Heritage Reclaimed Farm: Stop # 14 on the Arts and Ag Tour of Hickman County

Cows grazing at Heritage Reclaimed Farm

Heritage Reclaimed Farm will be a part of the Hickman County Arts and Ag Tour for the third time this year.  Established in 2012, Heritage Reclaimed Farm has all Middle Tennessee has to offer; rolling hills, open pastures, ponds, creeks and  springs. The Charles and Shona Shough family moved to middle Tennessee for the purpose of being part of a community of faith, establish better food systems, and to help serve their neighbors. Along with their two sons, Isaac and Valor, they are working hard to reclaim the land and the heritage of their homestead.

In their commitment to better health, and good stewards of the Land, they raise and sell Grass-fed Beef & Sheep, Organic Pastured pigs, and organic pastured chickens.

On Saturday of the Hickman County Arts and Ag Tour, they will be featuring a French Market and preparing their signature Organic Pork Stack Fry Bread Plate with slaw and French Beignets topped with Organic Jam.  You can purchase Organic, rustic, artisan bread, organic raw milk grass-fed cheese from an Artisan Cheese maker and purchase their meats directly raised on the farm. When visiting the farm, you will enjoy the scenic beauties of Middle Tennessee, and speak to one of their farm-hands and discuss grass-fed rotational cattle, chicken grazing and low infrastructure farm endeavours.

You can take a self-guided tour of the farm, or we can take you on a hay ride. You will be able to see and meet the animals that are a part of their everyday life. This day is sure to be memorable, and they invite all to come and take a stroll around the farm, and garden and enjoy the beauty of special homestead.

French Market, Dairy Cows, Free-Ranged Chickens, Organic Meats, Breads, Tea Blends and More at Stop #30

Heritage Reclaimed Farm, established 2012 has all Middle Tennessee has to offer; rolling hills, open pastures, ponds, creeks & gravity fed springs. The Charles and Shona Shough family moved to middle Tennessee for the purpose of being part of a community of faith, establish better food systems, and to help serve their neighbors. They are raising their two sons to reclaim the land and the Heritage of their homestead.

In their commitment to better health, and good stewards of the Land, they raise their happy pigs, content chickens and blissful bovines using organic feed and chemical free pastured grass. During the 2014 Hickman County Arts and Ag Tour, they will be featuring a French Market, displaying nostalgic items from the farm, and explaining the different farm ventures they are involved in. You can purchase Organic, rustic, artisan bread, organic raw milk grass-fed cheeses, pastured organic sausage and pork chops, and homemade tea blends. When visiting the farm, you will enjoy the scenic beauties of Middle Tennessee.

They will be featuring a lunch plate of smoked, shredded open face pork sandwich on fried bread, with a large serving of fresh organic homemade cole slaw. If you desire something sweet while visiting, they will be making French beignet fry-bread topped with strawberry jam and /or powdered sugar. The pork used for the lunch plate was raised in their own wooded glens and pastures, and fed all organic feed and vegetables.

On the tour, come and meet their Heritage Large Black Hog named Queen of Sheba. She is very friendly and loves to have her picture taken. New to the farm, is a 2 week old Jersey calf named Bullet. You may experience milking one of their two Jersey A2 milk cows; Isabella and Martha Dean. You may also learn how to build and setup a chicken tractor, or rotate their herd of Devon and Angus Cattle. This day is sure to be memorable, and they invite all to come and take a stroll around the farm, and garden and enjoy the beauty of special homestead.

Biodynamic Farming, Cooking Demos, Music and Good Wool Etc. at Stop #25

Pinewood Farms has always functioned as an organic farm. This year, with guidance from Jeff Poppen, better known as the Barefoot Farmer, they will take their farming methods ‘beyond organic’. The art of biodynamic farming strives to create a diversified but balanced farm ecosystem that treats soil fertility, plant growth and livestock care as ecologically interrelated tasks and strives to generate health and fertility from within the farm.

