Forget-Me-Not Farm will host October Homesteaders gathering

Sunday, October 12, 3:30-5:30 PM, Candor, NY Don't miss our last Homestead Farmers & Gardeners Gathering of the 2014 season. Homesteaders Gatherings are free for registered Groundswell Members. Email info@groundswellcenter.org to sign up. Jennifer and Dean Whitmore have built their lives and their Candor homestead farm around family. They're a home schooling family with nine children, several adopted. The kids are very involved in 4-H, and raise a variety of livestock. The Whitmores raises much of their own food, and also supply the bed and breakfast on the farm. They raise 2 heritage sheep breeds, Jacob and Hog Island. They sell yarn, fiber, lambskins, ramps, onions, lettuce, greens, summer squash, tomatoes, winter squash varieties, garlic and sunflowers at the Caroline Farmers Market. Along with the farm, the family also runs Small Graces B&B, a green built, private Bed and Breakfast cottage, in a woods setting. They gather wood and do the plowing with a Morgan horse and a team of Haflingers.    They love having the flexibility that a home-based business provides.  It allows Jenn to be a full time mom, and the children are involved in all aspects of the homestead.  As described in their online listing with Natural Choice Vacations: "The farm is home to Jacob and Jacob/cross sheep, a guard donkey named Whiskey, four horses and a pony, organically raised poultry and pigs. They raise several rare and heritage breeds of poultry. Lambs and organic pork is available in the fall.  Jenn is a fiber artist, and her six children are in training!  They spin, knit and felt using their own wool and other various fibers as well.  Their oldest daughter, Blessing, also designed an earache pillow using wool with a little lanolin stuffed inside. This pillow soothes ear infections and is a best seller at the farm shop and at festivals." Jennifer says, "On October 12 we can see and discuss the B&B that we built. It's a good source of income for a homestead. Also the greenhouse, the types of animals we chose to raise to complement a homestead and the balance that we strive for there. The gardens will be done for the year, but we can brush on how they have changed and developed also."