard, you will battle the weeds, conserve water, and attract earthworms. 

Please have fun, involve the entire family in planning, planting, and munching.  Preserve the excess and enjoy the fruits of your labor year round. 

Let that Sink In!  Thirteen seasons ago we began remodeling Quiet Creek with reusable items.  The large sliding door on the barn was replaced with two swinging doors removed from Great Aunt Martha’s garage from the 1960’s.   What gems! 

Their twelve panels of bubbled swirled glass reside next to the six pane door gifted by brother-in-law Joe.  The second floor of the barn enjoys a support beam from brother Frank’s one hundred year old log cabin. Thus the journey began --reusing and rebuilding. 

Mrs. “Sweet Thing” Willis offered some treasures from her attic and garage.  Three old doors and two sinks recently were pulled out of storage and became handy fixtures highly admired by all.

Specifically, a corner sink, her husband Joe had saved from a hospital remodeling project, works perfectly in the shop.  The sink stamp reads March 16, 1954 which seemed ancient to Walker and Ashton, but Rusty felt young standing beside it.

Sister Maryellen donated a sink that Rusty has been sizing up for the basement.  He’s not quite sure if he’ll install that one or the one he recently salvaged from his father’s barn.  The porcelain beauty came from his grandfather’s house with a stamp dating 10-27-99.  Knowing that it had been collecting pigeon excrement since 1980, the ’99 was a sure 1899.  Grandpa Orner renovated his bathroom in 1930; so it likely was removed from another after thirty years of suds.  

We predict five generations of hands will be washed in that sink, thanks to the “reusing” mentality of many folks. Let’s continue the legacy of passing down high quality items from one remodeling project to another.  

Ya Mon - Over fifty volunteers organized by Won by One to Jamaica, a non-profit Christian mission group, will be traveling to the mountain town of Harmons, Jamaica the last week of February.  Rusty and Walker will be joining them. This is Rusty’s second trip and he is anxious to share the experience with all of us. Walker just happens to be the first.

For nearly twenty years the dedicated Won by One to Jamaica folks have impacted many lives.  Not a minute is wasted, nor a penny squandered, as this well-oiled machine ministers in many ways to the Jamaican community. Building houses, teaching school, and offering medical assistance are a few examples. 

Every American taking the trip packs two fifty-pound suitcases full of items needed by the people of Harmons. Every ounce is shared including the baggage; the workers return with only the clothes on their backs. 

The list of needed items is extensive.  A sewing machine will provide income for a mother and her family, brown and black school shoes will assist a child to attend school, and clean infant clothes will promote healthy babies. 

Rusty and Walker are collecting things and it occurred to them to give up some of their stuff, instead of going to the Buy-it-All marts.  This concept is reinforced in a book called The New Friars by Scott Bessenecker.

The author points out that third world children working fifteen hour days in clothing factories are making less than two U.S. dollars a day.  Conversely, corporate CEOs enjoy eighty thousand dollars a day.  Nearly half of the 2.8 billion workers in this world make less than two dollars a day.  Buying cheap stuff (made by these workers) even if it is given back to them, perpetuates poverty. 

A twenty minute film clip, www.storyofstuff.com, shows that 95% of what Americans buy ends up in the landfill within six months.  When we reuse this stuff -- the prepackaging waste, the extraction of natural resources, and the factory pollutants are all reduced. 

Ironically, we live in a world that is dying from both being stuffed and starved. We find ourselves overweight with homes filled with duplicate items especially clothing that would last us months, without even wearing the same thing twice in that time frame.  In places like Jamaica, these hungry folks would do so much better given the tools, skills and knowledge to generate food and income without the influence of corporate America. 

If you would like to simplify your life, consider giving away some stuff.  The first century Christian church described in the book of Acts tells of Christ followers selling their possessions and giving to anyone in need. 

Check out Quiet Creek Corner on www.quietcreekherbfarm.org for a complete list to lighten your load and help Rusty and Walker’s load up for their trip to Jamaica. 

Please consider sending these used items (good quality):
1. Children’s clothing --#1 need
2. Black/brown heavy school shoes
3. Size sheets
4. Sewing machines in good working order
5. Infant clothing
6. Tape measures
7. Composition notebooks
8. Backpacks
Feel free to drop off at 93 Quiet Creek Lane, Brookville, PA 15825

Wild for Salmon  Our family looks forward to the annual pilgrimage to State College for the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) conference the first week in February.  The three day event is packed with inspirational workshops of ordinary farmers doing extraordinary farming. 

After ten years we know to expect the experience will be graced with movies, meals, and vendors promoting local sustainable interests.  We relish the opportunity to kindle new friends and connect with lifelong ones. 

One such acquaintance richly blessed our lives two years ago --Steve and Jenn Kurian from Bloomsburg.  This school teacher/tree trimmer couple shared a PASA dinner and their Alaskan fishing adventure with Rusty.

He discovered how they grew up in the country and couldn’t afford the luxury of seafood.  As adults they traveled to Alaska to fish and brought back a cooler of salmon for friends and family.  Enjoyed by so many, Steve and Jenn returned the following years and eventually bought their own thirty-two foot boat and now provide wild Alaskan salmon at affordable prices for rural Pennsylvanians.  

Wild salmon is a great source of vitamins A, D, B6 and E, as well as good amounts of calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and phosphorus.  The omega-three fatty acids in this cold water fish help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke having shown to improve symptoms of immune and inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.   

For years the boys grudgingly slurped their tablespoon of cod liver oil chased with organic ginger ale.  Now they are hooked on the Kurian’s marvelous brain food.  The high quality polyunsaturated sockeye salmon is administered without any opposition.  In fact, they ask for it weekly fully aware of the healthy benefits.  The flavor of the wild caught salmon is rich, but not fishy, solid but still flaky and pleasing to the palate. 

They also know this salmon is responsibly and sustainably harvested.  In the opposite arena “farm fed” and “ocean raised” fish are usually fed antibiotics in their pellet food artificially-colored to make the fish look pink.  Often the fish are fed genetically-modified corn and confined in pens that promote disease and weaken the muscle.   

Jenn and Steve spend seven summer weeks in the great Northwest where they flash freeze and vacuum seal their crop full of quality and taste year round.  Their product can be found online, at farmer’s market, and through local buying clubs.  For recipes, beautiful photos, and purchasing information go to www.wildforsalmon.com but they usually sell out before their next trip to Bristol Bay. 

We look forward to seeing our fishing friends at PASA next week and to catching up on fishing stories. 

Ice Box  With negative temperatures last week, we were prompted to empty our upright freezer, temporarily.  The ice monster had accumulated an over abundance of frost on its coils, limiting the storage capacity and efficiency.      Claire emptied the frozen vegetable, bread, meat, and assorted containers of leftovers into laundry baskets and set them outside in God’s ice box.   She then filled the freezer with bowls of hot water, closed the door, and periodically cleaned up the unwanted pools of frost that heaped on the freezer floor.  After a day of thawing, Rusty accepted the job of sorting, composting, organizing, and eating the freezer goodies.  

The most valuable content returned to the clean shelves was a baggie of pepper seeds from Italy awaiting a spring planting.  The strangest item was a frozen weasel wanted by our taxidermist friend from Punxsutawney.  A few compostables included unlabeled broth cubes and homemade coffee ice cream, whereas the majority of the inventory equaled weeks of soups, casseroles, and steaks.  Even a hidden chunk of cheese made for a tasty pizza over the frigid weekend.  

We appreciate the twenty-first century convenience of keeping food cold and/or frozen, but lately Rusty is investigating sustainable cold storage systems from his Father’s time.  Grandpa Russ recalls the only “refrigerator” they had in the house was an oak cabinet with chunks of ice cut out of their pond insulated with sawdust.  He also had an ice house where ice was stored year round.  His spring house was used for cooling food, primarily milk.

Rusty dreams of using these techniques for the future, but presently he hopes to eat up the freezer food and travel over to the taxidermist. 

She’s a Pearl  For many years, students “in the school of life” have graced the farm with their presence, hard work, and learning spirit.  In fact, the boys would find it odd not to have one or two extra folks at the dinner table on a regular basis. 

Quiet Creek interns are an important component to our non-profit organization.  The idea was adopted from other farms that open their doors to apprentices, interns, and volunteers.  In lieu of forty hours of work, our interns are provided with room/board and as much information they can absorb from our knowledge, classes, network, computer files, and gardening library. 

Many have come to learn the ropes of starting an educational facility; some have a keen interest in growing vegetables organically while others want to glean the medicinal, nutritional, and spiritual aspect of sustainable living.  The process begins with an e-mail from a prospective intern who has read a posting on a website or book, or conversed with a former intern. 

The next step is a phone call where Rusty has perfected, through the years, the proper interview technique.   He attempts to talk the person out of coming to Quiet Creek.  This may sound counter productive, but “if you are looking for a social life – try the city, if you need a mental health consultant – see a psychiatrist, and if you don’t like to weed – hang up.”  

His intent is to NOT paint a rosy picture; the internship can be challenging and lonely.  If the potential volunteer is still interested, we invite that person for an overnight stay and work day.  This includes experiencing whole food meals, playing with the boys, and whatever farm project is in progress. 

After checking references on one another, we as a team decide if there is a mutually benefiting fit.  If so, interns are given ownership in part of the farm to match their learning expectations.  They are mentored and nurtured in all they do.  Rusty explains, if they don’t make mistakes, they’re probably not doing enough. 

His famous question, “What is the best answer you can give your supervisor when asked to do a task?”  Most reply, “Yes, I’ll do it right away.”  Although a good response, he shares the best answer, “It’s already done.” 

The internships are challenging to both the Quiet Creek family and the new residents, but the experience yields many rewards for all.  We have been blessed with caring folks who have become family members.  They have shared stories from when they have lived, Vermont, California, and Ireland.  They relish the sustainably-grown food grown and prepared by all of us. 

Arriving as wandering workers and leaving as lifelong friends, we continue to converse, send computer files, network opportunities, and pray for one another.  Pearl, who arrived a year ago this month, will now journey on to her next “school of life.”  She has brought three of her eight siblings into our lives; grown, harvested and preserved a beautiful bounty displayed on shelves she built; kid-sat our boys while we toured Italy; and made gallons of Kim chi.

She will always be welcome as a daughter, a sister, a colleague, and a steward of God’s resources.  We love her and wish her the greatest success in all she does.  Gladly, we will let her next fortunate mentor know, “She’s a Pearl.” 

Where there’s Smoke, there’s Rusty   Behind the Quiet Creek barn sets a green metal shed that puffs out more smoke than a chain smoker.  Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year for the past twelve years, our outdoor wood burner has faithfully supplied the house and barn with warm heat and hot water. 

Many a visitor has queried with a pointed finger, “Is that a smokehouse?”  Rusty actually planted a smokehouse apple tree next to the boiler so he could reply “affirmative” without fibbing or going into detail about our renewable energy heating system.  Finally, he can truthfully state “yes, it is a smokehouse!”  

It all came about when desiring smoked meats without synthetic preservatives.   He investigated a venison ham rub recipe that required forty hours of cold smoking.  Needing a simple source of smoke, he then created his “redneck smoker” in conjunction with our heat source. 

In the development stages, Rusty noticed nine out of ten days, the wood burner smoke blew to the north.  Hoping to capture the majority of it, he acquired twelve feet of furnace pipe (six inch diameter) with assorted tees and elbows from his dad.  Then he attached a one by two by three foot plywood box to the nearby tractor shed.  Cutting a hole for the furnace pipe, he began telescoping sections toward the wood burner chimney with a few screws and wire strap and the pipe was angled straight to the smoke.  Finally, Rusty rigged up a metal garbage can with a hole cut out of the bottom.  The garbage can funnel was wired to a metal ladder leaning against the wood burner and extended it to a spot just north of the chimney. 

The wood burner gleefully puffs away as the wind pushes the smoke down the funnel through recycled furnace pipe and into the plywood smoking chamber.  There hangs the ham from a wire, basting in the swirling cold smoke.  An exit hole with an elbow allows the smoky air to flow through.  There are two hinged doors on the box’s side make for easy access to hang items (i.e. hams, cheese, and jerky) and for checking the smoke progress. 

Rusty is particular when it comes to high quality smoke.  His first ham was completed with green maple and oak and the next is to be christened with hickory or apple wood. 

Come on out for a Quiet Creek visit any Friday and Saturday to warm your hands and/or sample some hams.  

Triple Play  The boys are excited about Christmas, particularly the gift component.  They’ve enjoyed repeating a joke they heard from their friend Ember . . . Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker he knows what Luke is getting for Christmas.  Luke questions . . . how is that possible?  The dark leader replies . . . I felt your presents.

Gift giving has never been a strong force in our child/parent relationship.  In fact, tangible, extrinsic gifts fall low on our love language priority.  Claire prefers acts of service (feeding the worms) and Rusty words of affirmation (What a wonderful father you are!), far more than a new sweater or a necktie. 

The boys, however, are eager to open any package offered to them.  Since they were babies, we have continued a Christmas tradition that began over two thousand years ago.  This spiritual custom prevents wasteful, impulse shopping and unnecessary accumulation of stuff. 
The Gospel of Mathew tells of the Magi traveling from the East and giving the Christ child three gifts:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The wise men set the precedent; the boys anticipate the same.  Every Christmas wish list is kept short and the gifts under the tree from Santa (A.K.A God) total six.

We could implement the time schedule set forth by the Bible.  The Magi gifts arrived two years after the birth of Jesus, but we have a feeling that might not go over too well. 

We are ever mindful that The True Gift given to the world was God’s best.  He gave his only Son, to the wealthy and the poor, the young and the old, the African and the New Zealander. 
As parents we recognize this sacrifice.  It is so challenging to even consider giving our boys to anyone, especially knowing they would be treated poorly and crucified in the end. 

As Christ followers, we and the boys are thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ who has forgiven us and granted us eternal life.  May your Christmas season be filled with the love, hope, and joy of Jesus.  

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends. 

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends.

Will the Real Kim Chi Please Stand Up    As fall stretches on feeding us short beautiful days and long cold nights, we prepare for the inevitable – winter.  All our canning jars are full (please drop off any unwanted ones), so now we are freezing, drying, and fermenting. 

A fermented staple in our larder is kim chi.  This is a Korean sauerkraut which has become a daily tonic for the Quiet Creek family.  Interns, visitors, and our boys eat a tablespoon daily to keep the doctor at bay.

We’ve developed our own kim chi recipe over the years using fall produce.  With a base of cabbage, we chop in kale, broccoli, radish, beet, carrot, celery, and/or onion.  This crunchy blend is flavored with whey, hot pepper, sea salt, garlic, and ginger.  It sits in glass jars for three days on the counter at room temperature.  Lactobacillus bacteria found in the whey, air, and vegetable skins ferments the combo into a spicy, tangy, and textured condiment. 

Korean friends from church have tried Quiet Creek’s kim chi.  They politely smile, and shake their heads saying “thank you, but not real kim chi.”     

Last week we invited the Kim family over to learn their technique. 

Jen, Jung, Isaac and Joyce enthusiastically accepted our offer.  They brought their authentic hot pepper paste made with fish sauce, garlic, a hot, sweet pepper, and rice water.  We supplied the Napa cabbage, daikon radish, leeks, and carrots.  The result was REAL and incredibly delicious.  Claire and Walker couldn’t stop eating it. 

Now our winter storage is stocked with many fermented products:  Pearl’s purple kim chi, Lucy’s miso, Rusty’s cheese, Claire’s sourdough bread, and the Kim’s brilliant orange kim chi.  We look forward to winter, a great time for eating. 

Copter Cutter  Last Friday the farm was in a flurry of activity.  Rusty was canning tomatoes, Pearl was planting winter greens, Claire was preparing fruit leather, and the boys were riding their bikes.  The crisp fall silence was broken by the boys’ excitement as they announced a calamity coming from the sky.

At first it sounded like a low flying aircraft, then a tree trimming crew, and finally a monster.  Within seconds the integration of all three emerged over the hill. As the deafening monster grew closer it lifted high enough to reveal whirring discs at the end of its pole.  Along the electrical transmission line skirting Quiet Creek’s property, it was a helicopter with its giant hedge trimmer hovering just above the tree line blasting the forest wall. It seemed as if a tornado was careening the tree line, but instead high speed saw blades.

The five of us stood in amazement at the skill and the agility of the helicopter pilot. What a dangerous and bulky apparatus to maneuver so accurately near the power lines. As quickly as the “Death Blade 2000” had appeared, it completed its task and flew away directly overhead. 
On our way to church Sunday morning we spotted the helicopter camped out in our neighbor’s field.  Later that day we stopped to have a closer look.  The cutter was mounted to the copter on the end of a 75 foot pole and contained ten circular saw blades each with a 30 inch diameter.

