Longview Alive! Week 5
Get your Baskets Ready: Berry Season is Upon Us!
Welcome Back to Longview Alive!
After a 2-week break, we are back with the 5th episode of Longview Alive!
I’m your host and novice nature enthusiast, Jessi Stead. I live here at Longview Farm and take walks sometimes. This blog is dedicated to highlighting the beautiful nature scenes that surround my home and make up the landscape of Longview Farm.
Our Mission
We have 12 acres—five of which are wooded and the other half, fallow field. We’re slowly learning what it takes to be good stewards of the land and are seeking help from experts near and far to remove invasive species and protect native ones, so wildlife can thrive on our land in Chester Springs.
Bad Guide, Good Excuses
I paused Longview Alive! to focus on the gallery reception for the Midway show of Shana Parker’s exhibit, entitled “Pushing up Daisies.” In honor of Year of Yin, Crystal Murphy preformed only power ballads by female musicians - on her ukelele.
Join us every month for First Saturday from 5-8pm. Our next one will be an opening reception of our 4th solo exhibit of 2025 entitled “Kami” on July 5th.
Wild Happenings
Spring has arrived in full force. The foliage is lush, the grass is green, and the fields are growing wild. Thistle blossoms are budding, along with red and white clovers—though I’m partial to the red ones—white straw flowers, plantain, and wild thyme.
Birds are everywhere. There’s a bird family nesting in the birdhouse we picked up from Roberto at the Black Friday friends and family market. Blue jays perch between the barn and the house, and though we try to keep barn swallows at bay, they still swoop through now and then.
A stag roams with the deer herd that regularly visits Longview Farm. Deer are the top predators of the native species we are attempting to cultivate on the farm, devouring them completely and passing up invasives species as they graze.
Foraging Season
Mulberry Trees on the back line of the property are mature enough to produce a bounty of mulberries - and tall enough to require a broom to thwack them down. Lili was delighted to try her first mulberry on our family walk and even went back with her daddy to harvest more!
Black Berry Bushes in the corner of our property were starting to show signs of ripening berries. There aren’t enough to go around once the birds spot the small bushes.
Wineberries are almost ripe! There are so many that we need help harvesting them! BYO basket to the farm the last week in June and the first week in July to pick your own wineberries!
Black Walnuts Trees: Our three-part Nocino workshop is just around the corner. We’ll be harvesting black walnuts to make a liqueur that will be ready for the holidays. Mark your calendars and try to attend all three sessions for the full experience.
Support Our Small Local Business
And finally, go our gallery shop at longview.gallery to support us. This year is the Year of Yin, celebrating women and non-binary artists. We have themed merch and our Longview Farm Jan 2025 - April 2026 Calendar available for a limited time.
See you next time for Longview Alive!
