After a few years, Andy sold his business, and he and his wife moved back to Silverbrook where he repaired, cleared fields, replanted orchards and brought the land back into production.

With each year, the Pollock family added greenhouses, a well, a grain silo, and a new roof for the barn, plus new and newer equipment. You get the picture. Andy watched the farm expand as he and his family rented more land and added more outlets for their products.

Andy’s commitment to his farm and his employees is but one part of his greater commitment to the larger agricultural community. Forming partnerships with other local farms is key in his business plan – by providing outlets for other farms through his many business and co-marketing endeavors, he’s hoping to bring prosperity to many farms.

We’re proud to have Andy Pollock and Silverbrook Farm at stonesoup sundays @ the farm and share with him in his commitment to continue to find ways of cooperation with other local organizations to reduce waste and improve the sustainability of our local farms.

Andy thinks that his parents would be proud of his accomplishments.  And so do we.

Come sample the delights of Silverbrook Farm on Sunday from 10:30-3:30.

Once upon a time, a young family came to the crossroad of Forest and Hillside streets at the foot of a big blue hill called Great Blue Hill.

The sister said to her family, “I love this place so much – the land is plentiful, the people are friendly. Oh please, let’s stay here.” And so, the father and mother bought the land that became a farm nestled in a beautiful forest, in the magical town called Milton.

Then, as children do, they became very hungry.

Reaching into his knapsack, the dark haired young man found nothing but a landscaping sketch pad, a few multicolored pencils & some flint. The girl searched to the very bottom of her bag where she found her lucky, and very shiny smooth stone. And so, with all the love, tenderness, and hope a family can have for one another, they made their way to the spring in the center of town.

Taking scraps of paper from his pad, his pencils and using only the finest kiln dried wood, he built a fire. Using a lovely pot handcrafted by the sister, a kind and helpful town official filled it with water from the spring. Looking at each other, they laughed and said, “Remember what Dad said. When you have cracked lemons, you make lemonade. Well we have a lot of water.” “I have my lucky stone,” she said, “let’s make stone soup.” “Stone soup?” the young man asked, “Yes, the girl said, “soup from a stone.”

The news of the young brother and sister who were making soup from a stone spread throughout the town and created quite a stir among the town’s people. One person after another asked, “What are you cooking? What’s that you have in the pot?” “May we have some?” they asked. “Yes, said the brother, but if we only had a carrot, it would be so much better, and then we could share it with you.”

“A carrot? What a great idea!” said one woman and she went to pluck one from her garden. One town person after another began to donate. A turnip, an onion, some sausage, anything that was in season and on hand was added.

So the town’s people gathered at the little farm at the edge of the big blue hill to share the delicious soup that they had made together. “This is wicked good!” said one, I can’t believe you made this incredible soup from a stone.” “We all made it! An awesome soup can be made from many, small, good things!” said the brother and sister. “By working together, with everyone contributing what they can, a greater soup is achieved.”

As they said good-by to all their friends, the sister shouted, “Come again and we’ll have some stone soup on Sunday.”

“Wait, I have an idea, let’s open a market where we sell the best of the earth’s bounty winter, spring, summer and fall. And you will come here to meet and find food and enjoy each others’ company! And we will call it stonesoup sundays @ the farm.” And everyone cheered.

That’s how the sister’s idea for a market with local seasonal and exceptional food and crafts came to be known as stonesoup sundays @ the farm, which this winter, is open every other Sunday starting on January 23, 2011 from 10:30AM to 4:30PM, at a place called Thayer Nursery.

TO BE CONTINUED…

This is the woman who always wanted to hear what we had to say,
hear what we had done that day, hear where we had succeeded
and where we might have fallen short, but in her eyes, never failed.

She loved us when we forgot her birthday.
She loved us when we gave her an iron on that birthday.
She loved us when we gave her a bunch of poison ivy for a Sunday centerpiece.

And we loved her.

We loved her when she called us by our sister’s name.
We loved her when she made that special meal when we came home from school.
We loved her when she said nothing about the ridiculous outfit we were wearing,
Or stopped us at the door for it.

She is the person we could always call when we needed her,
Who would love us when we thought no one else in the world ever would
Wherever she was, we were home.

Bring something special home this weekend
Bring her something special from Thayer

The term native refers to plants growing in North America before European settlement and includes trees, shrubs, perennials, ferns & grasses. Natives are the most sustainable choice for the home gardener. By their very nature, native plants have adapted to the climate of the area, making them naturally hardy. Beautiful, interesting and varied, they evoke a sense of place and are essential for creating garden habitat for wildlife. Wildlife has evolved using them for food, cover and shelter.

Landscaping with native plants may require gathering more information so join us for a discussion with Bruce McCue. Bruce has owned & operated McCue Gardens in Connecticut for 43 years this spring. He took four years of horticultural school in two years and taught classes on perennials at college. He was the founder of the growing system for German Iris in containers, which is now in use nationwide. He has also created a system for propagating yellow lady slippers that takes six years off the bloom time. He started by just growing a few items in the beginning to now growing and propagating 1,500 different varieties.

Proper selection, care and placement of natives produce a landscape that is both visually attractive and beneficial to wildlife. Plant conservation is key and it begins right in the home landscape with native plants.

Thayer Nursery
270 Hillside St
Milton, MA 02186