Boo Cat Farm

19/07/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/a3nTerggRiLbPJkj/

08/07/2024

This one saddens and triggers
me.

04/07/2024

Another honored on the Kutztown Folk Arts Festival History Trail was Mountain Mary, a local legend who lived about 15 mins from here, 200 years ago.
I'm particularly fond of the stories of Mary as she was a beekeeper, a herbal healer and very all-around independent woman. Not a common find in those times.

04/07/2024

Today, G and I went to the Kutztown Folk Arts Festival. This year, for the first time, they've included a History Trail, commemorating people who have made significant contributions to the Festival itself and / or the regions heritage.
One so honored is Elaine Varjan. Please read the blurb on her panel. Since 1953 she has only not attended the Festival one year, in 2020.
There was no Festival in 2020 ... due to COVID.
This is her 70th year working the Festival. That's longer than most of you have been on this planet.
Elaine, Mrs. Vargan, was also the 4th grade teacher in the Oley Valley school system. I've met numerous people who have had her in 4th grade or their children have had her.
In September, 2017 Gigi and I bought Mrs. Vargan's 200+ year old house and it became Boo Cat Farm.
It was great to see and visit Elaine and her son Matt at the festival today.

22/06/2024

Late Spring honey harvest.
Ready for extraction / dry and done.
Check the comments for videos.

22/06/2024

2024 Honey is in!

03/05/2024

It was a sad day on the farm today. We lost sweet Buffy.
Buffy was the last of the Original Three chickens that this all started with back on LI.
She had a good run of over 7 years but died quietly today of old age. Thanks for listening.

20/04/2024

HAPPY EARTH DAY!
Today, plant something. Plant some things. Start a compost pile (not recommended for apartment dwellers). Go to a local celebration.
Today Michelle Feathers and I will be doing our Honeybee / Pollinator presentation at 2:45 at the Kula Kamala Ashram Earth Day event.

19/03/2024

Refreshed from a day spent in the garden.

18/03/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/tuTrxJPUD6GwyaNX/?mibextid=xfxF2i

March 17 is St. Gertrude's Day, observed as part of the Pennsylvania Dutch folk-cultural year, blending the farmer's almanac and the old liturgical calendar. This was the day that gardeners would plant their onions, peas, and potatoes, and for some, it was a time for the blessing of the garden with old ritual traditions.

St. Gertrude of Nivelles (628-659) is the patron saint of gardeners, cats, and travelers, and protectoress against rodents and mental illness. Although the Pennsylvania Dutch were predominantly Protestant, the folk-spirituality of the culture was informed by centuries of Catholic tradition.

Among these annual observations was the baking of a heavy cake-like bread called "Datsch" on St. Gertrudes's day including ingredients described in oral tradition as "something green, something black, and something white for her cat." Crumbs from the "Datsch" were scattered at the four corners of the garden to feed St. Gertrude's feline spiritual helpers, guard from rodents and pests, and bless the seed and soil.

Celebrated PA German author and philosophy professor at Kutztown University, John Joseph Stoudt (1912-1981), recorded the following rhyme about St. Gertrude's Day from his grandmother Amanda Baer Stoudt of Allentown (1867-1942):

Ebbes Griene, Ebbes Schwaatze
Ebbes Weisse fer die Katze.
Backt mer Datsch am Drudisdaag
Strei die Grimmle wo sie mag,
Vun Eck zu Eck am Gaarderand,
So waxe dei Blantze uffem Land.

"Something green, something black,
Something white, for her cats.
One bakes Datsch on Gertrude's day,
and spreads the crumbs as they may,
From corner to corner of the garden's edge,
So the plants shall grow upon the land."

This rhyme was recorded at the home of Stoudt in Fleetwood, Berks County in the 1970s by culinary historian William Woys Weaver and architectural historian Ivan Glick, and was recently included in Weaver's "Dutch Treats: Heirloom Recipes from Farmhouse Kitchens" (2016, St. Lynn's Press), along with a recipe for St. Gertrude's Datsch.

