Coach Stop Farm

11/17/2025

Christmas Holiday Images - Choose your favorite greeting cards from Conni Schaftenaar. All greeting cards ship within 48 hours and include a 30-day money-back guarantee.

10/12/2025

Taking orders now for Thanksgiving turkeys, will be available fresh week of Thanksgiving, picked up at the farm. Email us at the email in the About tab if you haven't already ordered! Price is $4.75/ #, average size will be around 20 #, will be some smaller, some larger, taking requests for sizes in order received. These are tasty birds!

03/05/2025

Save money, raise your own laying hens for eggs!!! That's a great idea, BUT, if you're thinking about this, make sure you thoroughly understand what baby chicks need to grow and thrive. Can you provide them with a draft-free environment at 90 degrees for the first few weeks of their life? Get the correct feed for growing chicks, keep their waterers clean? Have a fenced run they can be out in when old enough? Have a coop with nesting boxes for them to lay eggs in? Do you know it takes about 6 months for a new chick to grow old enough to begin to lay eggs? Do you know there's a difference (major!) between breeds that lay eggs and the breeds that are for meat? Laying hens are not roasting chickens - too lean, not as much meat on them. They're great for stock and soup meat when they get too old to lay eggs, though!

I decided to post about this because I had a call the other day from someone wondering if they could buy chicks from us. They wanted "organic" chicks. I told them that baby chicks will be organic if they are fed organic feed as they grow and they said "Oh!" Very surprised.. I told them where they could buy chicks. When I got off the phone, I thought, "gee, I hope they find out more about chickens than they appear to know now, or they'll probably not succeed and a batch of little chicks will suffer as a result."

Please do your research and have the right feed and equipment before you buy baby chicks. Reach out to us for info if you're thinking about it!

10/18/2024

if you buy any or all of your meats from small farms like us, you must listen to this, what the USDA is doing to try and stop small farms from providing meats directly to customers or that will force the costs for us to raise them to rise exponentially.

Take a stand to protect farmers' rights and stop animal EID! Join us at the Rogue Food Conference to help stop mandatory animal ID laws that threaten our rig...

10/09/2024

So thrilled to announce that one of my paintings has been accepted into the Tulip Time Top 20 for the 2025 poster competition! This is the third time out of 4 years I've submitted that I had a painting selected for Top 20 - I feel so lucky! Entitled "Colorful Tulips", this painting is a many-layered watercolor batik (using wax as a resist) on ginwashi rice paper. The second image is a mosaic that Tulip Time has posted on their web site to show all Top 20 contenders for this coming year. Looking forward to the fun of participating in the activities!

09/16/2024

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122162630096127240&set=a.122122742612127240

$250,000/acre.
That is the current worth of my farm to a developer.
We are in this pocket of what they call a "land shortage" or a "housing shortage" with a "high demand for commercial space." The open space that this farm sits on is in high demand to builders and developers. Sometimes I feel they visit me more than my neighbors do to shop for their groceries.
The large tracts of land that still remain around here are mostly privately owned and many that fill that category are "working farms." Those working farms around here are mostly orchard, specialty crops, small livestock, some cattle and very few dairy. Many of which are open to the public. Some seasonally. Some year 'round. But in reality there are not nearly as many as there once were and the number that we claim each year will dwindle by one or two when we have this discussion again next year. And I have this discussion every year in some way or another.
I personally have been approached by three different developers in just the last six months. It is not uncommon. I am sure my friends that do the same thing I do get the same thing. My farm is no different than the next when it is looked at by the number of lots one can get in. They are waiting to catch us in a weak moment; a bad season, a stressful month, a day of struggle. We own 52.25 acres here. Most cultivated. Some dormant and awaiting the reclamation process when the funds allow for it to get completed.
I have said it before and I will say it again...this way of life can be really hard. It can test you mentally, physically and emotionally. But it is the only life I know and no matter how hard it can get, I truly love being the caretaker of this 313 year old working landscape. I am only the fourth family to ever call it home and to call it my farm since 1710. I feel lucky to be on it! I love to grow and produce crops from it that help nourish and feed not only my family but the community members that support it in their daily routines. If you are lucky this year, you can make an honest living. But next year, Mother Nature may swoop in and kick you down just like she did this year. And at the end of that year, no matter how good or bad, you will always lace up your work boots and look forward to the growing season that lies in the year ahead.
As we close out the 92nd year of my family farming here and look forward to the incoming New Year, I sit back and wonder how much further this little piece of ground will make it. It has withstood a lot through time. And pondering the future of it is always a common thought as I close out my year and eagerly await the new one.
As you make resolutions for the New Year, please add LOCAL FARMS to your list.
- Cook at home more in 2024 and let the Farm Stands inspire your next meal.
- Consider a Farm Share
- Choose the Local Milk
- Shop the Farmers Market near your work
- VISIT THE FARMS, CHOOSE LOCAL, EAT LOCAL, SHOP LOCAL
There are less than a half dozen here in Littleton alone. Maybe less in the Town you are from if you are reading this beyond the community of Littleton.
Once land is gone, it is gone forever. The future of your working landscapes, farms and pastures relies on the community just as much as the owner and caretaker.
Farms will stand strong against development pressure as long as their neighbors support them.
You have the distinct opportunity to vote with your food dollars. Put those votes toward LOCAL FARMS, YOUR NEIGHBOR THAT CULTIVATES FOOD & THE FARMER THAT KEEPS LAND TILLED RATHER THAN BUILT ON.
Let's work together ❤

09/08/2024

Most of you know I’ve had a storefront on Etsy for a long time. Recently I received an email from Michael’s, the arts/crafts purveyor where I’ve spend a few shekels over the years. They are starting a site called MakerPlace and they’re inviting people who make things to have a storefront. Because it’s new, it isn’t as densely populated as Etsy with shops or with items, but I’m sure that will change fairly quickly. They offered me 6 months for free, no cost for anything except transaction fees if I make sales - can’t hurt to try, right?

They are doing something very unusual to help kick the site off - starting on Monday, September 9 (tomorrow!), everything on the site is on sale at 25% off the listing price and it’s ON THEM! In other words, as the seller of an item, I will get my full asking price minus their very small transaction fee and they will give the buyer the discount!

So, if you’ve ever looked at a tote or a pillow or a canvas print on my Etsy site and thought, "gee, I’d really like that", but didn’t get it, maybe now’s your chance, and you can help me get some initial sales AND save yourself 25% - whoohooo! Great opportunity to shop for some early Christmas gifts! Share with your friends, too, if you think they’d be interested.

Welcome to my shop, The Elderberry Blossom! I am an artist, working primarily in watercolor, colored pencil, and ink. I sell original paintings and drawings, prints made from my originals, and my art printed on useful goods like pillows, totes, aprons, etc. I also set up cards to print from digital....