Pinewood Farms is committed to the biodynamic production of Earth’s bounty and wants to share this bounty with the community. They offer their products through CSA (community supported agriculture). This type of economic model and food distribution assumes a shared risk between farmer and consumer. This notion of shared risk, asks that members pay up front for the whole season and the farmer provides a variety of in season produce each week.

For Arts and Ag this year look for Nicole Tracy, Darcy Riddell Hancock, Wes Morgan and Good Wool Etc. Nicole will be doing cooking demonstrations at 10am, 2pm and 4pm on both Friday and Saturday. There will be samples of Coconut Sweet Potato soup with lentils and Gluten Free Sweet Potato pie available. Darcy with “Canning Made Simple!” will show you how to put up your fresh vegetables with recipes and easy to follow, step-by-step canning instructions. Enjoy our Q&A sessions from 10am-3pm and see the canner in action from 1-2pm! Wes Morgan singer/songwriter will be playing southern roots country at Pinewood Farms from 11-1pm on Saturday, May 24. Wes is Hickman county born and raised and is guaranteed to entertain. Good Wool Etc. is a farm-based business run by Mark and Ashley Whitaker of Whit’s End Farm in Thompson Station, TN. They raise a small flock of Jacob sheep from which Ashley makes handmade wool goods. Mark is a photographer, woodworker, jewelry maker, antique restorer and the web manager for the business. Their wares are for sale at http://www.goodwooletc.etsy.com and will be at the farm all day Friday and Saturday.

Glinda Watts, Herbalist, Wild Walks, Medicine Wheel Garden at Stop #27 Piney River Enterprises

Skidding into home plate just before the opening of the 2014 Arts and Ag Tour is Glinda Watts, herbalist, and a recent transplant from Memphis, TN. Glinda moved to Hickman County in January of this year and has literally put down roots already with the installation of a Medicine Wheel Garden for James and Anita Lewis, at Piney River Escapes, Stop #27 on the Arts and Ag Tour.

“There are many ancient Medicine Wheel sites around the world,” explains Watts. ‘Most of us are familiar with the prehistoric circle of stones at Stonehenge, which was believed to track the movements of the sun, and the famous Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming. Modern day Medicine Wheel designs are a wonderful way to create a personal space for reflection and prayer, but most of all, a powerful space for growing medicinal herbs that can be used for the family’s needs, or simply to add beauty and value to one’s landscape’.

The name ‘Medicine Wheel’ is taken from the Native American tradition of honoring the four cardinal directions; North, South, East, and West. Pathways through the garden are aligned precisely with these directions, and the plants grouped around these points are according to the colors associated with each direction. “Since we are on Cherokee land,” explained Watts, “I wanted this garden to incorporate the Cherokee tradition of the 7 directions, which are North, South, East, West, Above, Below, and Within”. Above, Below, and Within are marked by a circular area in the center of the garden, which contains a decorative stone, meaningful plants, or some item with special significance to the garden’s owners.

Watts personalizes each Medicine Wheel Garden for the family’s needs. If there is a colicky baby in the house, it’s a sure bet that Catnip and Fennel will make it into the garden. If the lady of the house has trouble sleeping at night, then Valerian or Chamomile will be a sure thing. Best of all, Glinda will instruct the owners of the garden in the appropriate usage of the herbs and how they can best be preserved.

Pictures weren’t available at the time of this writing, because the garden is still being created. Make #27 one of your stops by the Piney River Escape to see and experience the garden for yourself. Piney River Enterprises will be hosting an outdoor art exhibit, ceramics, hand-made knives, guns and later in the evening on Saturday, a live concert with the Lugnuts.

Arts & Ag Tour Preview Stop #10

Sweetcreek is a little different from most of the other stops, as it is not a commercial farm. They don’t “do” anything here. But they DO live the good life in rural Tennessee. Edna, the farm-wife, grows a lot of their own food, and is passionate about that. If you are interested in home gardening, there will be short tours of the garden with lots of information about growing fruits and vegetables. She also grows flowers and herbs, and will have several easy-care perennials for sale. Edna would love to share her years of experience as a Master Gardener and her passion for home gardening with you. Stop by to see Sweetcreek Farm and enjoy local music by an acapela trio, local artists, and experience the good life this Memorial Day weekend.

