Light of Day Organics

Finding Spring (just buried in the snow)

Rosemarie Wilhelm — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:14:11 +0000

Fresh snow on the farm in April

Farm friends in the Midwest… did you, too, look out your window this morning with an irrational feeling of betrayal?

Living in a region which truly embraces all four seasons has a certain charm. We fall asleep to birds and color—and awake to white. There are few moments more magical than that first moment of waking to a thick, heavy blanket of snow where only the day before there was none. So perhaps it is unfair of me to complain. Still, I cannot help but find the magic rather less… magical… in April, than it was in December.

Such was my general state of mind as I drove (slowly) to the farm this morning. Bitter. Annoyed with nature for teasing me with sunshine this past week. Aching for green, for Spring, for warmth and fresh life.

And then, the world reminded me that everything is not always as we see with our own eyes and feel against our own skin. To all of you who awoke this morning in a late-season Winter storm, take heart. Even here in snowy Northern Michigan, where no one would believe it stepping outside, there are thriving pockets of lush green life. Many local farmers are harvesting fresh produce from hoophouses and gearing up for a busy season. Here at the Light of Day farm, I trudged to the hoophouse and was greeted by a host of beautiful happy tea plants (Camelia sinensis) waving in greeting.

Camelia sinensis growing in our Hoophouse

We are in the process of transplanting our lovely tea plants from their pots in the greenhouse into the rich Biodynamic earth protected by our hoophouse. While those still in their pots may now have to wait another week before they can be moved without damage from the cold, those which have already been transplanted are settling cozily into their new home… which is really quite amazing. Tea, a tropical tree, the most labor-intensive crop in the world, is growing and giving life nestled right here in our snowy Northern Michigan landscape.

Tea Plant growing in the hoophouse soil

For me, knowing how happy those tea plants are to be outside, stretching their roots and preparing to grow, lends a bit of magic back to this snowy day… and I hope it does for you, as well.

With love,

Rosemarie (& farm family)

Featured Tea ~ March ’13 ~ Levitating Lemon

Rosemarie Wilhelm — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:00:10 +0000

Blender’s Notes: The fresh lemony scent of our newest green tea, Levitating Lemon, isn’t the only thing that will energize you – the Yerba Mate in this blend adds to its energizing effect! It’s a great choice for these last weeks of wintery weather, to get you excited about the upcoming season and to give you the energy to complete your Spring projects.

Levitating Lemon Tea

100% Certified Organic Ingredients: Sencha Green Tea, Yerba Mate, Lemon Balm, Lemon Peel, and Lemon Grass

Green Tea for this Green Month

Rosemarie Wilhelm — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:00:08 +0000

Tea Plant grown with love on our farm

If you’re in Northern Michigan and all you see is WHITE outside today, you may be wondering how we can call this a green month. Well, March’s holiday involves the color green, yesterday was the Spring Equinox, and it’s very green in the Light of Day greenhouse, so we know that it won’t be too long before Mother Nature lets us see green outside, too! So, let’s celebrate with GREEN tea!

Here is some recent news that makes us want to celebrate green tea even more than we always have:

Green tea contains a powerful antioxidant, Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). According to a February 10, 2013 article by the Huffington Post, a recent study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that EGCG “is able to stop amyloid-beta proteins — known to play a role in Alzheimer’s — from attaching to and killing brain cells in a lab setting.”

With the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease increasing rapidly, isn’t it great to know that the delicious cup of green tea that you enjoy so much is helping to keep your brain healthy?

So, CHEERS to you for being proactive and giving your brain the delicious green tea that your whole body loves!

Mindfulness Meditation

angela — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:03:34 +0000

Roses on a fence at our farm

Enliven your heart with this simple exercise…

Being told that we are loved is not the same as feeling loved. Knowing that the sun is shining by looking through a window is a very different experience than actually going outside & feeling the warm sunshine on your bare skin.
It is a healthy & happy person who both knows that they are loved, and feels that they are loved.
Basking in the warmth and light that is created from having a deep connection to others is life-giving.

Below is a simple exercise that can help you to improve your outlook, enliven your heart, open your mind, help you to be more kind, more loving, and more accepting of both yourself and others.

This is a “Loving- Kindness” exercise that will assist in healing and opening your heart. I truly hope that you enjoy!
Here’s what you do…

* Assume a comfortable, seated position. Close your eyes and start to breath deeply and slowly. Relax.

