December on the farm means caring for the animals and tending the fire, fewer visitors, but many chores. The arcaunas have begun to lay, so we are getting pastel colored eggs regularly. Rambo’s fleece made a great hat - we are hoping to make many more for our brothers and sisters in need.

So much to be thankful for this year, and every year. A fruitful field, a healthy herd, and so many wonderful friends and family to share in the life of the farm. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

After butchering three roosters, the farm was gifted with nine new hens, bringing our flock to a robust 22 - about all our little coop can handle. Six hens are Arcaunas, known for laying colored eggs. They are molting right now and so not laying, but stayed tuned for pictures when egg production resumes.

Very busy weekend at the farm. We hosted a youth minister from Lewisburg, PA, with his family, Nate, Steph and little Joseph, for a little rest and relaxation - which included helping butcher three chickens!

John is a deacon! Yesterday, John Gribowich was ordained to the diaconate by Cardinal Timothy Dolan at Saint Joseph's Seminary - Dunwoodie.

This month, the farm welcomed Missy, our new ewe. Rambo was quite interested, but may be too late - rumor has it she is already carrying lambs! We bought a loom at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. It will be a fun winter of spinning and weaving.

The Back Mountain Youth Group came to the farm on Saturday to help with some fall clean-up. A dozen high school students from Catholic parishes in the Back Mountain, PA, spent the morning clearing tomato cages and stakes from the field, and husking beans for winter storage.

We are so pleased to share the news that John Gribowich, co-owner of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Farm, has received the call to the diaconate from Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Diocese of Brooklyn. John will be ordained a transitional deacon on November 1. Please keep John in your prayers!

The farm was happy to provide a venue for our good friend Dianne as she celebrated her 50th birthday. The evening began with Holy Mass under the tent (it is always a blessing to have the Eucharist celebrated on the property), followed by a potluck dinner with about fifty family members and close friends. The gathering also served as a send off for Dianne’s son Joseph, who is entering religious life with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal this fall.

Friends from Allentown and Philadelphia came up to help weed and visit for a while - Ed and Jen, with their beautiful children Cecilia and Eva, and Patrick and Katie with daughter Zephyr. Patrick and Jen put together a delicious meal, including homemade New Orleans Pralines - quite decadent for our little farm! Kevin and Sue brought us an electric stove (much needed), and their daughter Calla was able to get the elusive Pete the Cat to play with her.

Lots of families visiting the farm this month - Kathleen with daughter Maddie from Scranton, Claudia and Dan with their three children from West Chester, and Anthony from Kingston, who wants to bring his mother on his next visit. Tim, who has been a huge help to us on the farm, brought his wife Nancy and daughters, Kelly and Cait. Cait had a chance to milk S'Mores, and Kelly had the magic touch with our cat Delmar - we’ve never seen him so playful. 

Our niece and nephew (who is also Larry’s godson), Grace and Garrett, spent some time with us at the end of July, participating in the ‘ora et labora’ of the farm. We put them to work cleaning the chicken coop, washing dishtowels with the washboard, and picking and carding wool. Garrett was a natural at milking the goats.

The hot days of July have been anything but laid back here at the farm. The weeding of the field has been endless, and we were blessed with a wonderful group of volunteers from Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City, MD, led by youth minister Fernando Cartagena, to help out. While they were at it, they painted the cottage and moved the chicken coop - Carmen even milked our goat S'Mores! Many thanks to Fr. Allen Hoffa for his support and friendship. Thanks also to Mike for his continued work on the chapel.

The farm welcomed two new goats, Manya and S'Mores, both of whom are in milk! We are getting 5 quarts a day now. Many thanks to our friend Tim, who built us an awesome milking stand, and his daughter Kelly, who gave S'Mores her name (because "she looks like s'mores!"), then helped us with some yardwork and planting - along with Artie and Jayne.

Lots of visitors to the farm last weekend. Paul and Peg from the Syracuse Catholic Worker and Rochester Bread for All Bakery came to help out and learn about farm life as they discern getting a farm of their own in upstate NY.

The weather was perfect for planting - sunny, but not too hot. God is good! About a dozen volunteers from our local area, the Lehigh Valley (including recent graduates from Allentown Central Catholic High School and leaders of the Dorothy Day Group at the Saint Francis Friary in Easton), and Philadelphia planted hundreds of plants in the upper field.

It was a very busy time on the farm, with visitors, volunteers, sheep shearing, and the highlight of the weekend - the blessing of the field. Parishioners from our parish, Our Lady of Victory in Harveys Lake, PA, came to see the farm.

In the past ten days, the farm has hosted a student graduating from DeSales University, a CPE student from Long Island, and a school teacher from Philadelphia. Others just stopped by to say hello and see the animals. It is a privilege to offer them a place of peace and quiet to reconnect with God and His Creation.

Today, the farm welcomed three sheep to our pasture - two ewes, Fern and Ivy, and a ram we named Rambo. They made themselves right at home, dining on the finest grass Northeastern Pennsylvania has to offer.

Students and faculty from the Philosophy Department of DeSales University were in the neighborhood for a conference at nearby Misericordia University, and received a warm welcome at the farm. Manager Larry Chapp gave the group a tour and some background on Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin and the Catholic Worker Movement.