LHG NEWSLETTER. Ladies, Start Your Engines! Next Gathering: Getting Started in the Garden March 19 th, 6:30 Meet and Greet, 7pm Gathering,

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1 February V o l u me 2, Issu e 2 LHG NEWSLETTER Ladies Homestead Gathering-Rockbridge Chapter Facebook: Ladies Homestead Gathering of Rockbridge County (VA) lhg.rockbridge@gmail.com National Website: Next Gathering: Getting Started in the Garden March 19 th, 6:30 Meet and Greet, 7pm Gathering, Natural Bridge Elementary School, 42 Natural Bridge School Rd, Natural Bridge, VA Ladies, Start Your Engines! By Robin L. Thompson Rockbridge Chapter President Is everyone about done with all this snow!! I love the four seasons, but one of the reasons I was happy to leave Minnesota was to escape the half year of the white stuff on the ground with sub zero temps. I do love that in Virginia the snow only sticks around for a short period, along with the sub-zero temps. Hopefully, by the time you receive this newsletter, you will be ready to bask in the 50 degree temperatures coming up in the next week. I will take advantage of the warmer weather and get out my roto-tiller to begin prepping my veggie garden for planting. My husband will get the lawnmower out and get it ready for grass cutting season too. It is time to start our engines! Our next gathering is on starting up your vegetable garden. Now is the time to get ready for planting season. Those experienced gardeners have been perusing their seed catalogs since INSIDE THIS ISSUE Ladies, Start Your Engines! 1 Newsletter Title Contest 2 Community Events of Interest Schedule 2 Volunteer Opportunities 3 Business Supporters 3 February Membership Drive Contest-RESULTS 4 Frontier Co-op Ordering Information 4 Board of Director Positions 5 January and have probably already ordered (and received) all their seeds. Those procrastinators and/or ones with less experience, like me, will wait a little longer to plant seeds or buy plants already started by someone else. Either way is perfectly acceptable. No judgment here!! February was our membership drive month and we picked up a few more members. We are now 14 members strong and have 36 ladies in our group. Thanks to all who signed up to become members of our organization. At our last board meeting the members discussed various things we would like to do in the name of the Rockbridge Ladies Homestead Gathering Chapter, such as sponsor an award at the Rockbridge County Fair, support school gardens, the Community Table, and other ventures that need our help. Unfortunately, we don t have any money in our treasury so we are going to begin soliciting donations at our events and gatherings. If you or your business would like to provide a charitable donation to our organization (we are a 501(3)C) to help us help others, we would certainly appreciate it! Where like-minded women share, grow, and encourage each other in the ways of homestead living.

2 Page 2 LHG Newsletter Regional and Community Events of Interest Every month we will include a calendar of events that may be of interest to our ladies. If you have an upcoming event you would like to include on the schedule, please lhg.rockbridge@gmail.com and we will include it in the next newsletter. March 7-8 Virginia Classic Llama & Alpaca Show, Virginia Horse Center 19 Ladies Homestead Gathering-Natural Bridge Elementary School, 6:30pm April Mother Earth News Fair, Asheville, NC There is a limited pass package with two weekend passes and the Mother Earth News Archive from for only $50, along with other types of packages. 16 Ladies Homestead Gathering National Ladies Homestead Gathering Spring Camping Trip, Trackrock Campground, Blairsville, GA-$25, May 21 Ladies Homestead Gathering June 18 Ladies Homestead Gathering July 16 Ladies Homestead Gathering August 20 Ladies Homestead Gathering 29 Rockbridge Community Festival, Lexington, VA September 17 Ladies Homestead Gathering 19 Self Reliance Expo, August Expo, Fisherville, VA **free admission October 15 Ladies Homestead Gathering November 19 Ladies Homestead Gathering December 17 Ladies Homestead Gathering Potluck and Handmade White Elephant Newsletter Title Contest As stated in the last newsletter, the LHG Newsletter is a little bland so please let us know if you can think of something catchy that would describe our group. As a Thank You for your hard work, thoughts, and creativity, we are offering a set of 12 canning inspired note cards (4 of each print) painted and created by a local artist, Courtney Thompson (Robin Thompson s daughter) for the person who brings us the winning title. Please send an to lhg.rockbridge@gmail.com with your name and idea. We have had a couple ideas, so keep them coming in! The Board will conduct a blind vote on the submissions at the March 20 th Board Meeting.