Eric, our neighbor, a commercial pilot, shared his air strip with the trimming machine from North Carolina and informed us that the helicopter could trim steep hillsides where trucks could not easily go.  We appreciated the fact that no herbicides were used to poison the trees along with the smaller forest shrubs, insects, birds, and ground water

Business is back to normal, but we never know what lies over the next hill.

There’s No Place Like Home . . . Camp  About thirty miles east of Quiet Creek is a small community where Rusty grew up.  Home Camp was named for the homey area where lumbermen returned after a long day of rugged work in the woods. 

Rusty’s granddad moved his family there from the big city of DuBois in the 1920’s.  Home Camp is the place Rusty’s Dad has lived eighty years grooming the land into golden fields of wheat, rich strips of alfalfa, and stately rows of corn.  These grains supplement the pastured dairy cattle which out-number the human residents.

Last Saturday night neighbors answered Russ’s call to celebrate his eightieth on earth and his fifty-five years married to Nancy.  One hundred and seventy-six folks swarmed the large barn yard bringing casseroles and desserts.  They came to laugh, visit, dance, and rejoice on the beautiful autumn night.  The campfire warmed their surroundings and their hands.

Seven local musicians picked, fiddled, and plucked overlooking the dance floor on top of the hay mow; the caller directed, as neighbor swung neighbor, brother escorted sister, and the littlest ones ran throughout the dance squares.  Many visitors sat on the hay bales and grain sacks watching with delight.

Five years ago a barn dance occurred celebrating fifty years of joyful marriage.  Russ and Nancy’s friends and family were hungry for another shindig, never thinking that this one would top the last. 

Home Camp holds a warm place in our hearts having been the spot of our wedding fourteen years ago, and the birth place of Rusty fifty years back.  We stop and visit there as much as we can. We are blessed to have such a place that values true community.  We can’t wait to doe-see-doe and promenade with down-to-earth folk. 

Water Closet Woes  Last week as Claire was putting the finishing touches on the newspaper column, she called to Rusty in distress, “It’s not flowing smoothly!”  Rusty, whose head was in the toilet (literally), grumbled that nothing was, but assured her that all would be remedied soon.

The signs of a sluggish septic system have been haunting our household for a month or two.  At first it acted like a periodic plug, solved with a simple plunge or a five gallon bucket of water poured from chest height. However, the commode contents weren’t always eliminated after such calisthenics. Rusty, suspecting a full septic tank, consulted with a plumber friend who showed up early one morning.  As soon as he yanked the toilet off the floor, it smelled like the tank was wide open.  You didn’t need a trained nose to distinguish the distinctive septic aroma.  After some serious snaking and meticulous measuring, the plumber and assistant found the exact location of the septic tank and found it to be flowing freely.  It was five feet below ground surface under a lilac tree that Rusty had planted six years ago. Back inside, the toilet was wax ringed and given a prognosis that “it was old and needed to be replaced.”  Could it be – a worn out toilet?  Rusty thought maybe another opinion was needed so he took the toilet’s history and headed to the local plumbing shop. Dave, plumbing extraordinaire, had never heard of a worn out toilet and suggested loaning his closet auger to clean out the toilet’s trap.  Sure enough, things were flowing so smoothly that Rusty was ready to kiss Dave when returning the borrowed tool. A week later, the flush just didn’t have it’s get up and go after Rusty got up and went.  So Claire was sent to buy the auger for lifetime use; this remedied the flow for a few days and then stopped (up). At this point Rusty jumped on the porcelain throne and swore he would get to the bottom of the problem.  Carrying the victim out the front door and placing it on its side, he was now ready to pressure wash “whatever” out of the toilet.  As he geared up for business, he noticed something peculiar inside the toilet’s floor hole.  He fetched a pair of pliers and grabbed hold of the shiny gold item as he bent and twisted it.  Out popped a lid from a quart canning jar! Apparently an ambitious dishwasher had poured dirty dish water in an attempt to flush the toilet and had not seen the lid disappear down the can. 

We’re still celebrating in honor of the cracked case of the clogged commode.  So much to be grateful for – a super clean toilet and twenty more years of flushing, although through this long ordeal, Rusty has seriously been researching composting toilets.  A bucket of sawdust could sure simplify life.

Don’t Have a Cow   Our intern Jeremy is soon moving back to his home city of Detroit.  His urban farming plans are formalizing at the dinner table and the livestock issue is quite entertaining.  

The poultry options are not paltry.   Exotic chickens offer colorful eggs, but chickens will scratch up his garden beds and peck his fruit.  Guinea fowl don’t carry these negative traits, but they are territorial and do have loud vocal tendencies.  Ducks will eat slugs and lay eggs, but beware of their numerous, slippery deposits.  Indian Runner ducks may be worth the effort since their upright waddle will provide many laughs. 

The age old adage “which came first the –the chicken or the egg” problem will not be a problem.  There will be fowl and then eggs.  Milk, however, is an argumentative issue.  Rusty, a recovering dairy farmer, states if you want a milk animal, you’ll be married to it seven days a week, twice a day.  Rusty is an advocate of local, raw milk, but not owning a cow. 
Jeremy has learned how to make cheese and yogurt here in Pennsylvania and is dependent on the rich supply of quality vitamins and protein.  He attempted to track down a “cow share” since selling raw milk is illegal in Michigan, but the closest one was a hundred mile bike ride, round trip. 

Goat milk is looking promising, although a determined goat can jump a six foot fence and create a nuisance by eating the garden, shrubbery, and miscellaneous household items. 
Sheep milk is apparently good for making cheese and water buffalo makes the best mozzarella.  These animals are somewhat uncommon in Detroit as well as Quiet Creek. 

For a meat source, the afore-mentioned fauna will satisfy, but maybe a pen of rabbits sounds appealing.  In addition, they will provide manure for feeding red wigglers who will offer worm compost for growing vegetables. 

That brings the discussion back to Quiet Creek’s one and only recommended animal – the worm... not great for meat and/or milk, but super powerful for any herbivore in the city or the country.  We wish Jeremy the very best in all he and his five thousand worms do to promote urban gardening for the disadvantaged. 

Melon Drama   The hot dry end to summer gives our garden a boost.  The heat is reddening up the Jimmy Nardello sweet Italian frying peppers, ripening the tomatoes, and giving the melons some size.The latter is an exciting addition to Quiet Creek’s table.  Past success with cantaloupe and watermelon has been limited. The hi tunnel experiments yielded some small sweet butterscotch melons, but never a good watermelon.  The only decent watermelon ever grown at Quiet Creek came from a volunteer spit in a contest at Spring Fest years back.  This stray prompted the melon growing committee to try outside growing.  Early this spring, we started a lasagna garden on a chunk of lawn by our honeybee hive.  The twenty by forty foot patch mowed short, then covered with large pieces of cardboard donated by the local appliance store, and finally topped with wood chips is now yielding beautiful fruit. Initially we waited three weeks before transplanting seedlings into the layers.  This time allowed the grass to be smothered, the soil to warm up, and the moisture to reach maximum capacity.  It was a slow start, but by July there were plenty of melon blossoms. Throughout the season, intern Jeremy squashed bugs and top dressed the plants with worm compost.  His hard work paid off last week when he picked three very sweet cantaloupes.  There are plenty more waiting to ‘slip’ from the vine when ripe. The watermelons are doing fine as Rusty patiently learns to harvest them appropriately.  The thumping test fooled him twice, although they were devoured with no problem by the boys.  His next method is to wait until the white spot on the melon where it touches the ground turns orange, not yellow.  Another good indicator is to watch for is the green curly tendril closest to the melon stem to turn brown.  If waiting for ripening and a chance of frost may occur, be sure to cover them with a tarp.After the final harvest, the melon committee plans to cover the patch with more cardboard, leaves, and compost to prepare for next summer’s crop.  We want to be sure to enjoy plenty of sweet, juicy melons. 

Got Milkweed?  At the front of Quiet Creek’s herb garden stands a regal family of Asclepias syriaca.  The plants gain their scientific name in honor of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine; most folks know it as Common Milkweed.

American Indians realized its medicinal properties using the root as a laxative and diuretic for kidney stones.  Our Iroquois friend, Michael, knows its milky latex to cure warts, moles, and ringworm.  Early settlers to America treated asthma and rheumatism with the herb.  Today it is used with caution because of its cardioactive compounds.  

Quiet Creek’s milkweed is used for other reasons.  Walker likes to make tough white cord out of the dried milkweed stalks.  Ashton opens the dried “fish pods” to stuff pillows.  Many visitors have shared how they collected the pods as children during World War II to fill flight and life jackets.  

This fluff is five times as buoyant as cork and a few pounds can hold up a human in the sea.  It is warmer than wool and six times lighter.  The silk is curled and spun into thread making a great candle wick.  

All of these uses are topped with the number one reason –food for our favorite caterpillar.  The Monarch butterfly lays her eggs on the milkweed leaves and the hatching caterpillars have immediate nourishment.

What excitement unveils when the boys find a green, yellow, white, and black striped caterpillar devouring a milkweed leaf.  Many a time they have witnessed the juveniles build a chrysalis and emerge as a beautiful monarch.  

Whether you choose to plant for medicine, rope, or butterflies, milkweed deserves a place in everyone’s backyard.  

Self Preservation  The fruits of summer are pouring out of the garden and we are enjoying eating everything fresh.  Most meals comprise of garden produce and we savor the flavors while we can.  Although the crickets, blue jay, and the chill in the air are telling us that winter is coming.  We are preparing by taking the excess produce and storing it for that special time.

Through the years we have learned healthy, easy, and favorite ways to preserve food.  When recipes call for beets to be peeled before pickling, there is no need.  Our family benefits from the added fiber and nutrients, while still loving the flavor.  For a tasty bonus, Rusty will spice up the beets with cinnamon, fenugreek, and orange peel. 

Too often sugar is a prominent ingredient in many canning recipes, but it can be skipped or substituted.  For example, we can peaches in plain hot water, no sugar necessary since the fruit is loaded with its own natural sweetness.   A great way to preserve pears is to can them in apple cider. 

Claire looks forward to coring apples for apple sauce.  No need to remove the skin; she just throws the mixture into the Vita-Mix after cooling it down.  Come winter any and all of those canned goods sweeten our breakfast smoothies or are used to make fruit leather when cooked, puréered, and dried to a sweet flat snack. 

Mom Orner’s refrigerator pickle recipe is easily tweaked by substituting stevia for sugar.  The end product has few calories, no impact to our blood sugar, and a crunchy sweet condiment. 

Speaking of treats, be sure to pressure can lots of vegetable beef soup.  Grass fed beef, corn, beans, onions, carrots, and tomatoes make a quick, delicious meal on a cold blustery day.

Our friend, Mildred, taught us to freeze whole cherry tomatoes by simply popping them into a freezer bag.  We tried the same method for broccoli and obtained the same great results. 

It may sound time consuming, but the long range benefits to our family and friends make self preservation a priority. 

Camp Counsel   Over two weeks has past since church camp; Rusty is just now able to discuss his counseling experience.  (It is amazing how a few days of vacation, some real sleep, and intensive shock therapy can lessen the pain.) 

For six days and five nights he lived, breathed, ate, and snored with seven third and fourth grade boys.   Much education was learned by all.

Lesson Number One—Honesty is the way to go.  The first night the boys gathered round in a small group to learn one another’s names.  The idea of the get-acquainted game was to introduce one’s self and share something.  The next boy repeats the first boy’s information and then his own name and information.  The third boy repeats the first and second, and so on.  Rusty started things rolling—“Hi, I am Rusty and I like to grow things.”  Cameron dutifully shared about Rusty and that he himself plays a lot of baseball.  Half way around the circle Greyson introduced himself and said “I have a blankey.”  The young fellow apparently was apprehensive about spending the night away from home and decided to be honest and get the teasing over with.  This opened up discussion for the rest who either admitted to bringing a stuffed animal and/or blanket to camp or leaving one they missed back home.  Although Rusty didn’t admit it to the boys, he too had packed his favorite pillow for the trip away from Claire. Lesson Number Two—Have Clean Fun.  After that honest reflection, the boys headed out to enjoy a shaving cream battle.  They were well stocked with ammunition and playfulness and finally settled down by eleven p.m. that night.Lesson Number Three—If You Hoot with the Owls, You Better be Willing to Soar with the Eagles.  The camp schedule included wake-up at seven a.m. with breakfast at eight and cabin cleaning and devotions immediately after eating.  Rusty had everyone’s feet hitting the floor by six fifteen a.m. while marching to the showers.  This schedule continued all week.  The boys won the cleanest cabin award everyday by six forty five a.m. and were fast asleep each night by ten p.m. with no prompting from anyone.  This lesson also made the daily mandatory rest time true to its name.  One of Rusty’s cabin mates resisted, “I don’t take naps!”  Three days in a row he was zonked out for the entire hour.Many other life lessons were cultivated during the week:   sharing God’s word, sitting down for a family meal, and being a great sport at games.  Rusty’s final bit of counsel occurred on the last day as they unloaded their suitcases from the trailer.  “Next year when you pack for camp, don’t worry about including any underwear, because none of you changed all week!”

H two Ohhh!     We are blessed at Quiet Creek to have pure, fresh spring water.  Walker realized the richness of this gift after spending a few days off the farm at church camp.  He indulged in an overabundance of Kool-Aid and orange juice, coming home dehydrated.  He’s not the only one who enjoys Quiet Creek’s valuable resource.  

Very often, we carry a gallon jar of fresh water when invited to summer outings.  Our guests always drain the glass jug much sooner then the bottled adulterated or artificial options found in coolers.  After a big slug of our libation, the most common question from our friends is “What’s that floating in the water?”

We throw in a sprig or two of fresh herb to infuse into the spring water; this provides a flavorful zip.  Our favorite plants to fulfill this task are chocolate mint, lemon verbena, and sweet cicely.

Just the mention of chocolate mint gets a lot of attention from the crowd.  It obtains its name from the dark brown stem and makes for a minty refreshment.  The added bonus is that it soothes the stomach and aids digestion. 

Sweet cicely is a great herb for the black licorice lovers.  We call it the “good and plenty” plant as we remember the candy we consumed years ago.

Probably everyone’s favorite is lemon verbena.  Its attractive lance- shaped leaves in groups of three surrounding the stem infuses nicely in water adding a gentle lemony aroma and taste. 

The drinking container makes a great difference when consuming water.  With current research studies revealing the danger of petroleum-based water bottles, it makes sense to use a glass jar.  Few would disagree that water from glass tastes better than plastic, paper or Styrofoam.  Glass is reusable, recyclable, and a responsible use of God’s resources.  If a question like “What are you drinking, moonshine?”  doesn’t bother you, then start filling your mason jars. 

Our bodies deserve clean water served in non-toxic drinking containers.  Enjoy these simple pleasures in life; you’ll be happy you do! 

Yellow Fish Watershed Project    If you happen to walk along downtown Brookville, you may see the Yellow Fish emblem stating “No Dumping-Drains to Creek.”  Twenty watershed campers are responsible for this environmental message.  During watershed camp they learned that Brookville rain water drains directly to the Redbank Creek with no water treatment in between.  In order to prevent folks from dumping household waste, oil, lawn chemicals and other unwanted liquids and solids into the storm sewers, the students developed an action plan creating a solution to this local problem. 

Through a fun-filled, educational week, students were enticed to “make a difference” in their community as inspired by the Tiger Woods’ Start Something curriculum with an emphasis on keeping their watershed clean.  They developed educational flyers to inform community members about the problem, posted flyers in local business windows, and stenciled the Yellow Fish emblem on borough storm sewers.    Students practiced presentational skills, developed art work, learned old-fashion stone skipping, tested the water for unwanted chemicals, collected invertebrates, and strengthen their knowledge and appreciation of the environment and ecology. 

Each day the students enjoyed their watershed by wading, swimming, and collecting/releasing tadpoles, crayfish and minnows.  Camp was held at Walter Dick Memorial Park.  Students had a “waste free” camp by “recycling, reducing, rotting, and/or reusing” any leftover items.  Healthy snacks and beverages were provided daily. 

Watershed campers received recognition for “making a difference” in their community and their families were awarded honorary 2008 North Fork Watershed Association memberships.  They were encouraged to share their action plan with Tiger Woods who awards scholarships for “take action” initiatives. 

