AOLC Blog

Next week, we celebrate Thanksgiving; we gather with our friends and family around the bounty of the harvest, and express gratitude for our relationships and our communities.  For many of us, this holiday will feature the fresh foods grown by our very own, local, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers!

Let’s make sure that our gratitude extends to our farmers in very real and tangible ways.   Every day these farmers face changing markets, changing climate, and a changing culture that often favors convenience over relationships. 

I challenge you this year to find a fresh and deeper way...

“Come on cows!”   More than a few dozen youth and adults – some campers and parents, some staff, some volunteers – formed a chorus of calls for the herd of Scottish Highland cattle to move, for the first time, from the pastures on south campus at Angelic Organics Association to the north campus we call Kinnikinnick Fields, 80-acres of remnant, and degraded, oak savannah.  It will be the cows’ primary task to help restore this land.

Historically, this region was a vast oak savannah whose profound fertility was built up over many centuries in great...

We said goodbye last week to another dear friend and colleague:  Rick Jensen, our accountant for the past two years, passed away Friday morning after a short illness. 

When I think of Rick, I think of his desire to serve, and his willingness to step up to help with what needed to be done, from fixing the door to researching a complex accounting task.  Rick would arrive to work early so he could focus while it was still quiet, with a background of light jazz playing on his computer. He’d tolerate meetings and discussions, but...

Pasqua, one of our Scottish Highland cattle, gave birth on Tuesday night to a large, stillborn calf. Traumatized by her loss, a long labor, and damaged nerves, she lay listless in the pasture. Our staff brought water, grain, and encouragement, but the real gift for Pasqua came from the third graders at Prairie Hill Waldorf School, who spontaneously sang choral music to soothe and comfort her.  

Spring is the time of year when many Waldorf schools bring their third graders to our farm to experience farm life....