Good Hope Heart Gazette

This is the launch of a new blog about home, food, shelter, and clothing closer to the way we want to be: fresh, loving, poetic, artistic, clean, pure, fragrant, abundant, curious, inquisitive, adventurous, daring, supportive, theatrical, strong, brave, and open to the dance of life.

We will plant seeds together here:
Though I do not believe that a plant will
spring up where no seed has been,
I have great faith in a seed.
Convince me that you have a seed there,
And I am prepared to expect wonders.
Henry David Thoreau
The Dispersion of Seeds'=

Fresh, fragrant Christmas trees as Sustaining Trees and Gentle Crops

For all things Christmas tree--and other gifts and trees, what about getting a tree from a tree farm?
 in Georgia you can find where to go and what you will find at the link below--and at the link below that one, there is a map with click in to find icons for all the other sta

(note just put your state instead of Georgia-ga-after the final forward slash)

On linked sites, there is a lot more information about Christmas tree growing as an agricultural business and some of the educational and fun experiences you can have getting your tree and gifts—as shops are often nearby or on the tree farm.

There is also a US map to find Christmas trees on farms in other states—just put your state abbreviation instead of ‘ga’ (where I put Georgia) following the final forward slash

Before you go find where the closest farms are to you on the map, take a look at a couple of videos featuring the farmers who know all about these trees.  The photos of the trees are taken from a couple of the many videos I am researching to find not only the beautiful trees but also these farmers who are lovingly doing the labor outside in all kinds of weather taking care of trees.  These farmers display an enthusiasm and humor to enjoy with those you love while you find your tree! (PS You tube has some odd ads at times so just click 'skip' to get to the farmers--especially if anything is offensive. I apologize ahead if anything is offensive added to videos I review ahead, but ads are tacked on by some algorithms I don't supervise.justyleigh)

While you are there, you may be able to find out about what you may want to purchase in future for your own tree growing projects.

Text from the site: “This is a farmer organization of Christmas tree growers, organized in 1961. Our members invite the public to choose and harvest Christmas trees, direct from the farm. These farms offer a variety of quality Christmas trees, tree stands and attractions. Some farms have gift shops offering unique or hand made items. All of our farms offer a farm experience adults and children will enjoy. The Farm Finder is a map showing the location of Christmas tree farms. This is the easiest way to find a farm near you. Our members also include tree seedling growers, farm equipment and Christmas decoration vendors. They are shown on the Member List, but not on the Farm Finder.” US Mail office Address: 
Georgia Christmas Tree Association
120 Cordele Rd
Hawkinsville GA 31036
Phone: 478-919-TREE
Phone: 478-919-8733

http://www.christmastreehome.com/dir/state.htm

Copied 11/19/2017 by justyleigh at http://www.goodhopeheart.com to direct those interested in sustainable farming and getting outside to play, work, and visit together. There are links on the site to see videos about sending trees to troops.  Watching these stimulates a lot of thought about what is going on in the world and what else we can do to make things better.  Home. There's a line from a Robert Frost poem called The Hired Man about where is home.  An old man who is barely able to work outside on a farm anymore is coming back to a place he has been a seasonal worker--a hired hand--and the couple discuss why he is coming there. The lines I always remember may be paraphrased in my mind even though i have read the entire poem many times 'Home is where when you go there, they have to take you in.'

Coming up tomorrow: Recipes, anecdotes, art, and poetry


Ace Hardware Signs for candy when I drive on 78 between Atlanta and Athens: Reminders of places to get hardy toys as well as to choose from an array of candies.

When my parents spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house in Good Hope, GA, I had a grocery bag of oranges, apples, chocolate drops, coconut macaroons, and peppermint sticks along with the big items that came at Christmas: a winter coat or a bicycle or a piece of luggage.  I recently got out some of the luggage that I received as gifts long ago. I think about how infrequently I need a winter coat because I do not get out early to go to school or even to work.  I am inside so much.

It is getting colder now in the South.  Even though this is time when some days will be mixed in--throughout the entire winter--with days as warm as in the summer--there are also brutal storms with heavy rain and icy temperatures that are almost worse in some ways to places where the animals outside or the plants so fragile would never attempt to live.  When late blooming or early blooming produce or animal babies are hit with the cold that is not offset by their housing or feed or fur coats, the few times when very cold intermixed with warm, sunny days can be devastating.  Too, the times when the water supply is low contrasted with years with more frequent rain cause havoc for the outside, rugged, harsh lives of farming families.

Here is a quotation from 1998 from a poultry farmer in Georgia who gives a lot of insight about the business and also the drift within his own family from carrying on the business of agriculture to generations:



Seed is a one-syllable, four-letter word filled with promise and wonder when you consider what can happen from a tiny seed.
A mustard seed is so tiny that because the story in the Bible that says how much faith we need to have and to use to make big things happen 'to move a mountain'--mustard seeds have been used for jewelry to remind about the power of belief.  The necklace that I had from my grandmother long ago (and have not forgotten--though it has been physically lost from me for a long time) was a magnifying small marble size globe of clarity featuring a tiny seed within.
Today, I am wearing a small ring with very tiny diamonds on a thin gold ban reminding me that my parents eloped and were married in the Deep South before a justice of the peace in 1947. The book inspiring me about all things agricultural today has  a quotation of a piece of a wedding ceremony script used by a justice of the peace that was published in a newspaper called the
in 1948.  It says




Marvin's Garden Trivia
I sat with a man who was talking with me and with another woman who invested this time to reflect together about important aspects of his life that made him feel the abundance of his enriched time here in the world.
One of the things he enjoyed was gardening--even to a professional extent, as he had degrees in agricultural areas. He also volunteered as a missionary to undeveloped nations and proceeded onto grass roots (actual soil and grass 'roots') to executive levels in countries of Africa.
I asked him once what he would suggest to a person interested in fresh food, maybe a bit lazy, but open to learn--what is a good little introductory exercise in gardening.
Marvin liked 'trivia' style questions and answers--and I think 'trivia' play is a fun way to learn facts.
Trivia Marvin Garden Q&A:
Q: Which of the following will grow if you take a bulb from some produce you buy in the vegetable or fresh flower section of the grocery store and then create a growing environment with soil and/or water at home?
a.  You can divide a clove of garlic and plant each piece in soil with some nutrients, and put in sunlight and water--and you can grow all the garlic you will ever need, always fresh, just like this.
b.  You can take a bulb from tulips you buy in the fresh flower section of the grocery store and replant, water, fertilize--and grow more tulips.
Marvin says you can do either or both.  Sometimes when he was helping others to raise money for any particular cause, he would show them how to divide out seedlings for tomatoes or other popular vegetables and to sell the individual seedlings to profit a good cause.
These are great activities to do with children.  Who can resist growing something that is delicious to eat later?