This opportunity occurred through an Environmental Education grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.  The Jefferson County Conservation District and Quiet Creek Herb Farm coordinated the camp.  If you have any questions regarding the Yellow Fish Project and/or would like to paint the emblem on your neighboring storm sewer, please call Amber Siar, Jefferson County Watershed Specialist, at 814-849-7463.

Permanent Agriculture    The past few years we have had interns and occasional visitors to the farm using a term new to us.  Permaculture has been introduced to us in theory at conferences, in magazine articles, and by friends.  Now it is coming alive to Quiet Creek.  

The term coined by Tasmanian Bill Mollison in the 1970’s is an abbreviated word for permanent agriculture.  For three decades Mollison and colleague, David Holmgren, have explored, developed, written, and taught permaculture practices and principles.  Volumes have been written on the subject and lately we can not read enough or learn enough about this vital concept.  

Permaculture as defined by Mollison is “the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.  It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.”

This is earth stewardship at its best -- observing before acting.  Planning how we will interact.  It’s also a work smarter not harder attitude.  “Where nature can perform particular functions,” says Holmgren.  “Be it aerating soil (worms), fixing nitrogen (clover), or building soil (trees), we should utilize these attributes rather than thinking we can replace them.  All aspects and impacts of our agricultural practices are evaluated.”

How energy is caught and stored, how waste is handled and how we adapt to change.  There are so many exciting common sense principles to explore that save resources of time, energy, and the wonderful creation we’ve been given to care for.

This approach to agriculture is not new but rather age old, before mono-cropping, before poison sprays, and heavy equipment.  Land was cared for, resources respected, and life was simpler.  In studying this valuable system we want to implement its use and promote its values in all that we do.  

We’ve all been given a great gift let’s make it last, to give it to future generations – that’s Permanent Agriculture.

After checking references on one another, we as a team decide if there is a mutually benefiting fit.  If so, interns are given ownership in part of the farm to match their learning expectations.  They are mentored and nurtured in all they do.  Rusty explains, if they don’t make mistakes, they’re probably not doing enough. 

His famous question, “What is the best answer you can give your supervisor when asked to do a task?”  Most reply, “Yes, I’ll do it right away.”  Although a good response, he shares the best answer, “It’s already done.” 

The internships are challenging to both the Quiet Creek family and the new residents, but the experience yields many rewards for all.  We have been blessed with caring folks who have become family members.  They have shared stories from when they have lived, Vermont, California, and Ireland.  They relish the sustainably-grown food grown and prepared by all of us. 

Arriving as wandering workers and leaving as lifelong friends, we continue to converse, send computer files, network opportunities, and pray for one another.  Pearl, who arrived a year ago this month, will now journey on to her next “school of life.”  She has brought three of her eight siblings into our lives; grown, harvested and preserved a beautiful bounty displayed on shelves she built; kid-sat our boys while we toured Italy; and made gallons of Kim chi.

She will always be welcome as a daughter, a sister, a colleague, and a steward of God’s resources.  We love her and wish her the greatest success in all she does.  Gladly, we will let her next fortunate mentor know, “She’s a Pearl.” 

Where there’s Smoke, there’s Rusty   Behind the Quiet Creek barn sets a green metal shed that puffs out more smoke than a chain smoker.  Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year for the past twelve years, our outdoor wood burner has faithfully supplied the house and barn with warm heat and hot water. 

Many a visitor has queried with a pointed finger, “Is that a smokehouse?”  Rusty actually planted a smokehouse apple tree next to the boiler so he could reply “affirmative” without fibbing or going into detail about our renewable energy heating system.  Finally, he can truthfully state “yes, it is a smokehouse!”  

It all came about when desiring smoked meats without synthetic preservatives.   He investigated a venison ham rub recipe that required forty hours of cold smoking.  Needing a simple source of smoke, he then created his “redneck smoker” in conjunction with our heat source. 

In the development stages, Rusty noticed nine out of ten days, the wood burner smoke blew to the north.  Hoping to capture the majority of it, he acquired twelve feet of furnace pipe (six inch diameter) with assorted tees and elbows from his dad.  Then he attached a one by two by three foot plywood box to the nearby tractor shed.  Cutting a hole for the furnace pipe, he began telescoping sections toward the wood burner chimney with a few screws and wire strap and the pipe was angled straight to the smoke.  Finally, Rusty rigged up a metal garbage can with a hole cut out of the bottom.  The garbage can funnel was wired to a metal ladder leaning against the wood burner and extended it to a spot just north of the chimney. 

The wood burner gleefully puffs away as the wind pushes the smoke down the funnel through recycled furnace pipe and into the plywood smoking chamber.  There hangs the ham from a wire, basting in the swirling cold smoke.  An exit hole with an elbow allows the smoky air to flow through.  There are two hinged doors on the box’s side make for easy access to hang items (i.e. hams, cheese, and jerky) and for checking the smoke progress. 

Rusty is particular when it comes to high quality smoke.  His first ham was completed with green maple and oak and the next is to be christened with hickory or apple wood. 

Come on out for a Quiet Creek visit any Friday and Saturday to warm your hands and/or sample some hams.  

Triple Play  The boys are excited about Christmas, particularly the gift component.  They’ve enjoyed repeating a joke they heard from their friend Ember . . . Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker he knows what Luke is getting for Christmas.  Luke questions . . . how is that possible?  The dark leader replies . . . I felt your presents.

Gift giving has never been a strong force in our child/parent relationship.  In fact, tangible, extrinsic gifts fall low on our love language priority.  Claire prefers acts of service (feeding the worms) and Rusty words of affirmation (What a wonderful father you are!), far more than a new sweater or a necktie. 

The boys, however, are eager to open any package offered to them.  Since they were babies, we have continued a Christmas tradition that began over two thousand years ago.  This spiritual custom prevents wasteful, impulse shopping and unnecessary accumulation of stuff. 
The Gospel of Mathew tells of the Magi traveling from the East and giving the Christ child three gifts:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The wise men set the precedent; the boys anticipate the same.  Every Christmas wish list is kept short and the gifts under the tree from Santa (A.K.A God) total six.

We could implement the time schedule set forth by the Bible.  The Magi gifts arrived two years after the birth of Jesus, but we have a feeling that might not go over too well. 

We are ever mindful that The True Gift given to the world was God’s best.  He gave his only Son, to the wealthy and the poor, the young and the old, the African and the New Zealander. 
As parents we recognize this sacrifice.  It is so challenging to even consider giving our boys to anyone, especially knowing they would be treated poorly and crucified in the end. 

As Christ followers, we and the boys are thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ who has forgiven us and granted us eternal life.  May your Christmas season be filled with the love, hope, and joy of Jesus.  

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends. 

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends.

Will the Real Kim Chi Please Stand Up    As fall stretches on feeding us short beautiful days and long cold nights, we prepare for the inevitable – winter.  All our canning jars are full (please drop off any unwanted ones), so now we are freezing, drying, and fermenting. 

A fermented staple in our larder is kim chi.  This is a Korean sauerkraut which has become a daily tonic for the Quiet Creek family.  Interns, visitors, and our boys eat a tablespoon daily to keep the doctor at bay.

We’ve developed our own kim chi recipe over the years using fall produce.  With a base of cabbage, we chop in kale, broccoli, radish, beet, carrot, celery, and/or onion.  This crunchy blend is flavored with whey, hot pepper, sea salt, garlic, and ginger.  It sits in glass jars for three days on the counter at room temperature.  Lactobacillus bacteria found in the whey, air, and vegetable skins ferments the combo into a spicy, tangy, and textured condiment. 

Korean friends from church have tried Quiet Creek’s kim chi.  They politely smile, and shake their heads saying “thank you, but not real kim chi.”     

Last week we invited the Kim family over to learn their technique. 

Jen, Jung, Isaac and Joyce enthusiastically accepted our offer.  They brought their authentic hot pepper paste made with fish sauce, garlic, a hot, sweet pepper, and rice water.  We supplied the Napa cabbage, daikon radish, leeks, and carrots.  The result was REAL and incredibly delicious.  Claire and Walker couldn’t stop eating it. 

Now our winter storage is stocked with many fermented products:  Pearl’s purple kim chi, Lucy’s miso, Rusty’s cheese, Claire’s sourdough bread, and the Kim’s brilliant orange kim chi.  We look forward to winter, a great time for eating. 

Copter Cutter  Last Friday the farm was in a flurry of activity.  Rusty was canning tomatoes, Pearl was planting winter greens, Claire was preparing fruit leather, and the boys were riding their bikes.  The crisp fall silence was broken by the boys’ excitement as they announced a calamity coming from the sky.

At first it sounded like a low flying aircraft, then a tree trimming crew, and finally a monster.  Within seconds the integration of all three emerged over the hill. As the deafening monster grew closer it lifted high enough to reveal whirring discs at the end of its pole.  Along the electrical transmission line skirting Quiet Creek’s property, it was a helicopter with its giant hedge trimmer hovering just above the tree line blasting the forest wall. It seemed as if a tornado was careening the tree line, but instead high speed saw blades.

The five of us stood in amazement at the skill and the agility of the helicopter pilot. What a dangerous and bulky apparatus to maneuver so accurately near the power lines. As quickly as the “Death Blade 2000” had appeared, it completed its task and flew away directly overhead. 
On our way to church Sunday morning we spotted the helicopter camped out in our neighbor’s field.  Later that day we stopped to have a closer look.  The cutter was mounted to the copter on the end of a 75 foot pole and contained ten circular saw blades each with a 30 inch diameter.

Eric, our neighbor, a commercial pilot, shared his air strip with the trimming machine from North Carolina and informed us that the helicopter could trim steep hillsides where trucks could not easily go.  We appreciated the fact that no herbicides were used to poison the trees along with the smaller forest shrubs, insects, birds, and ground water

Business is back to normal, but we never know what lies over the next hill.

There’s No Place Like Home . . . Camp  About thirty miles east of Quiet Creek is a small community where Rusty grew up.  Home Camp was named for the homey area where lumbermen returned after a long day of rugged work in the woods. 

Rusty’s granddad moved his family there from the big city of DuBois in the 1920’s.  Home Camp is the place Rusty’s Dad has lived eighty years grooming the land into golden fields of wheat, rich strips of alfalfa, and stately rows of corn.  These grains supplement the pastured dairy cattle which out-number the human residents.

Last Saturday night neighbors answered Russ’s call to celebrate his eightieth on earth and his fifty-five years married to Nancy.  One hundred and seventy-six folks swarmed the large barn yard bringing casseroles and desserts.  They came to laugh, visit, dance, and rejoice on the beautiful autumn night.  The campfire warmed their surroundings and their hands.

Seven local musicians picked, fiddled, and plucked overlooking the dance floor on top of the hay mow; the caller directed, as neighbor swung neighbor, brother escorted sister, and the littlest ones ran throughout the dance squares.  Many visitors sat on the hay bales and grain sacks watching with delight.

Five years ago a barn dance occurred celebrating fifty years of joyful marriage.  Russ and Nancy’s friends and family were hungry for another shindig, never thinking that this one would top the last. 

Home Camp holds a warm place in our hearts having been the spot of our wedding fourteen years ago, and the birth place of Rusty fifty years back.  We stop and visit there as much as we can. We are blessed to have such a place that values true community.  We can’t wait to doe-see-doe and promenade with down-to-earth folk. 

Water Closet Woes  Last week as Claire was putting the finishing touches on the newspaper column, she called to Rusty in distress, “It’s not flowing smoothly!”  Rusty, whose head was in the toilet (literally), grumbled that nothing was, but assured her that all would be remedied soon.

The signs of a sluggish septic system have been haunting our household for a month or two.  At first it acted like a periodic plug, solved with a simple plunge or a five gallon bucket of water poured from chest height. However, the commode contents weren’t always eliminated after such calisthenics. Rusty, suspecting a full septic tank, consulted with a plumber friend who showed up early one morning.  As soon as he yanked the toilet off the floor, it smelled like the tank was wide open.  You didn’t need a trained nose to distinguish the distinctive septic aroma.  After some serious snaking and meticulous measuring, the plumber and assistant found the exact location of the septic tank and found it to be flowing freely.  It was five feet below ground surface under a lilac tree that Rusty had planted six years ago. Back inside, the toilet was wax ringed and given a prognosis that “it was old and needed to be replaced.”  Could it be – a worn out toilet?  Rusty thought maybe another opinion was needed so he took the toilet’s history and headed to the local plumbing shop. Dave, plumbing extraordinaire, had never heard of a worn out toilet and suggested loaning his closet auger to clean out the toilet’s trap.  Sure enough, things were flowing so smoothly that Rusty was ready to kiss Dave when returning the borrowed tool. A week later, the flush just didn’t have it’s get up and go after Rusty got up and went.  So Claire was sent to buy the auger for lifetime use; this remedied the flow for a few days and then stopped (up). At this point Rusty jumped on the porcelain throne and swore he would get to the bottom of the problem.  Carrying the victim out the front door and placing it on its side, he was now ready to pressure wash “whatever” out of the toilet.  As he geared up for business, he noticed something peculiar inside the toilet’s floor hole.  He fetched a pair of pliers and grabbed hold of the shiny gold item as he bent and twisted it.  Out popped a lid from a quart canning jar! Apparently an ambitious dishwasher had poured dirty dish water in an attempt to flush the toilet and had not seen the lid disappear down the can. 

We’re still celebrating in honor of the cracked case of the clogged commode.  So much to be grateful for – a super clean toilet and twenty more years of flushing, although through this long ordeal, Rusty has seriously been researching composting toilets.  A bucket of sawdust could sure simplify life.

Don’t Have a Cow   Our intern Jeremy is soon moving back to his home city of Detroit.  His urban farming plans are formalizing at the dinner table and the livestock issue is quite entertaining.  

The poultry options are not paltry.   Exotic chickens offer colorful eggs, but chickens will scratch up his garden beds and peck his fruit.  Guinea fowl don’t carry these negative traits, but they are territorial and do have loud vocal tendencies.  Ducks will eat slugs and lay eggs, but beware of their numerous, slippery deposits.  Indian Runner ducks may be worth the effort since their upright waddle will provide many laughs. 

The age old adage “which came first the –the chicken or the egg” problem will not be a problem.  There will be fowl and then eggs.  Milk, however, is an argumentative issue.  Rusty, a recovering dairy farmer, states if you want a milk animal, you’ll be married to it seven days a week, twice a day.  Rusty is an advocate of local, raw milk, but not owning a cow. 
Jeremy has learned how to make cheese and yogurt here in Pennsylvania and is dependent on the rich supply of quality vitamins and protein.  He attempted to track down a “cow share” since selling raw milk is illegal in Michigan, but the closest one was a hundred mile bike ride, round trip. 

Goat milk is looking promising, although a determined goat can jump a six foot fence and create a nuisance by eating the garden, shrubbery, and miscellaneous household items. 
Sheep milk is apparently good for making cheese and water buffalo makes the best mozzarella.  These animals are somewhat uncommon in Detroit as well as Quiet Creek. 

For a meat source, the afore-mentioned fauna will satisfy, but maybe a pen of rabbits sounds appealing.  In addition, they will provide manure for feeding red wigglers who will offer worm compost for growing vegetables. 

That brings the discussion back to Quiet Creek’s one and only recommended animal – the worm... not great for meat and/or milk, but super powerful for any herbivore in the city or the country.  We wish Jeremy the very best in all he and his five thousand worms do to promote urban gardening for the disadvantaged. 

Melon Drama   The hot dry end to summer gives our garden a boost.  The heat is reddening up the Jimmy Nardello sweet Italian frying peppers, ripening the tomatoes, and giving the melons some size.The latter is an exciting addition to Quiet Creek’s table.  Past success with cantaloupe and watermelon has been limited. The hi tunnel experiments yielded some small sweet butterscotch melons, but never a good watermelon.  The only decent watermelon ever grown at Quiet Creek came from a volunteer spit in a contest at Spring Fest years back.  This stray prompted the melon growing committee to try outside growing.  Early this spring, we started a lasagna garden on a chunk of lawn by our honeybee hive.  The twenty by forty foot patch mowed short, then covered with large pieces of cardboard donated by the local appliance store, and finally topped with wood chips is now yielding beautiful fruit. Initially we waited three weeks before transplanting seedlings into the layers.  This time allowed the grass to be smothered, the soil to warm up, and the moisture to reach maximum capacity.  It was a slow start, but by July there were plenty of melon blossoms. Throughout the season, intern Jeremy squashed bugs and top dressed the plants with worm compost.  His hard work paid off last week when he picked three very sweet cantaloupes.  There are plenty more waiting to ‘slip’ from the vine when ripe. The watermelons are doing fine as Rusty patiently learns to harvest them appropriately.  The thumping test fooled him twice, although they were devoured with no problem by the boys.  His next method is to wait until the white spot on the melon where it touches the ground turns orange, not yellow.  Another good indicator is to watch for is the green curly tendril closest to the melon stem to turn brown.  If waiting for ripening and a chance of frost may occur, be sure to cover them with a tarp.After the final harvest, the melon committee plans to cover the patch with more cardboard, leaves, and compost to prepare for next summer’s crop.  We want to be sure to enjoy plenty of sweet, juicy melons. 