Vicki Imoberstag demonstrating pottery techniques

Sweetcreek Farm is hosting several local artists and artisans. Vicki ImOberstag, potter extraordinaire and great neighbor, will be throwing pots Friday and Saturday at 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:00 PM down at the barn. Enjoy the demonstrations and take home an original piece of pottery! The Barefoot Farm Girl will return this year with her honey products and hand-made items. Buffalo River Artist’s Co-Operative will also be offering a variety of hand-made items, including weaving and jewelry. Demonstrations will be held throughout the day.

New this year is David Anderson, local retired Wildlife Management officer, who will be taking visitors on a short Wild Walk. Visitors to the farm can experience one of the most loved things about living in Hickman County – the wonderful natural beauty. Walks will start from the barn at 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 2:30 PM. This will be a short walk (about 15-20 minutes), but a steep one. Bring a stout walking stick (or pick one up at the barn), and wear hiking boots or tennis shoes. Tick spray will be a good idea, too.

Sweetcreek Farm enjoys another of the great things about Hickman County – pure, cold, fresh-from-the-ground spring water. All of the farm’s water comes from the spring on the back of the property and is piped to a holding tank by the barn. This is the spring that gave the farm its name, and its been said that its the best water in the county! Enjoy all you can drink while you’re here, and bring containers to take some with you. If you have a picnic lunch and a blanket, please feel free to find a spot to enjoy your meal while you’re here – but you might have to share with the dog.

Preview Arts & Ag Tour Stop #1

Stop # 1, Wild Duck Soup Emporium, welcomes you to the Third Annual Arts & Ag Tour.

Grab a hard copy, printed version, of the 2014 Tour Guide here and meet Arts & Ag co-founder Antonia Meadors. Meadors opened Wild Duck Soup Emporium, the unofficial headquarters of Arts & Ag, in 2011. Since then her venue has grown to be the premiere art gallery in the county as well as a haven for those seeking natural foods, local honey, herbal supplements and other healthful items.

As the unofficial headquarters of Arts & Ag, Wild Duck Soup Emporium is THE place to get the inside scoop on everything related to the Tour and to participate in our Tour Guide activities:

• If you take a photo of your favorite stop on the Tour and post it on our facebook page, you can get a free I Love Back Roads bumper sticker from the counter at Wild Duck Soup Emporium.
• If you guess which number belongs in the blank star on the Tour Map, head to that stop and get them to sign your Tour Guide, you can get a free Arts & Ag gift from Wild Duck Soup Emporium!

Left: Antonia Meadors, Owner Wild Duck Soup
Right: Cindy Sarlo, Arts & Ag Photographer

Several artists and exhibits will be on site at Stop #1. You’ll have the opportunity to meet Cindy Sarlo, the Official Photographer for Arts & Ag, and to view her recent works, including photographs from last year’s Tour. You’ll hear live music from local fiddlist, Mark Baczynski and singer-songwriter Gloria McCord. Tour the patio garden and view works by sculptor, Daniel Sheridan and folk artist, Jo Neace Krause.

Meadors, a native of Hickman County, is a wealth of information regarding local foods and the people who grow them. She is plugged into the extensive network of artists, craftsmen and musicians who call Hickman County home and proudly offers many of their one-of-a-kind pieces for sale at Wild Duck Soup Emporium. Her enthusiasm for all things local and her positive, encouraging attitude makes Wild Duck Soup Emporium an exciting hub of local activity with a friendly, inviting atmosphere. Come see for yourself during the Arts & Ag Tour this Memorial Day Weekend!

2014 Arts & Ag Tour Guide Release

With just one month to go, the countdown to the Arts & Ag Tour has officially begun. To kick off the countdown, we’re releasing the online version of the 2014 Arts & Ag Tour Guide today! The hard copy, printed version of the Tour Guide will be available for free to folks taking the tour. Look for them soon at Wild Duck Soup Emporium or email us at artsandagtour@gmail.com for more information. This multi-paged booklet contains everything you need to know about taking the Arts & Ag Tour including descriptions of each stop, touring tips, a schedule of music and demonstrations, the tour map and much more. Stay tuned here for more posts highlighting various points of interest on the Tour as we journey to our opening day, Friday May 23rd. Click the image below to link to the Tour Guide.

