Check Out Lexington's New Kids on the Block

Lexington Community Farm has three young goats you and your kids can visit.

Snoopy, Lilac and John Snow are the latest additions to Lexington Community Farm's Goat Yard.  The three kids arrived on the farm in early May, and have started to venture out of the barn. The goat yard opened in October 2011 when five Nigerian dwarf goats came to the farm, according to the LexFarm Website. Sharp eared visitors may be able to tell when Naya - the kids mother - is talking to her youngsters. From the LexFarm Website: "Goat note: It appears that humans aren’t the only ones who use “baby talk” – close listeners may notice that Naya’s bleats to her kids are different from the typical adult vocalizations" The public can visit the goats most Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m. The Goat Yard is free to farm members and there is a suggested …

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Patch Facts

5 Things: 'Genetic Roulette' at Cary Library

A quick look at what you need to see, do and know on June 10 in Lexington.

1. "Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives" At 6:30 p.m. tonight, together with nourish restaurant, LexFarm will host a screening of "Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives" in the Large Meeting Room at Cary Memorial Library. 2. Today in Public Meetings: According to the town website, public meetings posted for today include the ad hoc Townwide Facilities Master Planning committee at 9 a.m. at the DPW Building, the Special Educaiton Parent Advisory Council at 12:30 p.m. at Cary Library, the Transportation Advisory Committee at 2:30 pm. at Cary Hall, the Lexington High School Council at 5 p.m. at LHS, the Lexington Council for the Arts at 7 p.m. at Cary Library, the Board of Selectmen at 7 p.m. at the Town Office Building and the …

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LexFarm Preps Pitch for Community Farm on Busa Land

As LexFarm prepares to submit its community farm proposal for the Busa Land, the group is seeking online support with its 'Pledge to Build the Farm.'

  For a few years now, artists have turned to the internets to fund their outside-the-box projects. As crowdsourcing has proved an effective way to rally support, the method has sprouted from the fringe to the mainstream and beyond.   Here in Lexington, these principles of modern day patronage have made their way from art agriculture. As LexFarm, which has long sowed the seeds of preserving a longtime family farm as a community resource, prepares to submit its community farm proposal for the Busa Land, the group is seeking online support with its “Pledge to Build the Farm.” According to LexFarm’s website, the group will submit its proposal for a community farm next Monday, June 3. In the meantime, those who wish to pledge to support the …

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Farming in the Face of a Future Uncertain (Photos)

In what's probably his penultimate growing season on the family land, Lexington farmer Dennis Busa reflects on the past, present and future of his family’s farm.

  It’s a grey and rainy Friday afternoon down on the farm and Dennis Busa is replacing an old tractor's worn out bolts with some shiny new ones. It's a fairly ordinary task but, in some ways, it reflects a larger change taking root here in East Lexington. Busa Farms is in transition in ways that have nothing to do with the weather or growing season. This historic farm is readying for its journey from its old, familiar family-owned status to an uncertain future as a “community farm” owned by the town of Lexington. In what's probably his penultimate growing season on the family land, Lexington farmer Dennis Busa spoke to Patch about the past, present and future of the farm. A Brief History of Busa Farms Busa Farms, an 8-acre parcel in East …

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For the Busa Land, Community Farming’s Another Year Away

But an Agricultural Committee could be in the immediate future.

  Over the past several weeks, the Board of Selectmen have heard from a lot of concerned residents concerning the state of a request for proposal to operate a community farm on the town-owned Busa Farms parcel in East Lexington. At their Sept. 24 meeting, the selectmen's took some time to try and answer public concerns and re-evaluate an RFP regarding the farm. Ultimately, the board saw the need to wait another year to complete the RFP and expressed the desire to create an Agricultural Committee to study the avenues for either a for-profit or not-for-profit organization to take over the farm. Public Comments Addressed The selectmen began by detailing all the questions they have received regarding the farm and its future, queries like, What…

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Sept. 24

Grocery store specials, meetings and more today in Lexington.

