To maximize the value of NoLessDays.org, where should improvement efforts first be focused?

Content,Content,Content.  There are a lot of talented people out there. I think the question should be, how do we encourage them to contribute. This is an opportunity to share thoughts and generate discussion. It may just take time but once the ball gets rolling it will pick up momentum.

Maybe a page could be added where we can post events and websites or resources that might be of interest (concerts, family camp meetings, seminars, etc.). Shenandoah.com has a valley events page and it is set up in a way that you put the beginnng date and the ending date and it is automatically deleted once that end date is passed.

For example, I am looking for someone to go strawberry picking with me. I have a number of places and times, so let me know if anyones interested. If there was an information page, I would have a place to put specifics dow.

I like your idea. I'll look into implementing it.

I am definately interested in the strawberry picking! Let me know times & places!

Yeah! Strawberries! I want to go. Let me know times and places too. I know that Esther would like to go as well. For her, it would need to be a Monday or Tuesday.

-Crissy

Mondays are usually pretty good for me too! 

Rockingham County

        •       Milky Way Farms - strawberries

Weyers Cave Rd. (Hwy. 256), Grottoes, VA, 24441. Phone: 540-249-8999. Open: 7:30 am to 7 pm, while Strawberries are available (usually June). 2005 price: $1.29/lb. No pre-picked is available, only pick your own. A visitor writes: "Very pleasant staff...nice carrying baskets... I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. "

Shenandoah County

        •       Blue Ridge Berry Farm - Blueberries

Harrisville Road, Toms Brook, VA. Phone: 540-436-9194. Directions: Near Toms Brook: From I-81 at Toms Brook exit, east on Route 651 to Route 11, south to Toms Brook, west at Brook Creek Road (Route 653), left at Harrisville Road (Route 655), 1.8 miles to farm on left.

        •       Faith Farms - Pick-your-own asparagus, strawberries, pumpkins - CLOSED

1593 Hockman Road, Strasburg, VA 22657. E(540) 465-2964 & (540) 465-3360, Monica Pangle. -mail: fthfarms@shentel.net 

        •       Swover Creek Farms - Pick-your-own or fresh-picked strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, vegetables

4176 Swover Creek Road, Edinburg, VA 22824. Phone: 540-984-8973. Email: swover@shentel.net  Directions: U.S. 81 Woodstock exit, west on Route 42, 9 miles; left on Swover Creek Road, ½ mile.

Culpeper County

        •Rocky Top Farm and Agventure Summer Day Camp - blackberries, pumpkins, strawberries, pumpkin patch-pick in the field, straw or hay bale maze, child-sized haybale maze, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, petting zoo

See us again in 2006!

11348 Drogheda Mtn. R

Clarke County

        •       Hashway Gardens - strawberries

137 Garden Road, Berryville, VA 22611. Phone: 540-955-3204. Email us at: meahash@visuallink.com. Directions: We are located 10 miles East of Winchester Virginia in the Berryville, VA area. From Rt. 7 outside of Berryville, Take Rt. 632 (Crums Church Rd) and turn Left onto Garden Road. Follow signs Click here for a map to our farm. Crops are usually available in May, June. (NOTE: 2005's crop is finished; come back in 2006). Open: dates and times listed closer to season We follow organic methods, but are not yet certified. Payment: Cash, only.

If we do a Monday, it would have to be afternoon. Sounds like the Edinburg place might be the closest? Where is Berryville?

Mema called and said there was an advertisement in the paper about a different place in Edinburg that is open on the week days after 6:00pm. That would actually be a good time for me. I could meet everyone there right after my work on Monday (I get off at 5:00pm and it would probably take an hour to get there.)

Count me in on Monday the 22nd. Where in Edinburg is the place Mema saw the advertisement for? I drove by Swover Creek Farms and didn't see any strawberries. I even called them and haven't received any answers. Anyways...just let me know where and when, and I'll be there.

The place is called Walter's fruit farm. The phone number is 984-8482. I'll try and call tomorrow to make sure they are open and to find out where they are located. Is 6:00pm an okay time for everyone? We can meet there.

In my uneducated opinion, I think nolessdays is wonderful... I would love to hear more songs though.

Enough. All this talk about strawberries is killing me.

Did I mention that picking strawberries is my favorite thing to do...ever? Ok, so maybe splitting wood with Ron would come first, but strawberries would be a very close second.

And has anyone ever seen strawberries in Yemen? No, of course not. Strawberries don't grow here. If you're fortunate enough to find them in the store, they resemble the size of raspberries and are usually moldly or pretty rough at best.

Now, maybe I could settle for something less satisfying than strawberries...but you know, the only thing they tend to grow here is Qat. It's a tree with a natural stimulant that folks say tastes like dandelion greens and feels like six shots of expresso. It's killing this country. Every day around 3pm, everyone begins chewing the stuff. They all claim it turns them into musical virtuoso's, poet laureates, whatever. The reality is most are spending over half their salary on it, neglecting to feed their children, and never sleeping because it turns them into insomniacs. But the real immediate crisis is that it is sucking up the entire water supply for the country. In the past, it wasn't so much of a problem because it was only chewed by the rich, on the weekends, and only by men. Now everyone chews it every day. And the farmland is being replaced by Qat trees with an insatiable thirst for water. Now with diesel pumps, they're draining the aquifers. I have lots of stories about it that will make you shudder. But I'm happy to say I have never tasted the stuff, and am determined never to do so.

So I recommend we all take a trip *ahem* to Yemen, where we can pick all the Qat off the trees...no, we'll just uproot the wicked things...and we'll leave Yemen a prettier, more productive place. Now, wouldn't that be a lot more fun than picking strawberries?

Ok, in all seriousness, I'm sorry I missed the poll. I do agree that I would like to see more content. I'd love to see more visual art, as well as literature. However, I know I'm as guilty as the rest of you that haven't contributed anything yet. Honestly, this probably just comes down to making it easier for users to upload their stuff.

I also think the site usability is much better with the new updates. It looks great!

grace and salaam-
paul