Join us for Eco Ag March 3rd

Arts & Ag invites you to join us for our third annual Eco Ag seminar Monday, March 3rd, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at LuLu’s Roadhouse 1726 Highway 100, Centerville TN, 37033.

Eco Ag is a FREE opportunity for our community to learn about the sustainable methods used by many local farmers right here in Hickman County. We’ll hear from a panel of farmers from all over Hickman County who farm using sustainable methods. They produce a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grass fed beef and lamb, honey, soaps, yarn, etc. We will sample their products and learn what, how and why they have chosen to farm the way they do.

Contact Wild Duck Soup Emporium for more details and if you would like to participate on the panel CALL 931.729.0690. OR email us at artsandagtour@gmail.com.

2013 Harvest Market was a Topnotch Affair!

The view from the front porch of Grinder’s Switch Winery at last Saturday’s Harvest Market was just what we hoped it would be. Folks of all ages, from near and far, strolled in small clusters down the gravel drive lined on both sides with cars, bumper to bumper. Autumn was in the air and the pale grey sky, which caused a bit of anxiety when it rained, but provided the perfect backdrop for a gorgeous pallet of multicolored leaves on the overhanging branches and surrounding shrubbery. Nestled among the natural features of our county’s award winning winery was a joyful patchwork of festively decorated booths representing the talents of our local artisan and farming community.

Trish Lingo of Beaverdam Creek Farm greeting two young customers

The quality, craftsmanship, variety, creativity and bounty of handcrafted, homegrown items on display at the Harvest Market was topnotch, and not just, “for around here,” either. In fact, that’s a phrase Arts & Ag is on a mission to see eliminated from the thinking and speech of our county’s citizenry! This region, which has long been a haven for farmers, artists and musicians, is on the cutting edge of the sustainable farming movement and has simultaneously created a niche for other cottage industries and crafts such as soap making, quilting, blacksmithing, pottery, woodworking and many others that were on display at the Harvest Market and that often go hand in hand with agriculture. ALL of this (the arts, crafts and abundance of small, sustainable farms) is fast becoming a source of pride for our locals and we at Arts & Ag couldn’t be happier about it!

Gabriel New of New Eden Farms selling his famous homemade pickles.

A gigantic THANK YOU to everyone involved with the Harvest Market, including the fine folks at Grinder’s Switch Winery for being such gracious hosts and for supporting our marketing efforts. Over 800 people (according to our closest estimate) came out to shop, to enjoy the tasting room, have a bite to eat and listen to some fantastic local, live music– while spending in the ballpark of $15,000. We couldn’t have been as successful without our dedicated, thoughtful, enthusiastic volunteers!  We are deeply grateful to our Bakery Team for keeping the coffee flowing and selling all the home baked goodies that were donated to the Arts & Ag Bakery. Thanks to you and all who contributed baked items (and those who purchased them), we were able to generate funds to jump start our PR budget for the 2014 Arts & Ag Tour. Our thanks also goes out to our amazing Street Team, all who helped us spread the word about the Harvest Market, emailed their contacts, passed out rack cards and hung posters. We also want to thank our fabulous Loading and Layout Team who staked out booth spaces Friday night and helped load and haul items throughout the Market. Thanks to all the musicians that entertained at the Harvest Market: Gloria McCord, Billie Joe Sawyer, and Mark Meadors with Martin, Trei and Miranda Louise, and many thanks to County Mayor Steve Gregory for doing a very fine job DJing and MCing!

We look forward to many more events like this year’s Harvest Market.

Sincerely the Arts & Ag Trio,

Antonia, Nicole and Vanessa

COUPONS are HERE! Great savings for this Saturday only during the Harvest Market!

TWO pages of coupons from some of our vendors that will be at this Saturday’s Arts & Ag Harvest Market. PRINT these pages and bring with you this Saturday, the 19th for some great deals! Scroll down the home page for previous posts about details regarding the event.