If you don't make Datsch at home, St. Gertrude's cats would appreciate any kind of breadcrumbs you may have in your pantry!

08/03/2024

BCF Employee #1
Today would have been Moochie's 16th birthday.
This picture was taken 3/11/18, almost 6 years to the day. That was one month after we adopted him.
I kept every promise that I ever made to him.
A heart never heals, it only scars over.

26/02/2024

Ginger, ... first day of school.

14/02/2024

https://glorybee.com/blog/saint-valentine-patron-saint-of-beekeepers-and-lovers

Learn about beekeeping, cooking, SAVE the BEE, and more

26/12/2023

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

13/11/2023

"Here's looking at you Kid."

04/11/2023

Boo Cat Farm is very proud to announce...
Today Gigi graduated from the Rodale Institute Farmer Training (RIFT) program. Rodale, literally, wrote the book(s) on Organic Farming.
She was one of eleven people selected from over one hundred applicants from around the country. This year was the first time that the RIFT program had 100% of its participants complete and graduate the 35 week course.
Many lifelong relationships grew out of their struggles and support of one another. They are Boo Cat Farm family now.
Congratulations to Gigi and the rest of the RIFTRAFF.

01/11/2023

11/09/2023

This one's for you Mama Bear ...
Farmer Bob

18/08/2023

Farm stand will be open today and Monday Labor Day. We have our own local, raw honey for sale. Our produce is all grown using organic methods. Stop by 10-6 for tomatoes, peppers, and fresh herbs. We will have apples very soon. We accept cash and Venmo. 350 Limekiln Rd Reading 19606

17/08/2023

Just a little warning for all who are canning pickles or anything using vinegar. This year you cannot just grab a plastic jar of vinegar or even pickling vinegar without checking the label. Safe pickling requires 5% acidity....for the first time we are seeing 4% acidity vinegar... on the shelves. That renders anything pickled in the 4% NOT shelf stable. There are several canning FB pages where everyone is warning ...for the first time ever...to check those labels or you could be throwing out many jars of unsafe pickled veggies.

14/08/2023

Hard to believe we are more than halfway through the program. It's been a great experience so far.

🌱 Meet Gigi Copeland, our determined RIFT (Rodale Institute Farmer Training) intern from Pennsylvania!

Last November, Gigi faced a career shift when she lost her job in corporate healthcare. That's when she discovered the RIFT Program at Rodale Institute—an opportunity to pursue her dream of starting a Microfarm. Her passion for regenerative organic farming drove her to join RIFT, eager to learn the ropes and get her farm off the ground.

Gigi loves the comprehensive learning experience provided by RIFT, from planting to harvesting, processing, and packing the produce. Field trips to other farms and businesses provide valuable insights, helping her apply successful business models to her farm. Equally important is the financial aspect of farming, and Gigi appreciates the knowledge she gains in this area.

At "Boo Cat Farm" in Oley, PA, next year, Gigi will cultivate herbs, mushrooms, and flowers, selling them at her farm store.

Stay tuned to meet the rest of our 2023 interns! For more information about our Rodale Institute Farmer Training program, please visit: https://rodaleinstitute.org/education/training-programs/rodale-institute-farmer-training/

12/08/2023

The farm stand is open today and tomorrow. We have honey, tomatoes, squash and peaches ready. 350 Limekiln Rd, Reading PA 19606

02/07/2023

TODAY marks 26 years ago that the Boo Kitten adopted and rescued Bob. The picture is Boos arrival home. ❤️
There is always a beginning, there is always a story.

27/06/2023

HAPPY ANNIVERARY Farmgirl G!
Who'da thunk 14 years ago that we would start on this journey together and would have taken it where we have along the way?
I'll let Paul and the boys take it from here.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupI've Just Seen A Face (Remastered 2009) · The BeatlesHelp!℗ 2009 Calderstone Productions Limited (a division of U...

23/06/2023

Gigi, tell your fungi tribe.
Big opportunity!

22/06/2023

For you Farmer Bob