Hello Friends of the Gainesville Organic Blueberry Farm,
Welcome to all of our new members! We look forward to picking and working with you – the more folks working to save the berries, the more certain that the farm remains a farm. Thank you all for telling your friends about our group! And thanks again to the die hard mowers who keep opening up more rows! Now we just need to recruit more folks to sign up for cards to pick them all! We are about at the peak of the season now so please come out this week and get your pickin cards. You can sign a pledge to work after the season – now is the time to pick! Many of you who have worked already have not picked up your cards – what are you waiting for?;)
Please remember to keep a rough estimate of how many pounds, or gallons of blueberries you pick as this could help us get grants later. And if you see any interesting wildlife, let me know I would like to make a species list for the farm
I will be creating a webpage on our website www.GvilleBlueberryFarmFriends.org with answers to frequently asked questions and some things to remember when picking- please check it out before you come out for the first time, I hope to have it up by this evening.
I will be issuing pickin cards tomorrow and Thursday, 6/16 &6/17 from 6 to 7pm and Friday and Saturday 6/18 & 6/19 from 9 to 10 am, at the beehive patch. You will be asked to sign a liability waiver and pledge whatever hours you have left to work for the year (or all 8 if you are new to the group) and you will get a pickin card and the combo to the lock so you can pick whenever you want during daylight hours. Please dont give this combo to ANYONE. Please bring plenty of water and long pants and sleeves (where there is lots of wildlife, there are lots of ticks and the farm is no exception – check yourself all over when you go home) Kids are welcome and dont need cards but ALL ADULTS need cards to pick, or be on the farm -NO EXCEPTIONS! Please leave pets at home, and bring plenty of bags and buckets to pick lots of sweet berries – there are at least 5 patches which are mostly accessible and have berries, and the pond is full of blooming american lotus! The Passionflower is in full bloom – collect some flowers and dry them for a mild tea to help you sleep! And the Elderberries are covered with bouquets of white flowers – breaded and fried Im told they’re delicious.
So come out one of these times, and get ready to pick your blues away! Please check the website tomorrow morning and look at the ‘pickin pointers’ section for some frequently asked questions and tips. I hope to have that page done tonight.
And, I want to thank our outstanding, and very patient, webmaster who has taken our group to another level by setting up such a beautiful and useful site! I am working on getting some photos from the farm to grace the header – so much beauty, such a cheap camera;) Anyone wanting to send photos for use on our site is encouraged to do so. If we use them on the site you will get an hour’s work credit (all human subjects in said photos need to be asked if they are willing to appear on our site, but the animals probably wont care).
If you are receiving duplicate emails please let me know, and if someone you know believes they are on the list but are not getting notices, ask them to check their spam folder and then email me if its not there. A few email accounts are not allowing our notices to be sent to them.
Finally, Please forward this message and encourage your friends to sign up for our email notices on the ‘email sign up’ page of our website www.GvilleBlueberryFarmFriends.org – the more the merrier, the more dreamers, the more certain the dream is realized and our grandchildren will be able to pick at the farm too.
If you have questions not answered in this email or the ‘pickin pointers’ page on the site, look over a few old posts and you may find the answers.
And finally THANKS to you who have given your sweat at the farm – it is really showing, how much love this community has for this beautiful farm - I am more hopeful than ever that we will KEEP THE FARM A FARM!
Please forward this to your friends and lists – there are enough berries for the whole community! Lets share this treasure!
Hope to see you down on the farm!
maureen
www.GvilleBlueberryFarmFriends.org
PS – PLEASE FORWARD!