Forestry and Astronomy — Ossipee Hill Farm

Greetings!

This past week I decided to attend a farm tour hosted by NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service). We’ve been told several times over the last four years to apply for assistance from the FSA (Farm Service Agency). This farm tour helped me see what they do and encouraged me to want to apply. So, we are now in the application pool to potentially get assistance with a number of things; such as forestry management, habitat improvements, irrigation, soil health, a high tunnel, and so much more.

We are more confident in what we want with our land. With this confidence I’m ready to reach out and find help to make it happen. Really thinking this could be a big leap forward.

I spent a little time hiking the 30 plus acres we acquired this past year. It’s a mess and challenging to walk through. I’m looking forward to getting in there and cleaning it up so we can all enjoy it. Really hopeful that the NRCS will provide us with a forestry management plan that will be conservation focused.

This meeting also got me stirring about how I can best educate myself on our land. I want to know how to manage the forest and relay that information to others. Kicking around the idea of going back to school for another degree, one that will be in alignment with what we are trying to do at the farm. Not sure what that is yet. Phillip starts his Astronomy degree classes in a couple weeks. His drive towards wanting to learn more in order to teach has inspired me to want to do the same.

This week is pretty slow. I have some events on the calendar, please reach out if you plan to come. This coming Sunday, 8/04, is the new moon. I’m going to try something new that day. I will be giving my monthly Astronomy club presentation followed by telescope if the weather allows. This is open to ALL! We will have a potluck style spread as well. This will be monthly, likely the Sunday near the new moon. Bring a chair, bowl/cup/cutlery, and a treat to share.

Feel free to drop by one day this week. Grab some garlic out of the small green house. Check out the improvements we’ve added to the deck. It’s all ready to be rented out for events. If you know anyone looking for an outdoor space, tell them to check out the Event Space Rental page. We will be using all the profits to go towards our Observatory goals.

Phillip has taken a few Astronomy photos this week with his new camera. Imagine the photos we will get with the 24-inch telescope!