Fresh From the Farm Blog

July 4, 1776 seems a long time ago to us in 2023, but in the span of time, it has been but a minute since those brave delegates signed their names to our Declaration of Independence. It is my hope that as we all celebrate this day with parades, picnics, barbecues, and fireworks we do not forget the meaning of what the day means. Becoming a free and independent nation was a big and risky gamble that our forefathers made, challenging the most powerful nation at that time. Their courageous gamble paid off and we are living that free life...

The footlockers were carefully packed by anxious but excited mamas, enough clothes for a week of summer camp. Combs, brushes, toothpaste and toothbrushes, sleeping bag, flashlight, pillows, and a few dollars for spending at the camp store. Two of our grandchildren are headed off for their first-ever “away” camp in Fort Davis far out in West Texas. One of them is a second-generation camper, his dad went to the same camp as a kid, and the other grand is a third-generation camper as not only her dad and mom went there, but her “other” grandpa as well. Awaiting them is...

Summertime weddings, June is the month often associated with these special events. In earlier times, June was a time between planting and harvest, when the weather was warm but not too hot and the spring rains had let up so it was a good time for weddings, especially outdoor weddings. Our daughter married on the same date in June as the great grandmother that she was named for. We learned this by accident when our daughter took her great grandmother’s wedding band to be sized for her to use. The local jeweler discovered a date engraved on the inside of...

Father’s Day is almost here. How do you plan to celebrate dear old dad this year? Some of us are fortunate to have a father or father figure in our lives that has made a difference in the persons we are today. Our dad taught us how to fish and hunt, how to start a campfire, pitch a tent, and make sour dough biscuits in a Dutch oven over a bed of hot coals. He walked the floor with us when we had earaches as toddlers, he taught us how to get a fish hook out of a finger, how...

Today, June 14, is Flag Day. Here at Fredericksburg Farms our American flag flies every day but especially today we salute our flag and its history. On June 14, 1777 John Adams, a delegate, spoke about the flag at a meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He said, “Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation." There have been twenty-seven official versions of the flag so far; stars have been added to it as states...