Got Milkweed?  At the front of Quiet Creek’s herb garden stands a regal family of Asclepias syriaca.  The plants gain their scientific name in honor of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine; most folks know it as Common Milkweed.

American Indians realized its medicinal properties using the root as a laxative and diuretic for kidney stones.  Our Iroquois friend, Michael, knows its milky latex to cure warts, moles, and ringworm.  Early settlers to America treated asthma and rheumatism with the herb.  Today it is used with caution because of its cardioactive compounds.  

Quiet Creek’s milkweed is used for other reasons.  Walker likes to make tough white cord out of the dried milkweed stalks.  Ashton opens the dried “fish pods” to stuff pillows.  Many visitors have shared how they collected the pods as children during World War II to fill flight and life jackets.  

This fluff is five times as buoyant as cork and a few pounds can hold up a human in the sea.  It is warmer than wool and six times lighter.  The silk is curled and spun into thread making a great candle wick.  

All of these uses are topped with the number one reason –food for our favorite caterpillar.  The Monarch butterfly lays her eggs on the milkweed leaves and the hatching caterpillars have immediate nourishment.

What excitement unveils when the boys find a green, yellow, white, and black striped caterpillar devouring a milkweed leaf.  Many a time they have witnessed the juveniles build a chrysalis and emerge as a beautiful monarch.  

Whether you choose to plant for medicine, rope, or butterflies, milkweed deserves a place in everyone’s backyard.  

Self Preservation  The fruits of summer are pouring out of the garden and we are enjoying eating everything fresh.  Most meals comprise of garden produce and we savor the flavors while we can.  Although the crickets, blue jay, and the chill in the air are telling us that winter is coming.  We are preparing by taking the excess produce and storing it for that special time.

Through the years we have learned healthy, easy, and favorite ways to preserve food.  When recipes call for beets to be peeled before pickling, there is no need.  Our family benefits from the added fiber and nutrients, while still loving the flavor.  For a tasty bonus, Rusty will spice up the beets with cinnamon, fenugreek, and orange peel. 

Too often sugar is a prominent ingredient in many canning recipes, but it can be skipped or substituted.  For example, we can peaches in plain hot water, no sugar necessary since the fruit is loaded with its own natural sweetness.   A great way to preserve pears is to can them in apple cider. 

Claire looks forward to coring apples for apple sauce.  No need to remove the skin; she just throws the mixture into the Vita-Mix after cooling it down.  Come winter any and all of those canned goods sweeten our breakfast smoothies or are used to make fruit leather when cooked, puréered, and dried to a sweet flat snack. 

Mom Orner’s refrigerator pickle recipe is easily tweaked by substituting stevia for sugar.  The end product has few calories, no impact to our blood sugar, and a crunchy sweet condiment. 

Speaking of treats, be sure to pressure can lots of vegetable beef soup.  Grass fed beef, corn, beans, onions, carrots, and tomatoes make a quick, delicious meal on a cold blustery day.

Our friend, Mildred, taught us to freeze whole cherry tomatoes by simply popping them into a freezer bag.  We tried the same method for broccoli and obtained the same great results. 

It may sound time consuming, but the long range benefits to our family and friends make self preservation a priority. 

Camp Counsel   Over two weeks has past since church camp; Rusty is just now able to discuss his counseling experience.  (It is amazing how a few days of vacation, some real sleep, and intensive shock therapy can lessen the pain.) 

For six days and five nights he lived, breathed, ate, and snored with seven third and fourth grade boys.   Much education was learned by all.

Lesson Number One—Honesty is the way to go.  The first night the boys gathered round in a small group to learn one another’s names.  The idea of the get-acquainted game was to introduce one’s self and share something.  The next boy repeats the first boy’s information and then his own name and information.  The third boy repeats the first and second, and so on.  Rusty started things rolling—“Hi, I am Rusty and I like to grow things.”  Cameron dutifully shared about Rusty and that he himself plays a lot of baseball.  Half way around the circle Greyson introduced himself and said “I have a blankey.”  The young fellow apparently was apprehensive about spending the night away from home and decided to be honest and get the teasing over with.  This opened up discussion for the rest who either admitted to bringing a stuffed animal and/or blanket to camp or leaving one they missed back home.  Although Rusty didn’t admit it to the boys, he too had packed his favorite pillow for the trip away from Claire. Lesson Number Two—Have Clean Fun.  After that honest reflection, the boys headed out to enjoy a shaving cream battle.  They were well stocked with ammunition and playfulness and finally settled down by eleven p.m. that night.Lesson Number Three—If You Hoot with the Owls, You Better be Willing to Soar with the Eagles.  The camp schedule included wake-up at seven a.m. with breakfast at eight and cabin cleaning and devotions immediately after eating.  Rusty had everyone’s feet hitting the floor by six fifteen a.m. while marching to the showers.  This schedule continued all week.  The boys won the cleanest cabin award everyday by six forty five a.m. and were fast asleep each night by ten p.m. with no prompting from anyone.  This lesson also made the daily mandatory rest time true to its name.  One of Rusty’s cabin mates resisted, “I don’t take naps!”  Three days in a row he was zonked out for the entire hour.Many other life lessons were cultivated during the week:   sharing God’s word, sitting down for a family meal, and being a great sport at games.  Rusty’s final bit of counsel occurred on the last day as they unloaded their suitcases from the trailer.  “Next year when you pack for camp, don’t worry about including any underwear, because none of you changed all week!”

H two Ohhh!     We are blessed at Quiet Creek to have pure, fresh spring water.  Walker realized the richness of this gift after spending a few days off the farm at church camp.  He indulged in an overabundance of Kool-Aid and orange juice, coming home dehydrated.  He’s not the only one who enjoys Quiet Creek’s valuable resource.  

Very often, we carry a gallon jar of fresh water when invited to summer outings.  Our guests always drain the glass jug much sooner then the bottled adulterated or artificial options found in coolers.  After a big slug of our libation, the most common question from our friends is “What’s that floating in the water?”

We throw in a sprig or two of fresh herb to infuse into the spring water; this provides a flavorful zip.  Our favorite plants to fulfill this task are chocolate mint, lemon verbena, and sweet cicely.

Just the mention of chocolate mint gets a lot of attention from the crowd.  It obtains its name from the dark brown stem and makes for a minty refreshment.  The added bonus is that it soothes the stomach and aids digestion. 

Sweet cicely is a great herb for the black licorice lovers.  We call it the “good and plenty” plant as we remember the candy we consumed years ago.

Probably everyone’s favorite is lemon verbena.  Its attractive lance- shaped leaves in groups of three surrounding the stem infuses nicely in water adding a gentle lemony aroma and taste. 

The drinking container makes a great difference when consuming water.  With current research studies revealing the danger of petroleum-based water bottles, it makes sense to use a glass jar.  Few would disagree that water from glass tastes better than plastic, paper or Styrofoam.  Glass is reusable, recyclable, and a responsible use of God’s resources.  If a question like “What are you drinking, moonshine?”  doesn’t bother you, then start filling your mason jars. 

Our bodies deserve clean water served in non-toxic drinking containers.  Enjoy these simple pleasures in life; you’ll be happy you do! 

Yellow Fish Watershed Project    If you happen to walk along downtown Brookville, you may see the Yellow Fish emblem stating “No Dumping-Drains to Creek.”  Twenty watershed campers are responsible for this environmental message.  During watershed camp they learned that Brookville rain water drains directly to the Redbank Creek with no water treatment in between.  In order to prevent folks from dumping household waste, oil, lawn chemicals and other unwanted liquids and solids into the storm sewers, the students developed an action plan creating a solution to this local problem. 

Through a fun-filled, educational week, students were enticed to “make a difference” in their community as inspired by the Tiger Woods’ Start Something curriculum with an emphasis on keeping their watershed clean.  They developed educational flyers to inform community members about the problem, posted flyers in local business windows, and stenciled the Yellow Fish emblem on borough storm sewers.    Students practiced presentational skills, developed art work, learned old-fashion stone skipping, tested the water for unwanted chemicals, collected invertebrates, and strengthen their knowledge and appreciation of the environment and ecology. 

Each day the students enjoyed their watershed by wading, swimming, and collecting/releasing tadpoles, crayfish and minnows.  Camp was held at Walter Dick Memorial Park.  Students had a “waste free” camp by “recycling, reducing, rotting, and/or reusing” any leftover items.  Healthy snacks and beverages were provided daily. 

Watershed campers received recognition for “making a difference” in their community and their families were awarded honorary 2008 North Fork Watershed Association memberships.  They were encouraged to share their action plan with Tiger Woods who awards scholarships for “take action” initiatives. 

This opportunity occurred through an Environmental Education grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.  The Jefferson County Conservation District and Quiet Creek Herb Farm coordinated the camp.  If you have any questions regarding the Yellow Fish Project and/or would like to paint the emblem on your neighboring storm sewer, please call Amber Siar, Jefferson County Watershed Specialist, at 814-849-7463.

Permanent Agriculture    The past few years we have had interns and occasional visitors to the farm using a term new to us.  Permaculture has been introduced to us in theory at conferences, in magazine articles, and by friends.  Now it is coming alive to Quiet Creek.  

The term coined by Tasmanian Bill Mollison in the 1970’s is an abbreviated word for permanent agriculture.  For three decades Mollison and colleague, David Holmgren, have explored, developed, written, and taught permaculture practices and principles.  Volumes have been written on the subject and lately we can not read enough or learn enough about this vital concept.  

Permaculture as defined by Mollison is “the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.  It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.”

This is earth stewardship at its best -- observing before acting.  Planning how we will interact.  It’s also a work smarter not harder attitude.  “Where nature can perform particular functions,” says Holmgren.  “Be it aerating soil (worms), fixing nitrogen (clover), or building soil (trees), we should utilize these attributes rather than thinking we can replace them.  All aspects and impacts of our agricultural practices are evaluated.”

How energy is caught and stored, how waste is handled and how we adapt to change.  There are so many exciting common sense principles to explore that save resources of time, energy, and the wonderful creation we’ve been given to care for.

This approach to agriculture is not new but rather age old, before mono-cropping, before poison sprays, and heavy equipment.  Land was cared for, resources respected, and life was simpler.  In studying this valuable system we want to implement its use and promote its values in all that we do.  

We’ve all been given a great gift let’s make it last, to give it to future generations – that’s Permanent Agriculture.

The internships are challenging to both the Quiet Creek family and the new residents, but the experience yields many rewards for all.  We have been blessed with caring folks who have become family members.  They have shared stories from when they have lived, Vermont, California, and Ireland.  They relish the sustainably-grown food grown and prepared by all of us. 

Arriving as wandering workers and leaving as lifelong friends, we continue to converse, send computer files, network opportunities, and pray for one another.  Pearl, who arrived a year ago this month, will now journey on to her next “school of life.”  She has brought three of her eight siblings into our lives; grown, harvested and preserved a beautiful bounty displayed on shelves she built; kid-sat our boys while we toured Italy; and made gallons of Kim chi.

She will always be welcome as a daughter, a sister, a colleague, and a steward of God’s resources.  We love her and wish her the greatest success in all she does.  Gladly, we will let her next fortunate mentor know, “She’s a Pearl.” 

Where there’s Smoke, there’s Rusty   Behind the Quiet Creek barn sets a green metal shed that puffs out more smoke than a chain smoker.  Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year for the past twelve years, our outdoor wood burner has faithfully supplied the house and barn with warm heat and hot water. 

Many a visitor has queried with a pointed finger, “Is that a smokehouse?”  Rusty actually planted a smokehouse apple tree next to the boiler so he could reply “affirmative” without fibbing or going into detail about our renewable energy heating system.  Finally, he can truthfully state “yes, it is a smokehouse!”  

It all came about when desiring smoked meats without synthetic preservatives.   He investigated a venison ham rub recipe that required forty hours of cold smoking.  Needing a simple source of smoke, he then created his “redneck smoker” in conjunction with our heat source. 

In the development stages, Rusty noticed nine out of ten days, the wood burner smoke blew to the north.  Hoping to capture the majority of it, he acquired twelve feet of furnace pipe (six inch diameter) with assorted tees and elbows from his dad.  Then he attached a one by two by three foot plywood box to the nearby tractor shed.  Cutting a hole for the furnace pipe, he began telescoping sections toward the wood burner chimney with a few screws and wire strap and the pipe was angled straight to the smoke.  Finally, Rusty rigged up a metal garbage can with a hole cut out of the bottom.  The garbage can funnel was wired to a metal ladder leaning against the wood burner and extended it to a spot just north of the chimney. 

The wood burner gleefully puffs away as the wind pushes the smoke down the funnel through recycled furnace pipe and into the plywood smoking chamber.  There hangs the ham from a wire, basting in the swirling cold smoke.  An exit hole with an elbow allows the smoky air to flow through.  There are two hinged doors on the box’s side make for easy access to hang items (i.e. hams, cheese, and jerky) and for checking the smoke progress. 

Rusty is particular when it comes to high quality smoke.  His first ham was completed with green maple and oak and the next is to be christened with hickory or apple wood. 

Come on out for a Quiet Creek visit any Friday and Saturday to warm your hands and/or sample some hams.  

Triple Play  The boys are excited about Christmas, particularly the gift component.  They’ve enjoyed repeating a joke they heard from their friend Ember . . . Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker he knows what Luke is getting for Christmas.  Luke questions . . . how is that possible?  The dark leader replies . . . I felt your presents.

Gift giving has never been a strong force in our child/parent relationship.  In fact, tangible, extrinsic gifts fall low on our love language priority.  Claire prefers acts of service (feeding the worms) and Rusty words of affirmation (What a wonderful father you are!), far more than a new sweater or a necktie. 

The boys, however, are eager to open any package offered to them.  Since they were babies, we have continued a Christmas tradition that began over two thousand years ago.  This spiritual custom prevents wasteful, impulse shopping and unnecessary accumulation of stuff. 
The Gospel of Mathew tells of the Magi traveling from the East and giving the Christ child three gifts:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The wise men set the precedent; the boys anticipate the same.  Every Christmas wish list is kept short and the gifts under the tree from Santa (A.K.A God) total six.

We could implement the time schedule set forth by the Bible.  The Magi gifts arrived two years after the birth of Jesus, but we have a feeling that might not go over too well. 

We are ever mindful that The True Gift given to the world was God’s best.  He gave his only Son, to the wealthy and the poor, the young and the old, the African and the New Zealander. 
As parents we recognize this sacrifice.  It is so challenging to even consider giving our boys to anyone, especially knowing they would be treated poorly and crucified in the end. 

As Christ followers, we and the boys are thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ who has forgiven us and granted us eternal life.  May your Christmas season be filled with the love, hope, and joy of Jesus.  

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends. 

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends.

Will the Real Kim Chi Please Stand Up    As fall stretches on feeding us short beautiful days and long cold nights, we prepare for the inevitable – winter.  All our canning jars are full (please drop off any unwanted ones), so now we are freezing, drying, and fermenting. 

A fermented staple in our larder is kim chi.  This is a Korean sauerkraut which has become a daily tonic for the Quiet Creek family.  Interns, visitors, and our boys eat a tablespoon daily to keep the doctor at bay.

We’ve developed our own kim chi recipe over the years using fall produce.  With a base of cabbage, we chop in kale, broccoli, radish, beet, carrot, celery, and/or onion.  This crunchy blend is flavored with whey, hot pepper, sea salt, garlic, and ginger.  It sits in glass jars for three days on the counter at room temperature.  Lactobacillus bacteria found in the whey, air, and vegetable skins ferments the combo into a spicy, tangy, and textured condiment. 

Korean friends from church have tried Quiet Creek’s kim chi.  They politely smile, and shake their heads saying “thank you, but not real kim chi.”     

Last week we invited the Kim family over to learn their technique. 

Jen, Jung, Isaac and Joyce enthusiastically accepted our offer.  They brought their authentic hot pepper paste made with fish sauce, garlic, a hot, sweet pepper, and rice water.  We supplied the Napa cabbage, daikon radish, leeks, and carrots.  The result was REAL and incredibly delicious.  Claire and Walker couldn’t stop eating it. 

