View from the Farm – June 2023

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.

With all the animals out on pasture now, our “inter-chore time” is spent shoveling out barns and shelters and planting as much as we can as we can. This week the goat house and the heifer shed have been on the list along with getting all the potatoes in the ground at long last. As we clean up the last of winter in the barns, I can’t help but start to think of winter in the woodshed. It’s time to get firewood cut and split.

I’ve always maintained that a successful northerner has a short-term memory, but the reality is that the successful northerner knows winter is coming, no matter the season. Thankfully, this thought doesn’t extend to the rest of nature. It lives in the moment not knowing the moment won’t last.

Our bluebird land baron now occupies himself with feeding his brood and mostly forgets to maintain his supremacy in his domain only occasionally fighting his reflection in our truck mirrors. The cows now step out of the barn to head to a new paddock as a matter of course, rather than romping up into the next field or the wrong barn door just for kicks. The clover, vetch, and grasses soak in the sunshine and rain and store it all down, just as they were meant to.

For now, I feel pretty sure of what is to come. The peas, the greens, the new potatoes, the tomatoes, the apples…all of the work that bears fruit will please us (may we be so blessed) in its season. But the wood pile, the preserving and freezing, they call to us on cold rainy days and remind us of our roots. Life here takes a short memory, and a long trajectory.

For the growing season, we must live for the day and also plan for the year(s) ahead. Farmers live on a fulcrum thinking simultaneously of the decades ahead and how we can make the time of plenty last all year, while improving everyday functions and work for the moment. The bluebirds and the cows, the vetch, clover and grasses are following their internal rhythms. We’ll keep taking our cues from their textbook

Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously given us permission to share some of her columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Junior Report – June 2023

By Marilyn Stinson
207 786-2120
MSG Committee Member

Has your Grange taken in any 1+ Junior Grangers? The 1+ program from National Grange seems to be working from what we can see on Facebook and Bulletin posts, but the Community Granges aren’t sending the MSG Junior Department the information we need, and we don’t know who has joined.

We need the junior’s name, birthdate, and date joined. Also, the parent(s) or guardian(s) names, address, email, phone number, and home Grange. A statement giving permission (or not) to share photos of the child(ren) be shared on social media.

I have remained on the Junior Committee and will accept this information and forward it to our director. Please let us know so we can put the kids on our rolls and include them with information about junior activities. You can also send the information to director Betty Young.

We have exhibited Junior information at three fairs in the last few years – Pittston, Windsor, and Litchfield – earning money for the Juniors’ activities and programs. Betty is willing to share info about Juniors that others can use in their areas. Have your local kids do some crafts, show them off, and encourage others to join! Contact your local fairs, print out the information, put the pages on poster boards, and share space with the crafts, photos, paintings, etc., that the kids have done. MSG Junior Grange #17 is on Facebook, where you can see pictures of what has been exhibited.

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Subscription Feature Weirdness!

I’ve just been advised that there’s some weirdness with the subscription feature! Since I changed nothing, I’ll need to do some checking into this… it may take a day or two as my schedule is fairly full! In the meantime, since you’ll be notified of new posts, I’d suggest you just go straight to the site by entering the link https://mainestategrange.org/ in your browser. The most recent post is at the top and you can just scroll down. I believe there were three posts today, plus this one.

Communications Column – June 2023

How Important Am I?

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

As most know, earlier this year, I accepted a position teaching at Beal University. It’s been a learning experience. Since most students I work with ultimately plan a future involving substance abuse counseling, communication becomes a topic or concern in many different ways. Communication between counselor and client tends to be an underlying theme in every course. We talk about “empathy” and “understanding” a lot. I often remind students to “listen for what is not being said.”

Thanks to a website dedicated to humor for those in education, I found a funny example. It is an alleged voicemail a doctor left for a patient.

“Because I am literally stuck in traffic at this very moment, I will not be able to perform your heart surgery this morning. Would it be possible to get an extension? Let me know.”

At first, it sounds far-fetched, but an element of humor is overstatement. For anyone who’s ever been a teacher, it’s right up there with “the dog ate my homework.” The modern version might be (and I get this one at least once almost every week), “The computer ate my homework.” My favorite one at the university level was, “I’m sorry this is late. I had to go grocery shopping.”

Let me share something I saw happen recently in the waiting room of a medical provider. A mom arrived with her son, who was probably seven or eight years old. She asked the receptionist, “Do I have to go in with him for the exam? I have a meeting I need to attend on my phone.” The boy had a sort of “disconnected” look and stared around the room. For some reason, he didn’t have a phone or electronic device. On that point, I was happy for him. But I did want to go over and smack his mother. She had just announced to him and anyone within earshot that he had just fallen to the bottom of her priority list.

And here’s the irony. It didn’t have to be that way. She could have used different words to accomplish the same end. She could have said something like, “My son and I have agreed he’s going to try to do this on his own today. I’ll be right here in the waiting room if I’m needed.” (I’m assuming that wouldn’t have been a lie.) Instead, she used words that communicated how busy she was and that her son was momentarily at least at the bottom of her priority list. She also announced to the receptionist that she was a very busy person trying to juggle a lot of different things. I wanted to observe loudly, “And not doing a very good job of it.” I also wanted to go over and hug the kid while saying to the mom, “It’s not about you.” If you listened to the conversation objectively, she was making her son’s appointment all about her.

