A Warm Welcome to Fall Planted Tulips

• Posted on 22 September 2022
• By Farmers Koster
• 0

Grateful Plains welcomes fall, celebrates a shift to prepare for our 2023 Tulip Fete and celebrates handing off our community outreach to a dedicated non-profit, Omnist High Meadows Sanctuary.

Equinox is a special time at the farm. We always hope that a guest or two may pop in so we can balance a raw egg upright as if it is magic. And to us, it feels magical. A respected time of perfect balance. And a neat demonstration to celebrate the gratitude we revere toward powerful unseed forces. Miracles of the earth where an entire 10 lb watermelon comes from a tiny seed most people spit out. Fascination with tiny no-see-um gnats whose sting lingers longer than grandma's lashing tongue when too much cream was skimmed off the can of fresh milk. We pause a bit longer during balance. To praise the relief when all is calm and collected. 

We deserve some steadiness after recent seasons of civil unrest and global upset. We consider ourselves some of the lucky few who had resources and stamina to withstand devestation. And in true farmer fashion, we are rising up from the ashes as bold and empowered as we've ever experienced.

As farmers, great fulfillment exists in training new farmers and researching specialty crop parameters. One more element we hold dear is feeding our neighbors, not the entire world. As we commit to founding a non-profit that will feed and enhance a quiet rural Village for generations to come, we are honing in on growing tulips on the farm. The flower itself represents pure love and we resonate with its ability to change an entire population when the Turkish transplant instigated Tulip Mania as crazed markets fell in love with the bold, aromatic bunches during the Dutch Golden Age around 1634.

Keen on producing an ample early season crop, our summer love is building an apprenticeship program and prepping the farm to host learners of all sorts. From farm retreats to daycamps, EcoCamp for Kids and one-on-one therapeutic gardening sessions, our community outreach now will reach millions as we become one with the age of virtual broadcasting. We've joined with seasoned philanthropists to establish a church, actually. A farming community church that welcomes all faiths, all walks of life and serves up our ministry in the fields instead of the pulpit. Perfectly fitting for this rampantly unorthodox age. 

We call our mission High Meadows Omnist Sanctuary or OhmS for short. Tim, me and Jule will still farm and fuel our #GrowGrandRidge program through AMerica in Bloom by supplying baskets, plants, and seeds for fundraisers supporting the bigger reach of OhmS. Let Growth Unite Us will build around an Interfaith dialogue and stand strong on its own under the Church's steeple. Okay, well, there's no steeple. But we visualize one! As a beacon to many from across the globe who celebrate Omnism, a respect for all religions and for those locally who yearn for sacred space to gather, grow and share without condemnation or converting. 

As we navigate this next season of our lives, we honor each of you reading this. Thank you for caring. Caring enough to read about ways you might plug in to all we envision. Caring for yourself, wherever you are, in a way that adds grace and distinction to the world. ANd whenever possible, share our mission so that we may shift as surely as the earth into steady rhythms and flow that grows beauty, eco-awareness, resident connection and positive mental health for the world to tune into far beyond our quaint Village of Grand Ridge IL.