Lets face it, the holidays come with a lot of stress. You start with the best of intentions- your heart swells with the first light display or card from a friend- but somewhere in there, you've just had too much pie, or paid too much for expedited shipping, you've just lost that peace on earth, goodwill toward all part.

Fear Not! Over the past few years 3 new days on the calendar have emerged as a counterweight to the frantic shopping and schlepping that the holidays can become. 

Opt Outside is a campaign by outdoor retailer REI to urge families to spend their holiday time outside instead of at the mall on Black Friday. As they did for the first time in 2015, their website will go dark, their fulfillment center will go silent as their employees spend the day outside. Visit Montgomery County's amazing parks this weekend.

Small Business Saturday is November 30th this year- skip the mall and enjoy your local retailers that keep your money close to home and enrich your community. Farmers are the oldest small business there is. You might want to check out a year round farm and artisan market. Or visit an on-farm brewery or winery.  

Wishing you a meaningful holiday- whatever that means to you- your friends at MCA

Happy #GivingTuesday - a day in the middle of the busy holiday season to think about what we can each give to our community. As you consider how you can give back, may we humbly suggest you support to your small (but mighty!), award winning farm and water protection non-profit. We have been the boots on the ground protecting Montgomery County's nationally renowned Ag Reserve since 2001.  We've been called "one of the best" small nonprofits by the Catalogue for Philanthropy for the third time. 

​As busy as we get, Thanksgiving is still a time that we return to time-honored traditions. These rituals still rely on local farmers. Give thanks for our local farmers by sourcing your feast locally!

Turkeys: (Please Note - pre-ordering ASAP is essential for local turkeys-get in touch as soon as you can)

• Nick's Organic Farm
• Fox Hollow Farm
• Plow and Stars Farm
• Savage and Sons Farm (this was a stop on our Ride for the Reserve Bike Tour)

Full Meals:

• The Plow and Stars/Pizza Brama Thanksgiving Box is Back! Locally grown favorites prepared by a great local chef and ready for your oven- pickup and delivery options. 
• Our friends at Harvest Plates + Pints (who crafted an incredible meal at our Farm to Fork Dinner) are hosting a thanksgiving brunch which is a genius way to clear the afternoon for a nap.

All the Sides:
Whether you are making an old favorite or finding new side dishes to try - they will be better with local ingredients grown right here in MoCo. A Farmers Market the week before Thanksgiving is a truly joyful place. Find your market here. 
And this just in - if you need a lot of sweet potatoes our friends at Purple Mountain Organics can take your order for 50 lbs or more. 

Flowers:
Stephanie's Secret Garden Flower Shop and Gypsy Flower Farm are offering a class to help you create gorgeous table arrangements for Thanksgiving. Stephanie can also create something gorgeous for you - like she did for our Farm to Fork Dinner. 

For the Vegans:
Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary hosts a Thanksgiving WITH the Turkeys each year (Nov.23 this year) - a vegan potluck for human visitors and all sorts of treats given to the Turkeys and other residents of this Ag Reserve sanctuary. 

Wine and Beer:
Rocklands Farm Winery
​Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard
Windridge Vineyard
Waredaca Brewing Co. 
​Brookeville Beer Farm

​Fall Re-Leaf the Reserve planting is underway! 
First of 3 sites being planted by our contractor Gardens by Garth on 1.5 acres of upland ground near Barnesville. Mixed native deciduous and evergreen trees from Schott Nursery are good sized 5-7 feet and will have 6 months to establish root systems before summer’s heat kicks in.

The property owner seeks to slow stormwater, provide habitat and wind break, and sequester carbon.  Further great news: The Reserve farm will also host a new farmer who moved from Massachusetts to produce regeneratively grown table crops.

3rd graders from a MC school learned about the value of trees and how getting messy in soil is both fun and good for you. JOY!

MCA Co-President Gene Kingsbury, along with Poolesville High School Global Ecology veteran teacher Joyce Bailey, has spent some time with MCA's Ag Education program in the classroom with students. "In Poolesville, when we ask how many of them want to work in agriculture - maybe one hand goes up. " But in Damascus, he says, it is different. The leadership of this year's honoree, veteran Ag educator Lori Mayhew, has sparked an interest in agriculture among students and launched countless careers in the field. Lori also coordinates Montgomery County's only FFA (Future Farmers of America) program. Read more about Lori here. Visit our Facebook Page for more photos. 

Our thanks to Lori Mayhew for her commitment to Agriculture Education! Thanks to St. Mary's Pavilion of Barnesville for hosting us, our board members for helping out with the event and to Dr. Royce Hanson, for everything. 

Fifth Generation Orchard owner and MCA Co-President Gene Kingsbury shares his poem "Willow Creek"