I confess a bias where kids are concerned, but I have another bias. Being “busy” doesn’t earn us a badge and trophy or get us off the hook for our decisions. Communication still involves at least two parties. Don’t blame it on being busy if you don’t answer an email or return a phone call. You could say, “I’m not good at planning and decision-making,” or maybe even, “Getting back to you just wasn’t that important to me.”

Am I being harsh? I tell students I understand that “life happens,” and sometimes even the best plans are disrupted. But if you tell me your assignment is late because you had to go grocery shopping, I will not likely forgive the late penalty. Contrary to how we often act, we get to decide what’s important and act accordingly. The piece that’s easy to forget is the other party also gets to decide what that means and how they will respond.

Communication is about the words, how they are said, and the actions (or lack of actions) often accompany them. Choose them carefully, remembering the receiver (listener) decides your priorities based on all three.

► FACT: So far this year, the MSG website was viewed over 8,000 times by over 3,400 people. The two most visited items were the Directory of Granges and the Program Books and Information Page.

Tell us why you love the Grange!

From the Deacon’s Bench – June 2023

By Clay Collins, MSG Chaplain
207 837-0564

“And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment. For she said within herself, ‘If I may touch His garment, I shall be whole’.” 

Matthew 9:20-21

We are heading into summer with the sun and the fun that goes along with it. When you are out celebrating, try to be careful. Always walk by faith, not by sight.

When reading this month’s scripture lesson, remember that the woman, who had physical problems for twelve years, had enough faith to believe that if she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be healed. The world needs more faith like this.

Remember, God loves us all!!

 Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”

Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all, help us to remember that if we live our lives by faith, we will be saved.  Amen.”

Thought for the month:

May the luck of the Irish
        Lead to happiest heights
And the highway you travel
        Be lined with green lights.

An Irish Blessing for Health and Prosperity

Grange Heirloom — June 2023

Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.

Use the icons below to share this Grange Heirloom on social media and help others understand what the Grange stands for! If this heirloom has a particular meaning for you, click the “leave a comment” link at the left and share your comment with us!

For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.

National Grange Membership Matters Zoom Meeting

On Tuesday, June 13, at 8:30 PM Eastern/5:30 PM Pacific, join Grange members from around the country on Zoom for the monthly Membership Matters meeting on Zoom. This month, Membership/Leadership Development Director Amanda Brozana Rios will lead a conversation about reaching out to local leaders and other entities in our communities, including tips and tools that can help build awareness, trust, and partnerships.

Join from PC/Mac/Linux/iOS/Android:CLICK HERE
Meeting ID525 965 930
Passcode981892
Join from Telephone:+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 867 9923 US (New York) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Membership Moments – June 2023

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

How did your elections go? Did you acknowledge new members as officers? Were they willing to accept the office? Election time is a big deal for Granges everywhere. It signifies a time of change where fresh ideas and new leadership are incorporated. Enthusiasm is heightened as we are looking toward the new Grange year. It is important that these changes occur. It represents a new cycle of leadership and, many times, a jolt to a once lethargic group. As we all know, a thing called “burnout” happens; many of us have felt it and decided to pass the leadership duties to others in the hope (and trust) that the Grange prospers.  Change is a good thing most of the time. It just depends on how you apply those changes. The former leaders must pass their knowledge to their successors and be a good mentors to encourage good changes in our Granges. To the former leaders; “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  

Just as the seasons change are welcomed by most of us geographically, change in leadership is just as welcome in our Granges. After a few days of rain, we are looking forward to the sun shining again and welcoming that change, just as we welcome rain after a stretch of sunny days. Change brings out fresh perspectives and keeps us encouraged with new ideas. Do not let your Grange get into a rut, make changes and take a different path. Otherwise, the results could be less than good. Open the windows and let the fresh air in; reflect on how that change of air feels. The same applies to leadership. Everyone deserves to have a chance to show their leadership skills, especially for the GOTO (Good of the Order). I haven’t used that acronym in ages, but it seems appropriate for this column.

The important thing is to introduce your new members to leadership positions or committees. Maybe they are not ready, that’s fine. Do not force them but DO NOT overlook them! Membership is our lifeblood, and every now and then, a “transfusion” is required and necessary. Most of you know what I am talking about. When things start to get “stale,” liven it up, try new things, and welcome the changes. Think outside the box. Any change, no matter how small or large will do wonders a majority of the time. If each of us introduces new ways and new ideas, be ready to explain how these changes are good for the Grange and not for the individual. We are a family, and these changes affect all of us. The family that changes together grows together.  Happy changes to all!!!

CWA Report – June 2023

By Margaret Henderson, Director
Committee on Women’s Activities
207 948-2762

Committee on Women’s Activities

Another busy month. Helped with the Grange yard sale and food sale last weekend. There were lots of people who stopped by and supported us.

Got the tomatoes planted last week in between the raindrops. Hopefully, we will see the sun soon.

Just a reminder that entries for the contests are due at Headquarters on August 14th. I will be there at 9 am to accept them. If you can not make it that day, call me or the office to set up a time so that someone will be there to check your items in so that they can be judged.

Judging will be done on Friday the 18th, and the conference will be on Saturday the 19th at 9 am. Baking entries will be accepted Saturday morning at 8:30.

Hope everyone is doing well.