Help expand "Young Smart Farmers" organic gardens

We have been blessed with heavy rains and minimal flooding here in Northern Thailand.  Our rainwater catchment tanks are full, and the ground has settled enough to plant new crops.  The children and staff have nurtured lettuce and spices near the boys' dorms while the fields were too wet to plant.  

Now we have eggplants, okra, hot peppers, coriander, and cabbage coming up.  The bamboo racks are in place for cucumber and squash vines.  We've had one crop of long beans, and another has started. We continue to get eggs from our ducks and chickens. Ying has extended the gardens and has collected seeds from friends and our community. 

We have also had a rapid expansion of our cat population. One feral cat that we could not catch had kittens, and they had kittens.  The kittens are cute if you can catch them.  Unfortunately, we were not very swift.  We counted twenty cats. Things came to a head when we had 12 kittens on the first of May.  We caught the new kittens and allocated them to the children to domesticate. By October, they were old enough to be fixed. One of our local vets was willing to come to Warm Heart to give them their vaccinations and fix them.  She was efficient, and the cats came through without complications.  We still have more to catch, but only a couple of new kittens have appeared.

November marks the start of our final term before the summer break for the hot season. For now, the weather is cooler, spirits are high, and our seniors are hard at work on their university applications, nervous, excited, and grateful for the chance to dream big. Evenings are full of homework, games in the yard, and early holiday-season anticipation.

Thanks to your support, we have lots of joyful noise and delicious fresh produce.

Best wishes for the holiday season ahead.

With gratitude,

Dana, Michael, Evelind, and the Warm Heart Family.