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. 

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. 

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!”  

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.  

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 Ssparkling 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.  

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! 

 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.  

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.  

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. 

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.