by Mary Vermillion Shannon Smith tells visitors that MyShan Dairy is a 4-H project that got out of hand. What started as a hobby for her daughter has grown into a family dairy business with 50 Guernsey cows producing up to 800 gallons of milk a week. And Shannon and husband Mylon Smith are not
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Breadfarm will join Sept. 15 book event by Mary Vermillion What better way to celebrate Food Literacy Month in September than with a launch party for Bread Lab!, a picture book that reveals the science – and magic – of bread written by Kim Binczewski and Bethany Econopouly of Washington State University’s Bread Lab in
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Little Farm Homegrown, by Whatcom County author Susan Colleen Browne, will be the featured title at the new “Regional Cookbook & Cooking Lit” book group meeting Wednesday, September 5 at 4 pm. Co-presented by the Bellingham Farmers Market and Bellingham’s Village Books, the gathering takes place at the Fairhaven bookstore, with guest author Browne leading
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by Mary Vermillion The Volunteer Chore Program is a simple concept that is making a big difference in the lives of low-income seniors and people with disabilities. A service of the Opportunity Council’s Whatcom Volunteer Center, the program pairs volunteers with clients who need help completing everyday tasks, so they can continue living independently in
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Home-delivered meals, clients increasing  Photo by Mary Vermillion For Meals and Wheels and More, meeting the nutritional needs of seniors is serious business. But, the organization’s July 28 Meals on Wheels Rocks the Farm event at Bellingham Country Gardens is pure fun. More than 200 people attended last year’s inaugural farm event, which was the
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by Mary Vermillion Author Barbara Jean Hicks can close her eyes and still see her father sitting with a child on his lap, reading aloud one of her books. A quiet man who spent much of his time tending his vegetable garden at the family home in Ferndale, Irby Hicks loved to make children laugh
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4-H Super Saturday in Skagit County coming up April 21  An experience that lasts a lifetime. For years, local kids have gained experience and discovered skills through the Whatcom County Youth Fair, a beloved 2-day learning fair open to all ages 6-18. Now in its 30th year, the Fair will be held Friday and Saturday,
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Hops, rhubarb, and more grown on site by Mary Vermillion In a 100-year-old barn on their 5-acre farm near the Canadian border in Blaine, the Smith family is crafting French and Belgian-style farmhouse ales with raw ingredients they harvest from the fields that surround them. Their Old-World style stands apart in the IPA-centric beer scene
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by Mary Vermillion Michael Jaross loves bees with all the charming earnestness the statement implies. His love affair with the industrious insects began when he was a teenager, yet he didn’t get his first beehives until he was in his 50s. That’s a long time to carry a torch, and Jaross is making up for
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Life in the Sky Valley leads to career abroad by Chelsi Riordan  At the first sign of light, Aaron Furrer and his family hustled to complete morning chores. The sun rose as the dew began to burn off the grass on their picturesque farm nestled at the foot of the Cascade Mountains along Highway 2.
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