3 LHG Newsletter Page 3 Image copied from It was a cold February and our February 19 gathering was postponed due to weather. We tried it again on the 26 th and while it was still cold, the gathering was well attended. We had a blast learning about fermenting different foods and drinks and we got to try some tasty samples. The take-aways from the session is that the Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon book is a great resource for some fermented food and other natural food recipes. Another book worth mentioning on fermented foods is Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz and Sally Fallon. Fermented foods contain great gut enzymes, so they are pretty good for us to eat. Of course, if you read through the internet, there is always controversy over eating different types of food, so do your own research and you can make your own mind up on if fermented food is good for you and your family. MaryAnn Kohl provided a great demonstration on sauerkraut with onions, carrots, cabbage, whey, and a little salt. She informed us that Kohl means cabbage in German, so she was the perfect person to provide that demonstration! This recipe was ready to eat in about a week. Robin Thompson provided us with some water kefir soda flavored with different fruit juices. She still has some water kefir grains available if you are interested in trying it out for yourself. They only take about 3 days from start to finish. Call or her if you are interested in trying it out. Becky Almy prepared some kombucha. While the SCOBY may look nasty and like something from a sci-fi film, it makes a pretty tasty drink! The kombucha takes about 7-10 days of fermentation before you can drink it. Gina Niebur presented us with how to ferment pickles and make your own ketchup. We had a sample of the ketchup and it was also a tasty treat. Pickles and ketchup take a few more weeks to ferment than the other items, but they are well worth the wait. If you have any other fermented recipes you would like to share with our group, please post them on the Ladies Homestead Gathering of Rockbridge (VA) Facebook page. You can also send them to our lhg.rockbridge@gmail.com and we can post them for you. Remember, we want to SHARE our knowledge with others so they may learn! Thanks to the following businesses for supporting Rockbridge Ladies Homestead Gathering! farmtoyoulex.com Owlmoonfarm.com kohlfamilyfarm.net

4 Page 4 February Membership Drive Contest-Results Can you HELP? LHG Newsletter February was the National Ladies Homestead Gathering Membership drive. The usual $35 membership fee was reduced to ONLY $25 during the month of February. Our local chapter had a contest to get the most ladies to join during the month. Overall, we had a total of 5 ladies become members during the month. We asked anyone who got another lady to join to Rebecca Almy with the name of the person and your name. The results are in and Robin Thompson is the lucky winner of a gift certificate to Farm to You. She had three people sign up during the membership drive. The Rockbridge Chapter of LHG has officially selected two local groups to sponsor with our time and money, the Community Table and the School Gardens. Over the next few months, there will be plentiful opportunities to get involved in serving others. You can be a onetime helper or help on a continuous basis. How much time or money you give is up to you. Please contact Rebecca Moore at if you would like to learn more about volunteering to help out. Frontier Co-op Ordering Information Our first local fundraiser! Want a way to help your local LHG Chapter? As a reminder: Here is the way it works. Our chapter (members and non-members) have an opportunity to order their products themselves and in the process, financially help out our local Rockbridge Chapter of LHG. We can submit a monthly order of Frontier products listed in their catalog and the yearly dividend earned at the end of the year would be added to our local LHG bank account. This is a great way to order their products cheaper than you would find at the local store and help your local LHG chapter raise funds for scholarships, free or reduced workshops, and operating expenses. Find the catalog online here: om/documents/frontierwho lesalecatalog.pdf?v=2014

5 LHG Newsletter Page 5 Board of Directors Positions Address: 120 Serenity Drive Glasgow, VA Phone: Robin Thompson Becky Almy lhg.rockbridge@gmail.com Facebook: Ladies Homestead Gathering of Rockbridge County (VA) We re on the Web! Visit us at: According to the bylaws of the national organization, each chapter is required to establish a board of directors. If you are interested in learning more about the roles and responsibilities of board positions please call or Becky Almy: becky@owlmoonfarm.com or Our initial board is appointed, so if you are interested in serving, please call Becky (number above) or Robin ( ). The next board will be nominated/voted on by the members of the chapter. Current Board: President - Robin Thompson Vice President Vacant, awaiting volunteer Secretary Becky Almy Treasurer - Vacant, awaiting volunteer Education (Gathering topics, etc) Coordinator Elizabeth Kohl Service (Service projects, etc) Coordinator Rebecca Moore (vacating-need new volunteer) Community (Hospitality, etc) Coordinator Tara Miller Fundraising Chairperson - Vacant, awaiting volunteer Ladies Homestead Gathering- Rockbridge Chapter 120 Serenity Drive Glasgow, VA 24555