* Visualize someone you love very much. Direct all your attention to this person you love. Let your heart open towards this person as you think about them. Next, mentally direct these words to your loved one:
“May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you be at ease.”
Repeat this 3 times.
Sit for a few moments and marinate in the positive energy you’ve just created inside of yourself .
Allow this goodness to permeate your entire body. Imagine your cells bathing in this fresh, new energy.

* Now picture yourself in the mirror. Focusing intently on yourself, take a deep breath, and with all of your heart, wish for yourself:
“May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you be at ease.”
Repeat 3 times.
Rest.

* Next, picture someone who is a stranger to you. Bring this unknown person to the forefront of your mind, take a deep breath, and again wish these same blessings to this stranger: “May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you be at ease.”
Repeat 3 times.
Rest.

* Finally, see someone you don’t like. This could be someone who recently hurt or upset you, or someone that you have been harboring ill-will towards for a very long time, or just someone that you feel uncomfortable around and can’t seem to connect with or relate to.
Picture this person, and gently pull them into your heart as you offer this person the same loving gifts that you practiced with the others in this exercise:
“May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you be at ease.”
Repeat 3 times.
Rest.

As you enliven the Chakra of the heart with each practice, we hope that you will enjoy the happiness, warmth and gentleness that forgiveness brings.
We are all one, made with love from the same Creator and Source of all Life- God.
Your life is not a journey…it is an awakening process!
Enjoy yourself. Be at peace. Be well.

Yoga Event

angela — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 04:35:05 +0000

Detox, Restore, Renew and Connect- Jan.12th

- a yoga event at Shanti School of Yoga- Saturday, January 12th, 6-8 p.m. Light of Day Organics Tea offerings chosen to support your well-being: Right as Rain, Be Still, and Sun in the Winter. Namaste!

http://shantischoolofyoga.net/workshops/detox-restore-renew-and-connect/

Entering the depths of Winter…

angela — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 05:02:44 +0000

Sweet dreams, oh hibernating ones…may you awaken renewed and refreshed from your cocoons.

Our warmest wishes for a blessed and continuous celebration of these holy days.

With our love,

The Macke family

Is that a yurt?

angela — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:53:08 +0000

Vince and I purchased and assembled a beautiful round structure called a yurt this past summer- in an effort to provide a safe and fun place for our children (and their many cousins and friends) to play while Mom and Dad are still working at the farm. We’ve all been enjoying this sacred space very much, as it’s such a cool place to invite our guests over for book, herb or Bible studies, family gatherings, homework, yoga stretching, quiet meditation, or quick “Jedi naps” as a break from a busy work day. The wood floor we built is made of the Red Pine we harvested from our property, so we are careful to always remove our shoes before entering. We drink our tea around a low table on the floor. The round-ness of the structure encourages the natural gathering of the inhabitants in a circle, and it seems to us that the quality of the conversation increases as people get lower to the ground. It has a clear dome on the top, so the natural light is abundant. With the screened windows and door, ventilation was excellent. The lattice support work is stunning and with our wood floor, it is very warm and inviting. We really love our yurt, and eagerly await the creating of so many more happy memories in this special space. Never expected such a curiosity from the community; “What is that round building out there?” is a very common question by just about everyone we encounter. We chose a window door for the second agricultural yurt near our tea shop, so you are welcomed to come take a peek in during our visiting hours. Shaded and ventilated, this is an ideal and acceptable space to stage a phase of our botanical drying process during the growing season. Check out PacificYurts.com- where we purchased our yurt kit from. Great company and great people. Our favorite book on yurts is by Becky Kemery, entitled “Yurts-Living in the Round”. Angela

New website launched!

angela — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:55:47 +0000

More to come on Pro Web Marketing….but for now, thank you to Dan, Jansen, Jason and Ryan for helping us get this new site launched! Special thanks to Sheri for corralling us into action.- Angela

Open House

angela — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 07:51:39 +0000

Fall is here and we are scurrying around to wind up all the hoses, collect seeds, finish drying what we have harvested the past few weeks, and seal up the greenhouse and hoop houses to keep heat in. Our tomatoes, planted from seed around the 4th of July, are growing well within the rich hoophouse soil, and we prayerfully await their ripening.

We are hosting an informal “Open House” on Octber 13th, for friends of the farm to come celebrate the closure of the season with us. We’ll have lots of hot tea, some healthy snacks, a bonfire with s’mores for kids of all ages, and hopefully some music, if your friends who play will bring along their instrument and share their gifts with us.

What’s in Bloom

Admin — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 20:46:44 +0000

Roses! Tiny rose buds found in our “All Heart” tea”.