Now our winter storage is stocked with many fermented products:  Pearl’s purple kim chi, Lucy’s miso, Rusty’s cheese, Claire’s sourdough bread, and the Kim’s brilliant orange kim chi.  We look forward to winter, a great time for eating. 

Copter Cutter  Last Friday the farm was in a flurry of activity.  Rusty was canning tomatoes, Pearl was planting winter greens, Claire was preparing fruit leather, and the boys were riding their bikes.  The crisp fall silence was broken by the boys’ excitement as they announced a calamity coming from the sky.

At first it sounded like a low flying aircraft, then a tree trimming crew, and finally a monster.  Within seconds the integration of all three emerged over the hill. As the deafening monster grew closer it lifted high enough to reveal whirring discs at the end of its pole.  Along the electrical transmission line skirting Quiet Creek’s property, it was a helicopter with its giant hedge trimmer hovering just above the tree line blasting the forest wall. It seemed as if a tornado was careening the tree line, but instead high speed saw blades.

The five of us stood in amazement at the skill and the agility of the helicopter pilot. What a dangerous and bulky apparatus to maneuver so accurately near the power lines. As quickly as the “Death Blade 2000” had appeared, it completed its task and flew away directly overhead. 
On our way to church Sunday morning we spotted the helicopter camped out in our neighbor’s field.  Later that day we stopped to have a closer look.  The cutter was mounted to the copter on the end of a 75 foot pole and contained ten circular saw blades each with a 30 inch diameter.

Eric, our neighbor, a commercial pilot, shared his air strip with the trimming machine from North Carolina and informed us that the helicopter could trim steep hillsides where trucks could not easily go.  We appreciated the fact that no herbicides were used to poison the trees along with the smaller forest shrubs, insects, birds, and ground water

Business is back to normal, but we never know what lies over the next hill.

There’s No Place Like Home . . . Camp  About thirty miles east of Quiet Creek is a small community where Rusty grew up.  Home Camp was named for the homey area where lumbermen returned after a long day of rugged work in the woods. 

Rusty’s granddad moved his family there from the big city of DuBois in the 1920’s.  Home Camp is the place Rusty’s Dad has lived eighty years grooming the land into golden fields of wheat, rich strips of alfalfa, and stately rows of corn.  These grains supplement the pastured dairy cattle which out-number the human residents.

Last Saturday night neighbors answered Russ’s call to celebrate his eightieth on earth and his fifty-five years married to Nancy.  One hundred and seventy-six folks swarmed the large barn yard bringing casseroles and desserts.  They came to laugh, visit, dance, and rejoice on the beautiful autumn night.  The campfire warmed their surroundings and their hands.

Seven local musicians picked, fiddled, and plucked overlooking the dance floor on top of the hay mow; the caller directed, as neighbor swung neighbor, brother escorted sister, and the littlest ones ran throughout the dance squares.  Many visitors sat on the hay bales and grain sacks watching with delight.

Five years ago a barn dance occurred celebrating fifty years of joyful marriage.  Russ and Nancy’s friends and family were hungry for another shindig, never thinking that this one would top the last. 

Home Camp holds a warm place in our hearts having been the spot of our wedding fourteen years ago, and the birth place of Rusty fifty years back.  We stop and visit there as much as we can. We are blessed to have such a place that values true community.  We can’t wait to doe-see-doe and promenade with down-to-earth folk. 

Water Closet Woes  Last week as Claire was putting the finishing touches on the newspaper column, she called to Rusty in distress, “It’s not flowing smoothly!”  Rusty, whose head was in the toilet (literally), grumbled that nothing was, but assured her that all would be remedied soon.

The signs of a sluggish septic system have been haunting our household for a month or two.  At first it acted like a periodic plug, solved with a simple plunge or a five gallon bucket of water poured from chest height. However, the commode contents weren’t always eliminated after such calisthenics. Rusty, suspecting a full septic tank, consulted with a plumber friend who showed up early one morning.  As soon as he yanked the toilet off the floor, it smelled like the tank was wide open.  You didn’t need a trained nose to distinguish the distinctive septic aroma.  After some serious snaking and meticulous measuring, the plumber and assistant found the exact location of the septic tank and found it to be flowing freely.  It was five feet below ground surface under a lilac tree that Rusty had planted six years ago. Back inside, the toilet was wax ringed and given a prognosis that “it was old and needed to be replaced.”  Could it be – a worn out toilet?  Rusty thought maybe another opinion was needed so he took the toilet’s history and headed to the local plumbing shop. Dave, plumbing extraordinaire, had never heard of a worn out toilet and suggested loaning his closet auger to clean out the toilet’s trap.  Sure enough, things were flowing so smoothly that Rusty was ready to kiss Dave when returning the borrowed tool. A week later, the flush just didn’t have it’s get up and go after Rusty got up and went.  So Claire was sent to buy the auger for lifetime use; this remedied the flow for a few days and then stopped (up). At this point Rusty jumped on the porcelain throne and swore he would get to the bottom of the problem.  Carrying the victim out the front door and placing it on its side, he was now ready to pressure wash “whatever” out of the toilet.  As he geared up for business, he noticed something peculiar inside the toilet’s floor hole.  He fetched a pair of pliers and grabbed hold of the shiny gold item as he bent and twisted it.  Out popped a lid from a quart canning jar! Apparently an ambitious dishwasher had poured dirty dish water in an attempt to flush the toilet and had not seen the lid disappear down the can. 

We’re still celebrating in honor of the cracked case of the clogged commode.  So much to be grateful for – a super clean toilet and twenty more years of flushing, although through this long ordeal, Rusty has seriously been researching composting toilets.  A bucket of sawdust could sure simplify life.

Don’t Have a Cow   Our intern Jeremy is soon moving back to his home city of Detroit.  His urban farming plans are formalizing at the dinner table and the livestock issue is quite entertaining.  

The poultry options are not paltry.   Exotic chickens offer colorful eggs, but chickens will scratch up his garden beds and peck his fruit.  Guinea fowl don’t carry these negative traits, but they are territorial and do have loud vocal tendencies.  Ducks will eat slugs and lay eggs, but beware of their numerous, slippery deposits.  Indian Runner ducks may be worth the effort since their upright waddle will provide many laughs. 

The age old adage “which came first the –the chicken or the egg” problem will not be a problem.  There will be fowl and then eggs.  Milk, however, is an argumentative issue.  Rusty, a recovering dairy farmer, states if you want a milk animal, you’ll be married to it seven days a week, twice a day.  Rusty is an advocate of local, raw milk, but not owning a cow. 
Jeremy has learned how to make cheese and yogurt here in Pennsylvania and is dependent on the rich supply of quality vitamins and protein.  He attempted to track down a “cow share” since selling raw milk is illegal in Michigan, but the closest one was a hundred mile bike ride, round trip. 

Goat milk is looking promising, although a determined goat can jump a six foot fence and create a nuisance by eating the garden, shrubbery, and miscellaneous household items. 
Sheep milk is apparently good for making cheese and water buffalo makes the best mozzarella.  These animals are somewhat uncommon in Detroit as well as Quiet Creek. 

For a meat source, the afore-mentioned fauna will satisfy, but maybe a pen of rabbits sounds appealing.  In addition, they will provide manure for feeding red wigglers who will offer worm compost for growing vegetables. 

That brings the discussion back to Quiet Creek’s one and only recommended animal – the worm... not great for meat and/or milk, but super powerful for any herbivore in the city or the country.  We wish Jeremy the very best in all he and his five thousand worms do to promote urban gardening for the disadvantaged. 

Melon Drama   The hot dry end to summer gives our garden a boost.  The heat is reddening up the Jimmy Nardello sweet Italian frying peppers, ripening the tomatoes, and giving the melons some size.The latter is an exciting addition to Quiet Creek’s table.  Past success with cantaloupe and watermelon has been limited. The hi tunnel experiments yielded some small sweet butterscotch melons, but never a good watermelon.  The only decent watermelon ever grown at Quiet Creek came from a volunteer spit in a contest at Spring Fest years back.  This stray prompted the melon growing committee to try outside growing.  Early this spring, we started a lasagna garden on a chunk of lawn by our honeybee hive.  The twenty by forty foot patch mowed short, then covered with large pieces of cardboard donated by the local appliance store, and finally topped with wood chips is now yielding beautiful fruit. Initially we waited three weeks before transplanting seedlings into the layers.  This time allowed the grass to be smothered, the soil to warm up, and the moisture to reach maximum capacity.  It was a slow start, but by July there were plenty of melon blossoms. Throughout the season, intern Jeremy squashed bugs and top dressed the plants with worm compost.  His hard work paid off last week when he picked three very sweet cantaloupes.  There are plenty more waiting to ‘slip’ from the vine when ripe. The watermelons are doing fine as Rusty patiently learns to harvest them appropriately.  The thumping test fooled him twice, although they were devoured with no problem by the boys.  His next method is to wait until the white spot on the melon where it touches the ground turns orange, not yellow.  Another good indicator is to watch for is the green curly tendril closest to the melon stem to turn brown.  If waiting for ripening and a chance of frost may occur, be sure to cover them with a tarp.After the final harvest, the melon committee plans to cover the patch with more cardboard, leaves, and compost to prepare for next summer’s crop.  We want to be sure to enjoy plenty of sweet, juicy melons. 

Got Milkweed?  At the front of Quiet Creek’s herb garden stands a regal family of Asclepias syriaca.  The plants gain their scientific name in honor of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine; most folks know it as Common Milkweed.

American Indians realized its medicinal properties using the root as a laxative and diuretic for kidney stones.  Our Iroquois friend, Michael, knows its milky latex to cure warts, moles, and ringworm.  Early settlers to America treated asthma and rheumatism with the herb.  Today it is used with caution because of its cardioactive compounds.  

Quiet Creek’s milkweed is used for other reasons.  Walker likes to make tough white cord out of the dried milkweed stalks.  Ashton opens the dried “fish pods” to stuff pillows.  Many visitors have shared how they collected the pods as children during World War II to fill flight and life jackets.  

This fluff is five times as buoyant as cork and a few pounds can hold up a human in the sea.  It is warmer than wool and six times lighter.  The silk is curled and spun into thread making a great candle wick.  

All of these uses are topped with the number one reason –food for our favorite caterpillar.  The Monarch butterfly lays her eggs on the milkweed leaves and the hatching caterpillars have immediate nourishment.

What excitement unveils when the boys find a green, yellow, white, and black striped caterpillar devouring a milkweed leaf.  Many a time they have witnessed the juveniles build a chrysalis and emerge as a beautiful monarch.  

Whether you choose to plant for medicine, rope, or butterflies, milkweed deserves a place in everyone’s backyard.  

Self Preservation  The fruits of summer are pouring out of the garden and we are enjoying eating everything fresh.  Most meals comprise of garden produce and we savor the flavors while we can.  Although the crickets, blue jay, and the chill in the air are telling us that winter is coming.  We are preparing by taking the excess produce and storing it for that special time.

Through the years we have learned healthy, easy, and favorite ways to preserve food.  When recipes call for beets to be peeled before pickling, there is no need.  Our family benefits from the added fiber and nutrients, while still loving the flavor.  For a tasty bonus, Rusty will spice up the beets with cinnamon, fenugreek, and orange peel. 

Too often sugar is a prominent ingredient in many canning recipes, but it can be skipped or substituted.  For example, we can peaches in plain hot water, no sugar necessary since the fruit is loaded with its own natural sweetness.   A great way to preserve pears is to can them in apple cider. 

Claire looks forward to coring apples for apple sauce.  No need to remove the skin; she just throws the mixture into the Vita-Mix after cooling it down.  Come winter any and all of those canned goods sweeten our breakfast smoothies or are used to make fruit leather when cooked, puréered, and dried to a sweet flat snack. 

Mom Orner’s refrigerator pickle recipe is easily tweaked by substituting stevia for sugar.  The end product has few calories, no impact to our blood sugar, and a crunchy sweet condiment. 

Speaking of treats, be sure to pressure can lots of vegetable beef soup.  Grass fed beef, corn, beans, onions, carrots, and tomatoes make a quick, delicious meal on a cold blustery day.

Our friend, Mildred, taught us to freeze whole cherry tomatoes by simply popping them into a freezer bag.  We tried the same method for broccoli and obtained the same great results. 

It may sound time consuming, but the long range benefits to our family and friends make self preservation a priority. 

Camp Counsel   Over two weeks has past since church camp; Rusty is just now able to discuss his counseling experience.  (It is amazing how a few days of vacation, some real sleep, and intensive shock therapy can lessen the pain.) 

For six days and five nights he lived, breathed, ate, and snored with seven third and fourth grade boys.   Much education was learned by all.

Lesson Number One—Honesty is the way to go.  The first night the boys gathered round in a small group to learn one another’s names.  The idea of the get-acquainted game was to introduce one’s self and share something.  The next boy repeats the first boy’s information and then his own name and information.  The third boy repeats the first and second, and so on.  Rusty started things rolling—“Hi, I am Rusty and I like to grow things.”  Cameron dutifully shared about Rusty and that he himself plays a lot of baseball.  Half way around the circle Greyson introduced himself and said “I have a blankey.”  The young fellow apparently was apprehensive about spending the night away from home and decided to be honest and get the teasing over with.  This opened up discussion for the rest who either admitted to bringing a stuffed animal and/or blanket to camp or leaving one they missed back home.  Although Rusty didn’t admit it to the boys, he too had packed his favorite pillow for the trip away from Claire. Lesson Number Two—Have Clean Fun.  After that honest reflection, the boys headed out to enjoy a shaving cream battle.  They were well stocked with ammunition and playfulness and finally settled down by eleven p.m. that night.Lesson Number Three—If You Hoot with the Owls, You Better be Willing to Soar with the Eagles.  The camp schedule included wake-up at seven a.m. with breakfast at eight and cabin cleaning and devotions immediately after eating.  Rusty had everyone’s feet hitting the floor by six fifteen a.m. while marching to the showers.  This schedule continued all week.  The boys won the cleanest cabin award everyday by six forty five a.m. and were fast asleep each night by ten p.m. with no prompting from anyone.  This lesson also made the daily mandatory rest time true to its name.  One of Rusty’s cabin mates resisted, “I don’t take naps!”  Three days in a row he was zonked out for the entire hour.Many other life lessons were cultivated during the week:   sharing God’s word, sitting down for a family meal, and being a great sport at games.  Rusty’s final bit of counsel occurred on the last day as they unloaded their suitcases from the trailer.  “Next year when you pack for camp, don’t worry about including any underwear, because none of you changed all week!”

H two Ohhh!     We are blessed at Quiet Creek to have pure, fresh spring water.  Walker realized the richness of this gift after spending a few days off the farm at church camp.  He indulged in an overabundance of Kool-Aid and orange juice, coming home dehydrated.  He’s not the only one who enjoys Quiet Creek’s valuable resource.  

Very often, we carry a gallon jar of fresh water when invited to summer outings.  Our guests always drain the glass jug much sooner then the bottled adulterated or artificial options found in coolers.  After a big slug of our libation, the most common question from our friends is “What’s that floating in the water?”

We throw in a sprig or two of fresh herb to infuse into the spring water; this provides a flavorful zip.  Our favorite plants to fulfill this task are chocolate mint, lemon verbena, and sweet cicely.

Just the mention of chocolate mint gets a lot of attention from the crowd.  It obtains its name from the dark brown stem and makes for a minty refreshment.  The added bonus is that it soothes the stomach and aids digestion. 

Sweet cicely is a great herb for the black licorice lovers.  We call it the “good and plenty” plant as we remember the candy we consumed years ago.

Probably everyone’s favorite is lemon verbena.  Its attractive lance- shaped leaves in groups of three surrounding the stem infuses nicely in water adding a gentle lemony aroma and taste. 

The drinking container makes a great difference when consuming water.  With current research studies revealing the danger of petroleum-based water bottles, it makes sense to use a glass jar.  Few would disagree that water from glass tastes better than plastic, paper or Styrofoam.  Glass is reusable, recyclable, and a responsible use of God’s resources.  If a question like “What are you drinking, moonshine?”  doesn’t bother you, then start filling your mason jars. 

Our bodies deserve clean water served in non-toxic drinking containers.  Enjoy these simple pleasures in life; you’ll be happy you do! 

