What's New At Hoolie Flats?

Flooding July 2023- We’ve been absent from social media, not rushing to post what the flood has meant to us in part because we feel even though we’ve lost our most valuable crops we’ve come though the other side relatively unscathed. Our home, our children, our pets, our barns all came through it safe and standing. Our little equipment shed is tweaked off its foundation, but anyone who saw the shape it was in a year ago would say it’s still looking pretty good! Thankfully Mike was home when the water came rushing to its height and was able to save the sawmill, the trailers, and a number of other equipment in the waters path with the tractor. From the time I noticed our little pond was overflowing til the water reached the front of the farm stand was 15 minutes. It moves quick and there would have been nothing I could have done. We then became our own little Island, checking the water levels all night and bags packed in the event we needed to leave quickly up a very remote trail behind our house. But thankfully the water didn’t rise, the dam that was being monitored didn’t collapse, and by morning the water receded enough where we had one exit available if needed. So what have we lost- first generation field of sweet corn, all generations of pumpkins, winter squash and gourds, the cucumber, watermelon and blackberry field, and our ever bearing raspberry field (which hopefully will bounce back next year). What are we left with- more generations of corn, fall brassicas, potatoes, the tunnel crops, herbs, greens, and a flower maze we are pinning our hopes and dreams to. But most importantly we are left with all the things that would be irreplaceable and that at the end of the day is the most important.