We hope folks will come to the Market this Saturday to enjoy the fabulous food and camaraderie … but also to meet some rescued dogs who are looking for forever homes.  Great Dog Rescue New England will be at the Market this week from 9-12, and it is a treat to see all of the beautiful dogs and pups who have been given another chance for a happy life by GDRNE.

We can’t say enough good things about this wonderful and successful organization!  The GDRNE staff is completely dedicated to the care and careful placement of the hundreds of lucky dogs that come through each year.   Please come and meet some of them this weekend!

To learn more or to get an online application, visit www.gdrne.com.

And if you DO leave the Market with adoption papers this Saturday, be sure to visit The Cottage Herb Garden on your way out  and stock up on homemade bad breath dog treats… your new pup will love them!

2010 Winning entry by Ellery Yahia

Are you a Bromfield Student interested in art? Excercise your creative ability and design this year’s Harvard Farmers Market poster!   The poster will be proudly displayed throughout Harvard and neighboring towns and the winner of the design competition will recieve a $100 prize.

See all details here:  Poster Contest_2011_3

Hey sweet friends,

We wanted to let you know (though some of you know already) that on  Monday, April 4th, (tomorrow!!) Chef Paul and Mike Mintz have offered to give us a class on mead-making and hard apple cider making.

GROOVY!

Julie Sennott has, again, generously offered her fabulous kitchen, our usual gathering place for the Canning Club. (Thanks Julie!!)

Here are the Details:

Monday, April 4th,  7-9 @ Julie Sennotts house (53 Bolton Road)

Bring nothing but yourselves — but if you plan to attend you MUST  RSVP.  We are limited on space so only the first 25 can come this time (we promise to offer it again if needed)  and there are only a few spots left.

To RSVP, email Jen Sundeen at jennysundeen@gmail.com

UPDATE :  THE MEAD MAKING CLASS IS FULL!!!  IN FACT OVER-SOLD!!! WOW, YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!  FOR THOSE THAT DIDN’T GET IN ON THIS ONE, TRUST WE WILL DO IT AGAIN……THIS IS ONLY  THE BEGINNING……

Don’t miss Food Fight, a documentary next Friday night (Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m) in the Unitarian Fellowship Building.

Food Fight looks at how American agricultural policy and food culture developed in the 20th century, and how the California food movement has created a counter-revolution against big agribusiness.

Food Fight is the first of three films about food in a community film series sponsored by the UU Green Sanctuary Committee, Harvard Local, the Harvard Farmers Market, and the Congregational Church of Harvard. A $5 donation is suggested to cover the cost of the movie. Students are free.

For more about the documentary: http://www.foodfightthedoc.com/

Get Growing is open to all ages. Have your submissions on the tables at the market (right by the HFM market Managers tents) by 11:00. Judging will begin at 11:05am and Ribbons will be awarded at 11:45am. (Ribbons will be awarded to all who participate.) Originality counts as much as horticultural prowess….so don’t just get get growing, but also, get creative!

In addition to the growing contest, all school aged children are invited to join the market as vendors in our Farmer for a Day Program.  There is no charge for kids to be a vendor for this one weekend, and kids are welcome to sell items that they have gardened or produced (no crafts).  If you are interested in participating, please email Rochelle Greayer with questions and to reserve a space.

This coming Saturday, September 4, we are hosting a Meet Your Farmer Day…stop by for your Meet Your Farmer magnetic sticker…and then meet the incredible people who grow and make our food.  Thanks for nourishing our families…and our souls!

What could be more natural, and pleasing in nature, than standing outside your door listening to birds, especially this time of year when robin bellies swell with eggs, and nests materialize under eaves and in lean-tos?  Really, let’s face it, if we take the time, birds and their sounds can be as compelling as a mystery to solve.  What is that species with the neat trill, the brilliant swatch of orange around the neck?  Who are the ones who swoop in droves and disappear at the instant they land?  Curiosity got the best of me this year, and I finally signed up for a bird watch, trying to dispel my own limited belief that I’d be part of an aged crowd.  You know the image, corny Bermuda shorts, wide brim hats, brandishing oversized camera lenses and pricey binoculars while rattling off erudite observations honed over years of bird-gazing with their retiree side-kicks.

In Provincetown, an area of spectacular spring migration, the Beech Forest at Race Point is the meeting spot for a weekly bird tour around the grounds.  Led by an Audubon expert, a group of eight of us (of varied backgrounds and ages, by the way!) took off on foot for a two hour adventure, seeking out the gorgeous sounding warblers, the flirty fly catchers, the territorial kingfishers.  As we circled a large fresh water pond at the center of Beech Forest, we caught glimpses of the native spotted sandpiper, a snapping turtle laying eggs, and winding, decorative sand tracks sculpted by painted turtles, also on their baby-making missions.  A few birds of note gave us glimpses into their habitat and song, namely a red-winged blackbird happily lording over a marsh, and a lone northern oriole, which made me feel proud as I’d already identified an oriole that performs in branches outside my Cape house.  Our barefoot instructor carried with him the “Peterson Bird Field Guide” and said this, along with many others, is a good one for beginners.  Whistling, chirping, and hooting, he mimicked birds so that we could appreciate a distant sound even though the bird in question opted for elusiveness.  Making their presence known while hiding out in trees, bushes, and sand dunes were towhees, Carolina wrens, chipping sparrows, and phoebes.  Except for occasional swarms of mosquitoes, our early morning jaunt gave me a new slant on sounds that we often take for granted, and embellished my day with a larger, more generous perspective of the outdoors.  All this and more for $7!  Oh and by the way, the retiree crowd on hand could easily outmaneuver me on the trail!  Check out the Wellfleet site and reserve. You won’t be disappointed.