Yellow Fish Watershed Project    If you happen to walk along downtown Brookville, you may see the Yellow Fish emblem stating “No Dumping-Drains to Creek.”  Twenty watershed campers are responsible for this environmental message.  During watershed camp they learned that Brookville rain water drains directly to the Redbank Creek with no water treatment in between.  In order to prevent folks from dumping household waste, oil, lawn chemicals and other unwanted liquids and solids into the storm sewers, the students developed an action plan creating a solution to this local problem. 

Through a fun-filled, educational week, students were enticed to “make a difference” in their community as inspired by the Tiger Woods’ Start Something curriculum with an emphasis on keeping their watershed clean.  They developed educational flyers to inform community members about the problem, posted flyers in local business windows, and stenciled the Yellow Fish emblem on borough storm sewers.    Students practiced presentational skills, developed art work, learned old-fashion stone skipping, tested the water for unwanted chemicals, collected invertebrates, and strengthen their knowledge and appreciation of the environment and ecology. 

Each day the students enjoyed their watershed by wading, swimming, and collecting/releasing tadpoles, crayfish and minnows.  Camp was held at Walter Dick Memorial Park.  Students had a “waste free” camp by “recycling, reducing, rotting, and/or reusing” any leftover items.  Healthy snacks and beverages were provided daily. 

Watershed campers received recognition for “making a difference” in their community and their families were awarded honorary 2008 North Fork Watershed Association memberships.  They were encouraged to share their action plan with Tiger Woods who awards scholarships for “take action” initiatives. 

This opportunity occurred through an Environmental Education grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.  The Jefferson County Conservation District and Quiet Creek Herb Farm coordinated the camp.  If you have any questions regarding the Yellow Fish Project and/or would like to paint the emblem on your neighboring storm sewer, please call Amber Siar, Jefferson County Watershed Specialist, at 814-849-7463.

Permanent Agriculture    The past few years we have had interns and occasional visitors to the farm using a term new to us.  Permaculture has been introduced to us in theory at conferences, in magazine articles, and by friends.  Now it is coming alive to Quiet Creek.  

The term coined by Tasmanian Bill Mollison in the 1970’s is an abbreviated word for permanent agriculture.  For three decades Mollison and colleague, David Holmgren, have explored, developed, written, and taught permaculture practices and principles.  Volumes have been written on the subject and lately we can not read enough or learn enough about this vital concept.  

Permaculture as defined by Mollison is “the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.  It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.”

This is earth stewardship at its best -- observing before acting.  Planning how we will interact.  It’s also a work smarter not harder attitude.  “Where nature can perform particular functions,” says Holmgren.  “Be it aerating soil (worms), fixing nitrogen (clover), or building soil (trees), we should utilize these attributes rather than thinking we can replace them.  All aspects and impacts of our agricultural practices are evaluated.”

How energy is caught and stored, how waste is handled and how we adapt to change.  There are so many exciting common sense principles to explore that save resources of time, energy, and the wonderful creation we’ve been given to care for.

This approach to agriculture is not new but rather age old, before mono-cropping, before poison sprays, and heavy equipment.  Land was cared for, resources respected, and life was simpler.  In studying this valuable system we want to implement its use and promote its values in all that we do.  

We’ve all been given a great gift let’s make it last, to give it to future generations – that’s Permanent Agriculture.

After checking references on one another, we as a team decide if there is a mutually benefiting fit.  If so, interns are given ownership in part of the farm to match their learning expectations.  They are mentored and nurtured in all they do.  Rusty explains, if they don’t make mistakes, they’re probably not doing enough. 

His famous question, “What is the best answer you can give your supervisor when asked to do a task?”  Most reply, “Yes, I’ll do it right away.”  Although a good response, he shares the best answer, “It’s already done.” 

The internships are challenging to both the Quiet Creek family and the new residents, but the experience yields many rewards for all.  We have been blessed with caring folks who have become family members.  They have shared stories from when they have lived, Vermont, California, and Ireland.  They relish the sustainably-grown food grown and prepared by all of us. 

Arriving as wandering workers and leaving as lifelong friends, we continue to converse, send computer files, network opportunities, and pray for one another.  Pearl, who arrived a year ago this month, will now journey on to her next “school of life.”  She has brought three of her eight siblings into our lives; grown, harvested and preserved a beautiful bounty displayed on shelves she built; kid-sat our boys while we toured Italy; and made gallons of Kim chi.

She will always be welcome as a daughter, a sister, a colleague, and a steward of God’s resources.  We love her and wish her the greatest success in all she does.  Gladly, we will let her next fortunate mentor know, “She’s a Pearl.” 

Where there’s Smoke, there’s Rusty   Behind the Quiet Creek barn sets a green metal shed that puffs out more smoke than a chain smoker.  Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year for the past twelve years, our outdoor wood burner has faithfully supplied the house and barn with warm heat and hot water. 

Many a visitor has queried with a pointed finger, “Is that a smokehouse?”  Rusty actually planted a smokehouse apple tree next to the boiler so he could reply “affirmative” without fibbing or going into detail about our renewable energy heating system.  Finally, he can truthfully state “yes, it is a smokehouse!”  

It all came about when desiring smoked meats without synthetic preservatives.   He investigated a venison ham rub recipe that required forty hours of cold smoking.  Needing a simple source of smoke, he then created his “redneck smoker” in conjunction with our heat source. 

In the development stages, Rusty noticed nine out of ten days, the wood burner smoke blew to the north.  Hoping to capture the majority of it, he acquired twelve feet of furnace pipe (six inch diameter) with assorted tees and elbows from his dad.  Then he attached a one by two by three foot plywood box to the nearby tractor shed.  Cutting a hole for the furnace pipe, he began telescoping sections toward the wood burner chimney with a few screws and wire strap and the pipe was angled straight to the smoke.  Finally, Rusty rigged up a metal garbage can with a hole cut out of the bottom.  The garbage can funnel was wired to a metal ladder leaning against the wood burner and extended it to a spot just north of the chimney. 

The wood burner gleefully puffs away as the wind pushes the smoke down the funnel through recycled furnace pipe and into the plywood smoking chamber.  There hangs the ham from a wire, basting in the swirling cold smoke.  An exit hole with an elbow allows the smoky air to flow through.  There are two hinged doors on the box’s side make for easy access to hang items (i.e. hams, cheese, and jerky) and for checking the smoke progress. 

Rusty is particular when it comes to high quality smoke.  His first ham was completed with green maple and oak and the next is to be christened with hickory or apple wood. 

Come on out for a Quiet Creek visit any Friday and Saturday to warm your hands and/or sample some hams.  

Triple Play  The boys are excited about Christmas, particularly the gift component.  They’ve enjoyed repeating a joke they heard from their friend Ember . . . Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker he knows what Luke is getting for Christmas.  Luke questions . . . how is that possible?  The dark leader replies . . . I felt your presents.

Gift giving has never been a strong force in our child/parent relationship.  In fact, tangible, extrinsic gifts fall low on our love language priority.  Claire prefers acts of service (feeding the worms) and Rusty words of affirmation (What a wonderful father you are!), far more than a new sweater or a necktie. 

The boys, however, are eager to open any package offered to them.  Since they were babies, we have continued a Christmas tradition that began over two thousand years ago.  This spiritual custom prevents wasteful, impulse shopping and unnecessary accumulation of stuff. 
The Gospel of Mathew tells of the Magi traveling from the East and giving the Christ child three gifts:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The wise men set the precedent; the boys anticipate the same.  Every Christmas wish list is kept short and the gifts under the tree from Santa (A.K.A God) total six.

We could implement the time schedule set forth by the Bible.  The Magi gifts arrived two years after the birth of Jesus, but we have a feeling that might not go over too well. 

We are ever mindful that The True Gift given to the world was God’s best.  He gave his only Son, to the wealthy and the poor, the young and the old, the African and the New Zealander. 
As parents we recognize this sacrifice.  It is so challenging to even consider giving our boys to anyone, especially knowing they would be treated poorly and crucified in the end. 

As Christ followers, we and the boys are thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ who has forgiven us and granted us eternal life.  May your Christmas season be filled with the love, hope, and joy of Jesus.  

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends. 

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends.

Will the Real Kim Chi Please Stand Up    As fall stretches on feeding us short beautiful days and long cold nights, we prepare for the inevitable – winter.  All our canning jars are full (please drop off any unwanted ones), so now we are freezing, drying, and fermenting. 

A fermented staple in our larder is kim chi.  This is a Korean sauerkraut which has become a daily tonic for the Quiet Creek family.  Interns, visitors, and our boys eat a tablespoon daily to keep the doctor at bay.

We’ve developed our own kim chi recipe over the years using fall produce.  With a base of cabbage, we chop in kale, broccoli, radish, beet, carrot, celery, and/or onion.  This crunchy blend is flavored with whey, hot pepper, sea salt, garlic, and ginger.  It sits in glass jars for three days on the counter at room temperature.  Lactobacillus bacteria found in the whey, air, and vegetable skins ferments the combo into a spicy, tangy, and textured condiment. 

Korean friends from church have tried Quiet Creek’s kim chi.  They politely smile, and shake their heads saying “thank you, but not real kim chi.”     

Last week we invited the Kim family over to learn their technique. 

Jen, Jung, Isaac and Joyce enthusiastically accepted our offer.  They brought their authentic hot pepper paste made with fish sauce, garlic, a hot, sweet pepper, and rice water.  We supplied the Napa cabbage, daikon radish, leeks, and carrots.  The result was REAL and incredibly delicious.  Claire and Walker couldn’t stop eating it. 

Now our winter storage is stocked with many fermented products:  Pearl’s purple kim chi, Lucy’s miso, Rusty’s cheese, Claire’s sourdough bread, and the Kim’s brilliant orange kim chi.  We look forward to winter, a great time for eating. 

Copter Cutter  Last Friday the farm was in a flurry of activity.  Rusty was canning tomatoes, Pearl was planting winter greens, Claire was preparing fruit leather, and the boys were riding their bikes.  The crisp fall silence was broken by the boys’ excitement as they announced a calamity coming from the sky.

At first it sounded like a low flying aircraft, then a tree trimming crew, and finally a monster.  Within seconds the integration of all three emerged over the hill. As the deafening monster grew closer it lifted high enough to reveal whirring discs at the end of its pole.  Along the electrical transmission line skirting Quiet Creek’s property, it was a helicopter with its giant hedge trimmer hovering just above the tree line blasting the forest wall. It seemed as if a tornado was careening the tree line, but instead high speed saw blades.

The five of us stood in amazement at the skill and the agility of the helicopter pilot. What a dangerous and bulky apparatus to maneuver so accurately near the power lines. As quickly as the “Death Blade 2000” had appeared, it completed its task and flew away directly overhead. 
On our way to church Sunday morning we spotted the helicopter camped out in our neighbor’s field.  Later that day we stopped to have a closer look.  The cutter was mounted to the copter on the end of a 75 foot pole and contained ten circular saw blades each with a 30 inch diameter.

Eric, our neighbor, a commercial pilot, shared his air strip with the trimming machine from North Carolina and informed us that the helicopter could trim steep hillsides where trucks could not easily go.  We appreciated the fact that no herbicides were used to poison the trees along with the smaller forest shrubs, insects, birds, and ground water

Business is back to normal, but we never know what lies over the next hill.

There’s No Place Like Home . . . Camp  About thirty miles east of Quiet Creek is a small community where Rusty grew up.  Home Camp was named for the homey area where lumbermen returned after a long day of rugged work in the woods. 

Rusty’s granddad moved his family there from the big city of DuBois in the 1920’s.  Home Camp is the place Rusty’s Dad has lived eighty years grooming the land into golden fields of wheat, rich strips of alfalfa, and stately rows of corn.  These grains supplement the pastured dairy cattle which out-number the human residents.

Last Saturday night neighbors answered Russ’s call to celebrate his eightieth on earth and his fifty-five years married to Nancy.  One hundred and seventy-six folks swarmed the large barn yard bringing casseroles and desserts.  They came to laugh, visit, dance, and rejoice on the beautiful autumn night.  The campfire warmed their surroundings and their hands.

Seven local musicians picked, fiddled, and plucked overlooking the dance floor on top of the hay mow; the caller directed, as neighbor swung neighbor, brother escorted sister, and the littlest ones ran throughout the dance squares.  Many visitors sat on the hay bales and grain sacks watching with delight.

Five years ago a barn dance occurred celebrating fifty years of joyful marriage.  Russ and Nancy’s friends and family were hungry for another shindig, never thinking that this one would top the last. 

Home Camp holds a warm place in our hearts having been the spot of our wedding fourteen years ago, and the birth place of Rusty fifty years back.  We stop and visit there as much as we can. We are blessed to have such a place that values true community.  We can’t wait to doe-see-doe and promenade with down-to-earth folk. 

Water Closet Woes  Last week as Claire was putting the finishing touches on the newspaper column, she called to Rusty in distress, “It’s not flowing smoothly!”  Rusty, whose head was in the toilet (literally), grumbled that nothing was, but assured her that all would be remedied soon.

The signs of a sluggish septic system have been haunting our household for a month or two.  At first it acted like a periodic plug, solved with a simple plunge or a five gallon bucket of water poured from chest height. However, the commode contents weren’t always eliminated after such calisthenics. Rusty, suspecting a full septic tank, consulted with a plumber friend who showed up early one morning.  As soon as he yanked the toilet off the floor, it smelled like the tank was wide open.  You didn’t need a trained nose to distinguish the distinctive septic aroma.  After some serious snaking and meticulous measuring, the plumber and assistant found the exact location of the septic tank and found it to be flowing freely.  It was five feet below ground surface under a lilac tree that Rusty had planted six years ago. Back inside, the toilet was wax ringed and given a prognosis that “it was old and needed to be replaced.”  Could it be – a worn out toilet?  Rusty thought maybe another opinion was needed so he took the toilet’s history and headed to the local plumbing shop. Dave, plumbing extraordinaire, had never heard of a worn out toilet and suggested loaning his closet auger to clean out the toilet’s trap.  Sure enough, things were flowing so smoothly that Rusty was ready to kiss Dave when returning the borrowed tool. A week later, the flush just didn’t have it’s get up and go after Rusty got up and went.  So Claire was sent to buy the auger for lifetime use; this remedied the flow for a few days and then stopped (up). At this point Rusty jumped on the porcelain throne and swore he would get to the bottom of the problem.  Carrying the victim out the front door and placing it on its side, he was now ready to pressure wash “whatever” out of the toilet.  As he geared up for business, he noticed something peculiar inside the toilet’s floor hole.  He fetched a pair of pliers and grabbed hold of the shiny gold item as he bent and twisted it.  Out popped a lid from a quart canning jar! Apparently an ambitious dishwasher had poured dirty dish water in an attempt to flush the toilet and had not seen the lid disappear down the can. 

We’re still celebrating in honor of the cracked case of the clogged commode.  So much to be grateful for – a super clean toilet and twenty more years of flushing, although through this long ordeal, Rusty has seriously been researching composting toilets.  A bucket of sawdust could sure simplify life.

Don’t Have a Cow   Our intern Jeremy is soon moving back to his home city of Detroit.  His urban farming plans are formalizing at the dinner table and the livestock issue is quite entertaining.  

The poultry options are not paltry.   Exotic chickens offer colorful eggs, but chickens will scratch up his garden beds and peck his fruit.  Guinea fowl don’t carry these negative traits, but they are territorial and do have loud vocal tendencies.  Ducks will eat slugs and lay eggs, but beware of their numerous, slippery deposits.  Indian Runner ducks may be worth the effort since their upright waddle will provide many laughs. 

The age old adage “which came first the –the chicken or the egg” problem will not be a problem.  There will be fowl and then eggs.  Milk, however, is an argumentative issue.  Rusty, a recovering dairy farmer, states if you want a milk animal, you’ll be married to it seven days a week, twice a day.  Rusty is an advocate of local, raw milk, but not owning a cow. 
Jeremy has learned how to make cheese and yogurt here in Pennsylvania and is dependent on the rich supply of quality vitamins and protein.  He attempted to track down a “cow share” since selling raw milk is illegal in Michigan, but the closest one was a hundred mile bike ride, round trip. 

Goat milk is looking promising, although a determined goat can jump a six foot fence and create a nuisance by eating the garden, shrubbery, and miscellaneous household items. 
Sheep milk is apparently good for making cheese and water buffalo makes the best mozzarella.  These animals are somewhat uncommon in Detroit as well as Quiet Creek. 

For a meat source, the afore-mentioned fauna will satisfy, but maybe a pen of rabbits sounds appealing.  In addition, they will provide manure for feeding red wigglers who will offer worm compost for growing vegetables. 

