Jun 4th, 2009
Rise and Bloom Again
Only now in the last rainy days of spring do we attempt to recount the fullness of last winter. The recent heavy rain nearly overshadows the intensity of the snows and cold. We survived another one with plenty of help from family and friends.
We are thankful to the Aho community for a great year. We will always remember our first big gardens, our first Christmas, cross country skiing out the front door to the Parkway.
Where to begin. Spring 09.
We have moved again. To Todd, NC right on the banks of the New River’s South Fork. We have taken up residence in the wonderful working Mathom House Farm run by Lyn Soder. She is serving as a great mentor and incubator for our farming endeavors. We have been welcomed to the Todd community by old friends and new supporters. Namely the folks at Elkland Art Center and the Todd Mercantile. We will sell our goods at the mercantile. We have planted a new garden near by the store thanks to the Moretz family with whom we work often in our Woods buisness. The horses are staying near by on Three Top road (where we planted our potatoes) as well as in Fleetwood down on the corner of Idlewild. There we planted our field corn and will cover it with spelt grain this fall after the harevst. We planted sorghum cane further out the parkway. We have put together a small group of folks interested in a mini CSA. Let us know if you are. Tomorrow we will finally put out a new set of goats to tackle the briers on Hunt Hill in Valle Crucis. Good friend Mat Cooper will help us in looking in on them. Look for Mtn Works Farms products at the Todd Market, the Ashe County Market with Lyn Soder or email us with your requests.
Our most exciting news is that we have launched our boldest branch of the buisness to date with Mountain Works Construction. Old friends Rob Roberts and Troy McGuire have taken up the challenge of building not only green but in direct coordination with our restorative forestry harvests. To our knowledge this combination of “design based on restoration” all under one roof is a first anywhere. We are just beginning to understand the scope of what is possible through across the board integration in sustainable development. Our current construction project is for the Sorrel family in Fleetwood where we are restoring their 12 acres of forest and yielding a beautiful white pine timber frame addition for them in the process. The beams are sawn on site with a portable band saw run by Mike Shenton. The hardwood will be taken to the local circle mill run by Bret Winebarger (two miles from the building site) and will be used in the custom crafted interior. Recycled windows, passive solar design, rain water collection, , SIP panels, site reclaimed lumber and solar hot water provided by our good friends at Blue Ridge Energy Worksare just a few ear marks of a Mtn Works build.
We would also like to welcome Chris Kaase to the team as he expands the work of our Mapping a Modeling department. He is hitting the ground running with everything from forest inventory to building site analysis; all while finishing his master’s thesis on stream restoration. Kelly and Ian continue to play traditional music with a variety folks including Kelly’s parents Randy and DJ SHeets. With the variety of skill sets coming together Mtn Works is closer than ever to the hope of facilitating full spectrum sustainability in mountain communities from Boone to Bhutan. This is our season, Appalachia gives a pilot view, and like the laurel and dogwood we rise and bloom again.
