Popping Up...Again!

Remember last summer!? We did this! And we're doing it again!

Tomorrow, Saturday 9/7, from 10-3 we will be slanging veg, making bouquets and talking up our new offerings! It's a great time of year for seasonal produce buying...my favorite, really. Because, finally, the tomatoes are on! We're growing about 30 plants this year, a notable increase from last year's 17. But I didn't experiment with varieties as much. I stuck with my true favorites: Cherokee Purple, Paul Robeson, Mortgage Lifter, Persimmon, Green Grape, Black Cherry, Sungold, Matt's Wild Cherry and Juliet Hybrid. My only experiments were a lemon yellow currant-sized cherry for floral designs and Indigo Rose, the *actually* black tomato, which I am still figuring out...hard to tell when that one's ripe!

We're also growing my favorite kind of tomatillo, Mexican Strain. It tastes nothing like it's bulbous, Hulk-green cousin! It's sweet...I mean, caramel-cherry-pineapple-kinda sweet, but with a serious tang, too. Oven-roasted in salsa, it will absolutely knock your socks off. Raw, cut into a green salad with sharp white cheddar and blueberries? Incredible :)

And with any luck, we'll have some hella-hot Scotch Bonnet peppers to continue with the socks-knocking-off!

Ok, speaking of new offerings...I have them! I'm still in marketing materials development, but I'm totally ready to talk vision. I've realized that my heart is calling out to do more of my art, extend my aesthetic out into the world, work hard to create sustainable beauty around me and for my community. So Flying Bear Farm is shifting business focus onto Floral, Event, Garden and Lifestyle Design! The other part of my realization was that, no matter what, growing food is life. It's what I do, what I want to teach others to do, and where I find true beauty. But it's not what's going to pay the bills...YET. So I'm turning my innate skills and gleaned wisdom around design into my livelihood. Come talk to me more about this awesomeness and what I can offer while I'm tying bouquets at the POP-UP FARM STAND!!!

Lots of summer love to you all!
-Melissa

Summer Love

Hello again, my loves! Time has passed...a crazy amount of it when I actually look back to what I was doing the last time I wrote to you all. Let me just say that last winter and spring were HARD. Yes, there were some really delightful things going on, and, as always, friends and family filled my heart-space with a ton of wonderfulness. However, depression wormed its way in...and I felt like a shadow for a while there. It is also really hard to talk about feeling depressed, so thank you for hearing me. And thank goddess for life coaching, walks around Greenlake, cross-country skiing in Glacier National Park, flowers, naturopathy, my childhood home, and my amazing habibi Ben, who weathered it all with grace, patience and love! I feel much more like myself now, particularly after embarking on a soul-nourishing, BIG LOVE journey! Ben and I GOT HITCHED!! Woot! To begin my re-entry into blogging and reaching out with my work, I wanted to share the vision that we had for the design of our wedding reception. The photos below are of a lil' photoshoot my mom and I did about a week AFTER the wedding. This is totally representative of the feel we were going for...cheerful, eclectic, sunrise-y, abundant and blissful! I hope you totally enjoy this little vignette!

 We found all of the dishes, flatware and table linens (enough for almost 20 tables!) at Goodwill, except for the table topper, which was a family heirloom. The flowers are all from my farm, as are the tomatoes. The tomato tarts are made with love by Molly. The jam favors, which we handed out at the wedding, were made over the summer by the two of us! The tags are handmade by me :)

 Nina, of course, wanted to know if we were done with those tarts...

Many new offerings, due in part to this amazing endeavor, are about to be revealed by Flying Bear Farm! Keep your ears perked and eyes pealed for more! 

With sweetest, deepest love,

-The Flying Bear