1. BOS Meet Tonight: The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. tonight at the Town Office Building and its agendaincludes an update on Elder Service Center Closure, a DPW Presentation on Estabrook Road Access Project, a presentation on the fiscal 2013 Water/Sewer rate recommendations;  a discussion of a special fall Town Meeting and warrant and a talk about public comments on the Farm Draft RFP. 2. Have You Checked Out Our Grocery Store Specials? Patch has launched a grocery store specials to help you find local food specials and coupons you can print. Check it out here. 3. Other Public Meetings Posted for Today: According to the town website, public meetings posted for today include the Hastings Elementary Site Council at 7:45…

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Patrick Ball

10:40 am on Monday, September 24, 2012

Hi Wanda, Thanks for asking. There are three ways that you can get to the grocery specials. The first is to hover your mouse over the "More Stuff" tab in the blue navigation bar below the "Lexington Patch" banner at the top of the page until the options drop down to reveal "Grocery Specials." The second would be to scroll down the homepage and find it among the ads along the right side of the …   more ›

Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Aug. 8

A dinnertime talk about eating what you grow, Summer Fun Fest redux, meetings and more today in Lexington.

1. Eat What You Grow: Nourish restaurant is hosting a dinner with local author, environmental writer, and LexFarm co-founder Meg Muckenhoupt, who'll speak about "Eating What You Grow 1620-2012." Dinner's at 6:30 p.m. this evening and costs $40, with a portion of the proceeds supporting LexFarm's educational programs. Make reservation here. 2. Summer Fun Fest Makeup Date: Lexington's 4th annual Summer Fun Fest, which was rained out last week, will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. this evening at the Center Recreation Complex. Attractions include a DJ leading field games and activities, police and fire vehicles on display, a free public swim in the town pool from 7 p.m. on, and more. 3. Today in Public Meetings: According to the town website, …

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Housing Limited to Half of Lowell Street Stretch of Busa Land

Selectmen delineate half the length of Busa Land streetscape for four units of affordable housing; details about housing design and community farm still TBD.

New housing will occupy no more than half of the stretch of the town-owned Busa Land along Lowell Street and that had been under consideration for as many as eight new units. In a 3-to-2 vote on Monday, July 30, the Board of Selectmen decided the property would hold four units of housing on a strip of land not exceed half of the frontage along Lowell and only as deep as the least practical need.  The nay votes belonged to selectmen Hank Manz and Peter Kelley. Manz would have preserved more of the Lowell Street frontage to allow more flexibility on the housing plan, while Kelley hoped to limit footprint to one-third of the land along Lowell Street. In later discussion, the selectmen and Town Manager Carl Valente took up a series of …

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Patrick Ball

11:05 am on Friday, August 3, 2012

Indeed it was a complicated vote. To add a little more context, Hank actually changed his vote to vote in favor of the amendment after originally voting against. What appeared to change his mind was that the chair -- whose vote I'll admit that I did not hear -- announced that the board was 3-2 against expanding from one-third of the frontage to half. Hank then said he would vote iin favor of …   more ›

Get Out

Five Things To Do This Weekend: June 8 to 10

A look at what's going on in and around Lexington this weekend.

It’s Thursday, and you’ve got no idea what you’ll do this weekend. Lexington Patch is coming to the rescue. We’ve got the best bets for your done-work-outta-here time. Check our picks for the activities you'll want to take part in this weekend in Lexington and beyond. 1. Grand Opening of Wilson Farm's New Entrance Where/When: Wilson Farm, 10 Pleasant St.; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, June 8, Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10 Why Go: Over the three-day grand opening event, the first 200 people to enter Wilson Farm each day will receive something special, and the farmstand will run a sale of items located within our new entrance. Pricing: Free to enter 2. Cops Take the Court Where/When: Lexington High School, 251 Waltham St; 7:30 p.m., Friday…

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Busa Uses Land Back Before Board of Selectmen

A second discussion about future uses for the town-owned Busa Farms property could provide a clearer picture of the affordable housing and open space uses.

Earlier this month, the Board of Selectmen decided on uses for the town-owned Busa Farms property, and designated a portion for affordable housing and the remainder for open space uses. Tonight, they might take another step toward defining what that means. A stretch along Lowell Street toward Arlington has been locked in for affordable housing, but the selectmen’s March 5 vote kept the door open for a community farm, playing fields or both on the remainder of the approximately eight-acre parcel. At the March 5 meeting, many supporters of a community farm cast the “open space” designation as the selectmen’s disregard for the recommendation of the Busa Land Use Proposal Committee, which supported a community farm and some affordable housing …

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