I was on a call with other farmer-parents last week when I realized something: we were all struggling to live out the story of a family farm. You know: the one where we’re self-sufficient, where the kids roam safely and freely, where the parents get the chores done and we all sit down to dinner …
It’s cold here in Vermont — on Thursday it rained, snowed, hailed, and was sunny, cloudy, and windy all in one day. April is tricky like this, bringing us birdsong and melting snow, but also testing our resolve. When it’s dry enough, we can work the beds outside. When it’s too wet, we can work …
One Practice to Grow Crops & Decrease Anxiety on the Farm Read More »
At the end of 2019 I felt it again: deep exhaustion. Not simply on a physical level, but a soul one. As if even while sleeping I was pushing, running, trying to “get it all done.” The spring, summer, and fall were too busy to notice this. During the rest of the year I could …
I didn’t farm this summer. Sure, I kept the office side of the farm going — sending out CSA newsletters, managing new sign-ups and bookkeeping — but for all intents and purposes, I didn’t farm. Instead, I wrote. I planned. I took my dog for walks in the woods while a new vision took form …
The Summer I Didn’t Farm: what happens when we take a step in the opposite direction Read More »
I left the farm for a weekend and flew south to Tennessee for a writing conference. No matter how far I go from the farm, though, I always seek out farmers—so I started Saturday with a visit to the Franklin Farmers Market, where I picked up some fresh turmeric from a farmer who told me, …