That brings the discussion back to Quiet Creek’s one and only recommended animal – the worm... not great for meat and/or milk, but super powerful for any herbivore in the city or the country.  We wish Jeremy the very best in all he and his five thousand worms do to promote urban gardening for the disadvantaged. 

Melon Drama   The hot dry end to summer gives our garden a boost.  The heat is reddening up the Jimmy Nardello sweet Italian frying peppers, ripening the tomatoes, and giving the melons some size.The latter is an exciting addition to Quiet Creek’s table.  Past success with cantaloupe and watermelon has been limited. The hi tunnel experiments yielded some small sweet butterscotch melons, but never a good watermelon.  The only decent watermelon ever grown at Quiet Creek came from a volunteer spit in a contest at Spring Fest years back.  This stray prompted the melon growing committee to try outside growing.  Early this spring, we started a lasagna garden on a chunk of lawn by our honeybee hive.  The twenty by forty foot patch mowed short, then covered with large pieces of cardboard donated by the local appliance store, and finally topped with wood chips is now yielding beautiful fruit. Initially we waited three weeks before transplanting seedlings into the layers.  This time allowed the grass to be smothered, the soil to warm up, and the moisture to reach maximum capacity.  It was a slow start, but by July there were plenty of melon blossoms. Throughout the season, intern Jeremy squashed bugs and top dressed the plants with worm compost.  His hard work paid off last week when he picked three very sweet cantaloupes.  There are plenty more waiting to ‘slip’ from the vine when ripe. The watermelons are doing fine as Rusty patiently learns to harvest them appropriately.  The thumping test fooled him twice, although they were devoured with no problem by the boys.  His next method is to wait until the white spot on the melon where it touches the ground turns orange, not yellow.  Another good indicator is to watch for is the green curly tendril closest to the melon stem to turn brown.  If waiting for ripening and a chance of frost may occur, be sure to cover them with a tarp.After the final harvest, the melon committee plans to cover the patch with more cardboard, leaves, and compost to prepare for next summer’s crop.  We want to be sure to enjoy plenty of sweet, juicy melons. 

Got Milkweed?  At the front of Quiet Creek’s herb garden stands a regal family of Asclepias syriaca.  The plants gain their scientific name in honor of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine; most folks know it as Common Milkweed.

American Indians realized its medicinal properties using the root as a laxative and diuretic for kidney stones.  Our Iroquois friend, Michael, knows its milky latex to cure warts, moles, and ringworm.  Early settlers to America treated asthma and rheumatism with the herb.  Today it is used with caution because of its cardioactive compounds.  

Quiet Creek’s milkweed is used for other reasons.  Walker likes to make tough white cord out of the dried milkweed stalks.  Ashton opens the dried “fish pods” to stuff pillows.  Many visitors have shared how they collected the pods as children during World War II to fill flight and life jackets.  

This fluff is five times as buoyant as cork and a few pounds can hold up a human in the sea.  It is warmer than wool and six times lighter.  The silk is curled and spun into thread making a great candle wick.  

All of these uses are topped with the number one reason –food for our favorite caterpillar.  The Monarch butterfly lays her eggs on the milkweed leaves and the hatching caterpillars have immediate nourishment.

What excitement unveils when the boys find a green, yellow, white, and black striped caterpillar devouring a milkweed leaf.  Many a time they have witnessed the juveniles build a chrysalis and emerge as a beautiful monarch.  

Whether you choose to plant for medicine, rope, or butterflies, milkweed deserves a place in everyone’s backyard.  

Self Preservation  The fruits of summer are pouring out of the garden and we are enjoying eating everything fresh.  Most meals comprise of garden produce and we savor the flavors while we can.  Although the crickets, blue jay, and the chill in the air are telling us that winter is coming.  We are preparing by taking the excess produce and storing it for that special time.

Through the years we have learned healthy, easy, and favorite ways to preserve food.  When recipes call for beets to be peeled before pickling, there is no need.  Our family benefits from the added fiber and nutrients, while still loving the flavor.  For a tasty bonus, Rusty will spice up the beets with cinnamon, fenugreek, and orange peel. 

Too often sugar is a prominent ingredient in many canning recipes, but it can be skipped or substituted.  For example, we can peaches in plain hot water, no sugar necessary since the fruit is loaded with its own natural sweetness.   A great way to preserve pears is to can them in apple cider. 

Claire looks forward to coring apples for apple sauce.  No need to remove the skin; she just throws the mixture into the Vita-Mix after cooling it down.  Come winter any and all of those canned goods sweeten our breakfast smoothies or are used to make fruit leather when cooked, puréered, and dried to a sweet flat snack. 

Mom Orner’s refrigerator pickle recipe is easily tweaked by substituting stevia for sugar.  The end product has few calories, no impact to our blood sugar, and a crunchy sweet condiment. 

Speaking of treats, be sure to pressure can lots of vegetable beef soup.  Grass fed beef, corn, beans, onions, carrots, and tomatoes make a quick, delicious meal on a cold blustery day.

Our friend, Mildred, taught us to freeze whole cherry tomatoes by simply popping them into a freezer bag.  We tried the same method for broccoli and obtained the same great results. 

It may sound time consuming, but the long range benefits to our family and friends make self preservation a priority. 

Camp Counsel   Over two weeks has past since church camp; Rusty is just now able to discuss his counseling experience.  (It is amazing how a few days of vacation, some real sleep, and intensive shock therapy can lessen the pain.) 

For six days and five nights he lived, breathed, ate, and snored with seven third and fourth grade boys.   Much education was learned by all.

Lesson Number One—Honesty is the way to go.  The first night the boys gathered round in a small group to learn one another’s names.  The idea of the get-acquainted game was to introduce one’s self and share something.  The next boy repeats the first boy’s information and then his own name and information.  The third boy repeats the first and second, and so on.  Rusty started things rolling—“Hi, I am Rusty and I like to grow things.”  Cameron dutifully shared about Rusty and that he himself plays a lot of baseball.  Half way around the circle Greyson introduced himself and said “I have a blankey.”  The young fellow apparently was apprehensive about spending the night away from home and decided to be honest and get the teasing over with.  This opened up discussion for the rest who either admitted to bringing a stuffed animal and/or blanket to camp or leaving one they missed back home.  Although Rusty didn’t admit it to the boys, he too had packed his favorite pillow for the trip away from Claire. Lesson Number Two—Have Clean Fun.  After that honest reflection, the boys headed out to enjoy a shaving cream battle.  They were well stocked with ammunition and playfulness and finally settled down by eleven p.m. that night.Lesson Number Three—If You Hoot with the Owls, You Better be Willing to Soar with the Eagles.  The camp schedule included wake-up at seven a.m. with breakfast at eight and cabin cleaning and devotions immediately after eating.  Rusty had everyone’s feet hitting the floor by six fifteen a.m. while marching to the showers.  This schedule continued all week.  The boys won the cleanest cabin award everyday by six forty five a.m. and were fast asleep each night by ten p.m. with no prompting from anyone.  This lesson also made the daily mandatory rest time true to its name.  One of Rusty’s cabin mates resisted, “I don’t take naps!”  Three days in a row he was zonked out for the entire hour.Many other life lessons were cultivated during the week:   sharing God’s word, sitting down for a family meal, and being a great sport at games.  Rusty’s final bit of counsel occurred on the last day as they unloaded their suitcases from the trailer.  “Next year when you pack for camp, don’t worry about including any underwear, because none of you changed all week!”

H two Ohhh!     We are blessed at Quiet Creek to have pure, fresh spring water.  Walker realized the richness of this gift after spending a few days off the farm at church camp.  He indulged in an overabundance of Kool-Aid and orange juice, coming home dehydrated.  He’s not the only one who enjoys Quiet Creek’s valuable resource.  

Very often, we carry a gallon jar of fresh water when invited to summer outings.  Our guests always drain the glass jug much sooner then the bottled adulterated or artificial options found in coolers.  After a big slug of our libation, the most common question from our friends is “What’s that floating in the water?”

We throw in a sprig or two of fresh herb to infuse into the spring water; this provides a flavorful zip.  Our favorite plants to fulfill this task are chocolate mint, lemon verbena, and sweet cicely.

Just the mention of chocolate mint gets a lot of attention from the crowd.  It obtains its name from the dark brown stem and makes for a minty refreshment.  The added bonus is that it soothes the stomach and aids digestion. 

Sweet cicely is a great herb for the black licorice lovers.  We call it the “good and plenty” plant as we remember the candy we consumed years ago.

Probably everyone’s favorite is lemon verbena.  Its attractive lance- shaped leaves in groups of three surrounding the stem infuses nicely in water adding a gentle lemony aroma and taste. 

The drinking container makes a great difference when consuming water.  With current research studies revealing the danger of petroleum-based water bottles, it makes sense to use a glass jar.  Few would disagree that water from glass tastes better than plastic, paper or Styrofoam.  Glass is reusable, recyclable, and a responsible use of God’s resources.  If a question like “What are you drinking, moonshine?”  doesn’t bother you, then start filling your mason jars. 

Our bodies deserve clean water served in non-toxic drinking containers.  Enjoy these simple pleasures in life; you’ll be happy you do! 

Yellow Fish Watershed Project    If you happen to walk along downtown Brookville, you may see the Yellow Fish emblem stating “No Dumping-Drains to Creek.”  Twenty watershed campers are responsible for this environmental message.  During watershed camp they learned that Brookville rain water drains directly to the Redbank Creek with no water treatment in between.  In order to prevent folks from dumping household waste, oil, lawn chemicals and other unwanted liquids and solids into the storm sewers, the students developed an action plan creating a solution to this local problem. 

Through a fun-filled, educational week, students were enticed to “make a difference” in their community as inspired by the Tiger Woods’ Start Something curriculum with an emphasis on keeping their watershed clean.  They developed educational flyers to inform community members about the problem, posted flyers in local business windows, and stenciled the Yellow Fish emblem on borough storm sewers.    Students practiced presentational skills, developed art work, learned old-fashion stone skipping, tested the water for unwanted chemicals, collected invertebrates, and strengthen their knowledge and appreciation of the environment and ecology. 

Each day the students enjoyed their watershed by wading, swimming, and collecting/releasing tadpoles, crayfish and minnows.  Camp was held at Walter Dick Memorial Park.  Students had a “waste free” camp by “recycling, reducing, rotting, and/or reusing” any leftover items.  Healthy snacks and beverages were provided daily. 

Watershed campers received recognition for “making a difference” in their community and their families were awarded honorary 2008 North Fork Watershed Association memberships.  They were encouraged to share their action plan with Tiger Woods who awards scholarships for “take action” initiatives. 

This opportunity occurred through an Environmental Education grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.  The Jefferson County Conservation District and Quiet Creek Herb Farm coordinated the camp.  If you have any questions regarding the Yellow Fish Project and/or would like to paint the emblem on your neighboring storm sewer, please call Amber Siar, Jefferson County Watershed Specialist, at 814-849-7463.

Permanent Agriculture    The past few years we have had interns and occasional visitors to the farm using a term new to us.  Permaculture has been introduced to us in theory at conferences, in magazine articles, and by friends.  Now it is coming alive to Quiet Creek.  

The term coined by Tasmanian Bill Mollison in the 1970’s is an abbreviated word for permanent agriculture.  For three decades Mollison and colleague, David Holmgren, have explored, developed, written, and taught permaculture practices and principles.  Volumes have been written on the subject and lately we can not read enough or learn enough about this vital concept.  

Permaculture as defined by Mollison is “the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.  It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.”

This is earth stewardship at its best -- observing before acting.  Planning how we will interact.  It’s also a work smarter not harder attitude.  “Where nature can perform particular functions,” says Holmgren.  “Be it aerating soil (worms), fixing nitrogen (clover), or building soil (trees), we should utilize these attributes rather than thinking we can replace them.  All aspects and impacts of our agricultural practices are evaluated.”

How energy is caught and stored, how waste is handled and how we adapt to change.  There are so many exciting common sense principles to explore that save resources of time, energy, and the wonderful creation we’ve been given to care for.

This approach to agriculture is not new but rather age old, before mono-cropping, before poison sprays, and heavy equipment.  Land was cared for, resources respected, and life was simpler.  In studying this valuable system we want to implement its use and promote its values in all that we do.  

We’ve all been given a great gift let’s make it last, to give it to future generations – that’s Permanent Agriculture.

The most valuable content returned to the clean shelves was a baggie of pepper seeds from Italy awaiting a spring planting.  The strangest item was a frozen weasel wanted by our taxidermist friend from Punxsutawney.  A few compostables included unlabeled broth cubes and homemade coffee ice cream, whereas the majority of the inventory equaled weeks of soups, casseroles, and steaks.  Even a hidden chunk of cheese made for a tasty pizza over the frigid weekend.  

We appreciate the twenty-first century convenience of keeping food cold and/or frozen, but lately Rusty is investigating sustainable cold storage systems from his Father’s time.  Grandpa Russ recalls the only “refrigerator” they had in the house was an oak cabinet with chunks of ice cut out of their pond insulated with sawdust.  He also had an ice house where ice was stored year round.  His spring house was used for cooling food, primarily milk.

Rusty dreams of using these techniques for the future, but presently he hopes to eat up the freezer food and travel over to the taxidermist. 

She’s a Pearl  For many years, students “in the school of life” have graced the farm with their presence, hard work, and learning spirit.  In fact, the boys would find it odd not to have one or two extra folks at the dinner table on a regular basis. 

Quiet Creek interns are an important component to our non-profit organization.  The idea was adopted from other farms that open their doors to apprentices, interns, and volunteers.  In lieu of forty hours of work, our interns are provided with room/board and as much information they can absorb from our knowledge, classes, network, computer files, and gardening library. 

Many have come to learn the ropes of starting an educational facility; some have a keen interest in growing vegetables organically while others want to glean the medicinal, nutritional, and spiritual aspect of sustainable living.  The process begins with an e-mail from a prospective intern who has read a posting on a website or book, or conversed with a former intern. 

The next step is a phone call where Rusty has perfected, through the years, the proper interview technique.   He attempts to talk the person out of coming to Quiet Creek.  This may sound counter productive, but “if you are looking for a social life – try the city, if you need a mental health consultant – see a psychiatrist, and if you don’t like to weed – hang up.”  

His intent is to NOT paint a rosy picture; the internship can be challenging and lonely.  If the potential volunteer is still interested, we invite that person for an overnight stay and work day.  This includes experiencing whole food meals, playing with the boys, and whatever farm project is in progress. 

After checking references on one another, we as a team decide if there is a mutually benefiting fit.  If so, interns are given ownership in part of the farm to match their learning expectations.  They are mentored and nurtured in all they do.  Rusty explains, if they don’t make mistakes, they’re probably not doing enough. 

His famous question, “What is the best answer you can give your supervisor when asked to do a task?”  Most reply, “Yes, I’ll do it right away.”  Although a good response, he shares the best answer, “It’s already done.” 

The internships are challenging to both the Quiet Creek family and the new residents, but the experience yields many rewards for all.  We have been blessed with caring folks who have become family members.  They have shared stories from when they have lived, Vermont, California, and Ireland.  They relish the sustainably-grown food grown and prepared by all of us. 

Arriving as wandering workers and leaving as lifelong friends, we continue to converse, send computer files, network opportunities, and pray for one another.  Pearl, who arrived a year ago this month, will now journey on to her next “school of life.”  She has brought three of her eight siblings into our lives; grown, harvested and preserved a beautiful bounty displayed on shelves she built; kid-sat our boys while we toured Italy; and made gallons of Kim chi.

She will always be welcome as a daughter, a sister, a colleague, and a steward of God’s resources.  We love her and wish her the greatest success in all she does.  Gladly, we will let her next fortunate mentor know, “She’s a Pearl.” 

Where there’s Smoke, there’s Rusty   Behind the Quiet Creek barn sets a green metal shed that puffs out more smoke than a chain smoker.  Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year for the past twelve years, our outdoor wood burner has faithfully supplied the house and barn with warm heat and hot water. 

Many a visitor has queried with a pointed finger, “Is that a smokehouse?”  Rusty actually planted a smokehouse apple tree next to the boiler so he could reply “affirmative” without fibbing or going into detail about our renewable energy heating system.  Finally, he can truthfully state “yes, it is a smokehouse!”  

It all came about when desiring smoked meats without synthetic preservatives.   He investigated a venison ham rub recipe that required forty hours of cold smoking.  Needing a simple source of smoke, he then created his “redneck smoker” in conjunction with our heat source. 

