Just Local

05/11/2026

It's Mother's Day.
That is the day to plant tender vegetables and flowers according to Mountain Lore.

But, it's not been the best time for nearly the past decade.

Every year is different, but it's been leaning colder longer for years now.

I know, I know, those crazy warm days get you itching to plant, but STOP IT!

Those plants need 60-degree soil and no night temperatures below 50-degrees to become their happiest, most productive selves.

Wait.
Watch.
Be patient.

I'm going to wait until Friday and then look at the longer range projections before I plant any tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, corn, beans, okra, peppers, basil, etc.

P.S. every extra summer squash plant you put in means that you'll need 10 friends to share extras with 🤣

05/08/2026

You miss Stormie's beautiful bouquets AND there's so many reasons to grab something beautiful to share (or enliven your own space)🩷💐🩷

Looking for locally grown flowers for Mother’s Day? I’ll have wrapped bouquets and jar arrangements available in two places around Mitchell county!

Here’s the when and where:

💐 Friday + Saturday -
I’ll be dropping off flowers at 7am on Friday and will aim to restock on Saturday if they sell out! Get ‘em early!

💐 Sunday - come see me in person @ Tractor Food & Farms on 226 in Spruce Pine for a Mother’s Day Celebration event with and ! Maria will have the tastiest handmade ice cream and Penland community collaborations will be setup with a craft for kids!

The weekend deliveries kicked off with these cutie jar arrangements ordered for several beloved teachers at Gouge. 🥹

05/07/2026

We haven't stopped with beef since the store closed. Holler at Ray if you want to fill your freezer.

P.S. My husband and I often disagree on the language of how we feed our cattle.
They aren't grain fed like a feed lot system. We give them about 10-15% of their daily food intake in a mixed ration of grains to make sure they have adequate protein and trace nutrients.
We implement rotational grazing to make sure there's always plenty of good grass to make up the majority of their diet 🌱

Hey folks, I just wanted to let you know I'm still here. After the hurricane, and repairing the damage on the farm I decided to slow down a bit. I am still selling quarters and halves of beef. For the last year and a half I've been selling to repeat customers. We also closed our store in Bakersville at the end of 2025. So if you want to buy beef through us, you can still do so by letting me know on here so I can let you know availability. I'm averaging about 1 cow a month now. My price now is $7.25 a pound hanging weight for halves and $7.45 a pound hanging weight for quarters. And as always, our beef is pasture raised and grain fed. USDA inspected and vacuum sealed. Thanks to everyone who has supported and kept us going through the last few years!!!

05/03/2026

Blackberry winter is one of the few things that are predictable in these mountains.
Thankfully, it's just frost expected tonight.
Cover all those plants, friends.
Pray for the fruits that have already set.
And, dog gone in, stop planting all those summer seedlings and flowers so darn early!

For those with fruit trees, spraying them with water to remove the frost before the morning sun gets on them is a tip worth trying 😉
Best of luck 💚🌱💚

05/01/2026

I sure know how to party on a Friday night 😉

Black Locust trees put out beautiful cascades of flowers this time of year.
They have a slight grape soda kind of smell.

I'm processing them to make a Locust Flower Sugar and a Syrup.

A slight pinch to the very bottom makes it easy to pull the whole flower out.

Capturing the essence of the season is something special indeed.

04/26/2026

How about another moment of zen?

These little guys hatched about a week and a half ago.
They are peacefully co-habitating in my little goldfish/koi pond in the garden.
I look forward to watching them grow 💚

04/26/2026

Thank you, friends.
Thank you for letting me feed you (even if those Cinnamon Rolls are against my better judgment).
Thank you for believing in me, local farms, and clean food.
Thank you for accepting chaos and rolling with it like champs (especially today).
Thank you for all you have given me in return.

I'm not pandering when I say I love you.
I do. I really do.
Even those who know that I don't agree with their point of view sometimes.
And our sweet little town, that'll need even more of your kindness.
Just Local, in all its forms, was an act of love.

I humbly ask you to support what keeps on in Bakersville.
Advocate for what you find important.
Tell your friends about what is special.
Ask your neighbors to help make Bakersville better.
Do it for me since I won't be available to do it on our collective behalf.

Keep supporting truly local agriculture.
Buy directly from a farmer.
Check out all the great things happening around local food, but ask questions.
Help your food system mirror our collective values.
Buy meat from folks that name their animals and educate yourself about their practices.
A truly localized food system doesn't break, but it sometimes needs you to adapt.
Eat seasonally. Your budget will be better for it.

Yeah, I took the kind of job one finds in a rural area because I have to.
There's bills to pay, a husband to get through surgery, and a lot of darn animals to feed.
I'm not proud, but I'm not hateful.
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
It's just sad what it takes to survive here, and I'm not leaving our beautiful home just to work for a better paycheck.
So. Love what you have extra hard for me.

And, if you see me at that big box store out on the other side of the county, please remember I'm being timed.
It's not that my feelings for your well-being have changed.
I just need to do for mine, and there's a stop watch now that I'm not working for myself (and you).

Thank you, friends, for everything.