In the development stages, Rusty noticed nine out of ten days, the wood burner smoke blew to the north.  Hoping to capture the majority of it, he acquired twelve feet of furnace pipe (six inch diameter) with assorted tees and elbows from his dad.  Then he attached a one by two by three foot plywood box to the nearby tractor shed.  Cutting a hole for the furnace pipe, he began telescoping sections toward the wood burner chimney with a few screws and wire strap and the pipe was angled straight to the smoke.  Finally, Rusty rigged up a metal garbage can with a hole cut out of the bottom.  The garbage can funnel was wired to a metal ladder leaning against the wood burner and extended it to a spot just north of the chimney. 

The wood burner gleefully puffs away as the wind pushes the smoke down the funnel through recycled furnace pipe and into the plywood smoking chamber.  There hangs the ham from a wire, basting in the swirling cold smoke.  An exit hole with an elbow allows the smoky air to flow through.  There are two hinged doors on the box’s side make for easy access to hang items (i.e. hams, cheese, and jerky) and for checking the smoke progress. 

Rusty is particular when it comes to high quality smoke.  His first ham was completed with green maple and oak and the next is to be christened with hickory or apple wood. 

Come on out for a Quiet Creek visit any Friday and Saturday to warm your hands and/or sample some hams.  

Triple Play  The boys are excited about Christmas, particularly the gift component.  They’ve enjoyed repeating a joke they heard from their friend Ember . . . Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker he knows what Luke is getting for Christmas.  Luke questions . . . how is that possible?  The dark leader replies . . . I felt your presents.

Gift giving has never been a strong force in our child/parent relationship.  In fact, tangible, extrinsic gifts fall low on our love language priority.  Claire prefers acts of service (feeding the worms) and Rusty words of affirmation (What a wonderful father you are!), far more than a new sweater or a necktie. 

The boys, however, are eager to open any package offered to them.  Since they were babies, we have continued a Christmas tradition that began over two thousand years ago.  This spiritual custom prevents wasteful, impulse shopping and unnecessary accumulation of stuff. 
The Gospel of Mathew tells of the Magi traveling from the East and giving the Christ child three gifts:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  The wise men set the precedent; the boys anticipate the same.  Every Christmas wish list is kept short and the gifts under the tree from Santa (A.K.A God) total six.

We could implement the time schedule set forth by the Bible.  The Magi gifts arrived two years after the birth of Jesus, but we have a feeling that might not go over too well. 

We are ever mindful that The True Gift given to the world was God’s best.  He gave his only Son, to the wealthy and the poor, the young and the old, the African and the New Zealander. 
As parents we recognize this sacrifice.  It is so challenging to even consider giving our boys to anyone, especially knowing they would be treated poorly and crucified in the end. 

As Christ followers, we and the boys are thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ who has forgiven us and granted us eternal life.  May your Christmas season be filled with the love, hope, and joy of Jesus.  

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many Thanks  We watch out the window as winter deadens the garden.   The freezing and thaw of fall water loosens and cleanses the soil of silt and salts.  The dried leaves, stems and flowers will provide life-giving humus by spring.  In summer we will be ready to plant again to nourish the many hungry visitors exploring our farm school. 

Reflecting on the growing season mirrors the cycle of our mission. Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is dedicated to increase public understanding of the importance for conservation, ecological thinking and healthful living. 

In 2008 thousands of people interacted with us.  Pre-schoolers to high school students with their teachers and parents gathered information throughout the school year feeding their minds and imaginations.  Six weeks of summer camps for kids and for teachers provided opportunities on environmental stewardship.  Worm composting and recycling projects at Farmer’s Inn Restaurant, Jefferson County Vocational School, Hickory Grove Elementary School and Quiet Creek kept tons of biodegradable waste from filling the landfill.  Community seminars on Healthy Farms Healthy Schools, Keep It Clean the Natural Way, cheese making, earthen oven building, square dancing, and organic gardening inspired hundreds.   

We find students of all ages are open to learning traditional and sustainable concepts. Their lush green excitement has transformed into life changing endeavors.   They have a chance to rid their media-silted and industrial-salted minds of the corroded culture.  An evening, a day and/or a week immersed in Quiet Creek’s mission provides refreshment, not only in healthy local food, but also sound ecological thinking and conservation skills.

As Quiet Creek’s stewards, we gratefully share our time and knowledge openly with any one.   Blessed to enjoy God’s resources of renewable energy, abundant water, fertile soil, green construction, and collaborative partnerships; we feel passionately compelled to sustain this cycle.   

We carry on because of folks like you.  Your words of encouragement, your tax-deductible contributions, your hours of volunteering, and your genuine interest, all these gifts support Quiet Creek’s mission.  Thank you for another wonderful Quiet Creek year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

No Ordinary Joe   On Sunday Rusty enjoyed his fiftieth birthday at Joe’s house in Barkeyville, Pennsylvania.  Present at the party was an international film crew, a début of a song recorded on the west coast, and a large group of people munching shrimp and cheese while toasting with sparkling beverages.  

None of this, by the way, had anything to do with an herb farmer turning a half of century, but rather the celebration of selling 35,000 copies of the host’s book, The Humanure Handbook by Joseph C. Jenkins.  This self-published guide to composting human manure is available in fifty countries and has received many awards including the “Outstanding Book of 2000” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.”  

His book has donned our bookshelf since 1995, thanks to Claire’s Dad giving us a copy.  It fell apart due to many students reading it here at the farm and in Claire’s seventh grade classroom at Brookville Junior High.  Currently, it has been replaced with the second edition explaining how Americans take flush toilets for granted.  

We are a culture that defecates in a large bowl of drinking water and then flush it downstream.  The book thoroughly examines many composting disposal systems addressing pathogens, hookworms, and disease.  

Jenkins’s simple solution to humanure is to use a two bucket system.  One bucket is full of sawdust or shredded junk mail to cover any deposits made in the other bucket -- an odorless, waterless, environmentally-friendly toilet.  Some folks may consider this repulsive, but Joe’s book humorously calms the fears of any “fecophobic.”  

Many cultures find Joe’s composting concept both life saving and economical.  South Korea, for example, sent a film crew to create a documentary on the subject.  Not having a word to translate Humanure (now recognized by Wikopedia); the Koreans are using their equivalent for our poop word.  Historically this is the first time ever the Korean media has allowed the word to be broadcast.  

Joe, a true environmental steward, has generously granted translation and publishing rights to any international organization for free.  The book is available on the Internet, but really worth the investment by ordering a copy at WWW.JENKINSPUBLISHING.COM.  His talents exceed sawdust toilets, as portrayed by his beautiful self-built home using recycled lumber and slate, and his gardens and orchards boasting with organic produce.  In his extra time, he restores stone roofs and updates The Slate Roof Bible, another one of his comprehensive publications.  

We congratulate Joe Jenkins and his many achievements and wish him continued success greening up the planet. 

Good, Clean, and Fair   Rusty and Claire just returned from a five-day networking session in Turin, Italy. called Terra Madre. This was an amazing gathering of over 6000 farmers, cooks, academics, and consumers from 156 countries sponsored by Slow Food International.
Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected.  

That’s Italian!   While attending the SLOW Food Movement, Terra Madre, we decided to become adventuresome the last day by exploring Old Italy. The option of riding the bus to Turin with the thirty English-speaking Americans seemed too easy; the escapade of walking to Mondovi with two university students (no Italian speakers in our group) and later riding the train to the conference was more appealing.    

That sunny Sunday morning offered new experiences.  We enjoyed winding through cobble streets, riding a mountain tram, praying in five hundred year old cathedrals, and appreciating the local art work.  

The view from the top of Mondovi offered lush green vineyards and olive orchards nestled in the foothills of the Alps.  Interspersed within agriculture was architecture revealing red tile roofs with earthy tones made from local resources.  Sundials decorated the buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and wrought iron balconies.  

Famished from our explorations, the four of us questioned a fellow on the street for a “ristorante.”  Giorgio smiled broadly motioning us up a hill to a plaza with a quaint open air café.  There he introduced us to his friend the owner of the restaurant and a wide array of Italian cuisine.  

We eagerly pointed to items on the menu thinking we would share one of each—a cheese appetizer, a meat appetizer, one pasta dish, a salad, and an entrée.  Giorgio slapped the waiter on the back and they both laughed and said something in their beautiful native language.  

When our first course, fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes, arrived we quickly devoured it with the accompanying bread sticks and olive oil.  Next, a platter of naturally-cured meats came just as delicious and filling.  By that time, the four of us realized we were receiving one platter with four servings instead of one platter with one serving.    

Knowing that it was too late to cancel our pasta and entree orders, we attempted to ask for UNO salad.  Sure enough, two huge platters arrived with our parmesan rigatoni and sausage linguini and one small salad.  Needless to say, we ended up laughing at our mistake, stuffed with exquisite Italian food, and empty of Euros.  

On the way to the train station, we ran into gregarious Giorgio.  There he was on the corner waving his hands and shouting.  The only thing we understood was “Grazie and Prego.”  The rest of his words may have translated to “Thank you!   I sure appreciate the kick-back from my restaurant friend.  You hungry tourists are always welcome. Please, come again!”  

Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in 1986. This passionate man originated the idea in a small Italian town when the corporate-owned, low quality food industry attempted to invade the European market. Slow Food supports good, fair, and clean food, grown, harvested, prepared and eaten at a slow pace and connects 85,000 members throughout the world. 

Good food is defined as delicious,  fresh, and local and stimulates the senses. This is food we see at local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture tables, farm stands, and/or backyard gardens. At the Terra Madre gathering we experienced good food at its best; there was an overwhelming array of ethnic dishes to satisfy our taste buds and nutritional needs. This is the way God created it,  whole and wholesome.

Clean food is produced without straining the quantity of natural resources, the earth’s ecosystem, and human health. Agribusiness is dismissed. Instead, traditional small farms practice the Slow Food philosophy. In Italy we met food producers from six continents committed to environmental stewardship. 

Fair food respects the social justice of others, meaning fair wages and work conditions for everyone involved in the food chain --from growing to processing, and promotion to consumption.  Our hearts cry out for the disparity of fair trade, health care, and immigration privileges within the food arena. 

The Slow Food movement is committed to defending the biodiversity of traditional food to insure that your quality of health is sustained. Please join in our excitement as we together preserve good, clean and fair food by making it accessible to every person on earth. Check out www.slowfood.com and become connected. 

Prepare Ye the Way   For those of us dreaming of next year’s gardening season, there are a few things we can do to get a jump on spring.  First, if you want garlic next July, it is time to stick it in the ground.  Try spacing the individual cloves four to six inches apart.  Quiet Creek recommends lots of worm castings when planting your largest cloves from this year’s crop. 

Secondly, if you want a no-fuss-early-planting bed next spring, choose a piece of lawn or field now.  Mow your future food plot as short as you can, leaving the grass clippings lay.  Next you will need to cover with a layer of newspaper (4 to 5 sheets thick) or better yet use large chunks of cardboard.  It’s best not to use any glossy colored paper in the garden; it may contain heavy metals in the ink. 

Next put six inches to a foot of leaves, manure, straw, wood chips and/or compost on top of the smothering layer to hold it down.  This will decompose into great soil.  By doing this in the fall, the grass and roots will die leaving organic material to attract earthworms that will slowly digest the mulch material above. 

By the first of June, this area should be primo to plant watermelon, squash or most any other garden vegetable.  Simply dig a hole and pop it in.  No need to plow, roto-till or double dig.  Another layer of mulch can be added if weeds threaten the area. 

Your spring chore list will be reduced and your soil food web will be actively building by the worms and their friends. 

Fun and Games   Visitors to Quiet Creek are surprised by the absence of a television and often ask, “How can you function without it?”  The answer – Better!

When it comes to entertainment, the options are limitless.  Claire loves to read to the boys as much as they love to listen.  Games of all styles and shapes are another favorite pastime.  Board games, word games, table games, card games are welcome in the Orner home.  Local thrift stores have yielded some winners:  Blokus, Mastermind, as well as, jigsaw puzzles.  

We have become a family of fun and games.  Lately Ashton can’t stop playing chess and now he can whoop his dad two out of three times.  Walker is particularly good at ping pong, thanks to the tutelage of friend, Jeremy.  Claire is reading the Redwall series and Rusty is hooked on Othello.  

Interns Kevin and Alice recently introduced us to a game called ‘Take One’ where unlimited number of players create and recreate their own personal crossword puzzle with seven scrabble letters.  The first player to use his or her seven letters yells the game title and everyone picks up a new tile until all letters are used.  It’s faster than scrabble and is great for all levels of spellers.

As winter evenings tick away we are actively engaged with one another challenging wit, mind, and skill.  We’ll settle in the living room under the Christmas tree and listen to the radio, read books aloud and/or play a game with school work and chores completed. We all benefit in practicing good sportsmanship, complimenting great moves, thanking one another for quality time, and congratulating the winner (Rusty is working on the latter).  

This holiday season try bypassing the passive television and computer screen; break out a game and enjoy everyone’s laughter and mental ability. 

Acting Up — Rusty’s Grandfather had a horse that he “drove” when courting Grandma Orner.  He made the trip so many times that there was no need to “steer.” He even caught up on sleep since the horse was so familiar with the way.

In comparison, our car, if it was as smart as Grandpa’s horse, could make the trip to and from the Reitz Theatre.  Claire and the boys continue to trek daily to DuBois to participate in their new love – community theatre.      Since early November the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has consumed their every waking hour and their much needed sleeping time.  This C. S. Lewis classic tale of sacrifice, redemption and atonement has been inspiring to the cast and the audience. 

Walker, a squirrel, and Ashton, a dwarf, are completely enamored with the excitement and challenge of eating plum pudding and turning to stone on stage.  Back stage is even more fun as they make life-time friends with the fifty other dedicated thespians.  Claire helps in the background making sure all squirrel and fox tails are pinned properly and healthy snacks are available to all during this fast paced experience.

Director Dave Martin, and Kris Haenes, stage manager, deserve sainthood for their patience, kindness, and mentorship toward the cast.  Their love for God, theatre, and children is reflected in their actions of this Christ-centered production. 

We look forward to more performances and opportunities with this great group of people.  Please consider becoming involved in your local community theatre; you’ll treasure the rewards and the many laughs. 

Too Much Stuff in the Stuffing  On Thanksgiving Day we went over the North Fork and through the woods to Grandmother Orner’s house.  The feast planned for 1 p.m. promptly occurred at 2:15 and was worth the wait. The table was overflowing with everyone’s traditional specialty.  Two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, yams, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing and lots of dessert—apple and pumpkin pie with ice cream were gobbled up.  A crowd pleaser on the day was sister Patty’s cranberry, pecan, cream cheese cake.  Rusty’s local, free range turkey stuffed with his unique recipe drew many questions from the gatherers. 

Mom Orner leaned over the stove with a fork poking at his creation deciding if she should sample it.  She withdrew from her impulse saying “there’s too much stuff in your stuffing” and took a helping of her “One Step Mix.”  That boxed fabrication boasting of real chicken that cooks in five minutes had been requested by some of her grandchildren. 

Rusty challenged her to compare her stuffing to his.  He suggested the contest winner would have the fewer number of ingredients.  Not wanting to arm wrestle, Mom conceded and mumbled “it is what it is.”  Being a diplomatic son, he respected the end of discussion  . . .  that day, but felt compelled to research what “it” is. 

“It” contains enriched wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, high fructose corn syrup, dried onions, salt, partially hydrogenated soy bean and cottonseed oils, yeast, chicken broth, a few flavor enhancers:  monosodium glutamate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, caramel color, turmeric, dried parsley, preservatives:  BHT, citric acid, and propyl gallate, and confinement chicken fed genetically modified corn. 

He was excited to discover turmeric, a bright yellow spice that is anti-inflammatory.  Containing two percent of this healing herb, it couldn’t touch the inflammatory consequences associated with the genetically modified corn and soy, the allergy triggering MSG, and the ADHD inducing preservatives.  Twenty-six ingredients in all, not including Mom’s good well water and her special doctoring she puts in every dish. 

Rusty counted twenty one for his stuffing mixture.  The bulk of the ingredients came from Claire’s bread, in addition, to organic wild rice; walnuts; Quiet Creek apples, parsley, sage, onions, yogurt, shiitake and oyster mushrooms;  wild-picked cranberries and chanterelle mushrooms; local raw milk; and local free-range eggs. 

His combination of flavors mixed deliciously and healthfully to compliment the meal and the leftovers that followed.  Although after strutting around as the winner, he admits that Mom’s comfort food is overflowing with her special ingredient—LOVE.

Here’s to good food, the best stuff, and plenty of love. 

Many