I don’t have any excuses other than LIFE. Life has prevented me from sharing it with you. It started with chickens. We have 15. We started with 16, arriving June 11, but one little girl was lost at about 3 weeks. I’m not sure what happened. One day everyone was fine, the next she was sitting very still, and 2 days later she was gone. The surviving 15 grew big and strong and now live outside in a moveable chicken house {“eggmobile”}. We asked for 4 roosters {1 each: Barred Rock, Buff Orpington, Dominique, Rhode Island Red} but it looks like we didn’t get a Rhody. The Barred Rock seems to be the bossman, but after attacking our daughter this weekend, he’s been put on Death Row. I’m still trying to decide if it would be better to eat him or keep him – he’s the largest and the only one that crows. So for now I don’t let the kids in the pen without me, and I’m trying to “train” him {read: putting my boot in his face whenever he comes near me; seems to be working so far}.
The garden was a huge success {for me}! I planted late, due to our move in April, but we were able to get LOTS of cucumbers and zucchinis, crook neck squash, Bennings Green Tint Squash {a scalloped variety}, and Sungold Cherry Tomatoes. I didn’t plant enough paste tomatoes to make anything substantial, and our larger tomatoes {Azoychka and Black Tula} just didn’t produce much. I was proud of the corn {Country Gentleman} until a few stalks broke {?} and I think the poor drainage and maybe poor sunlight of that corner of the garden led to under-development of the kernels. In August I planted kale, chard, kohlrabi, broccoli and cabbage all of which I hope to overwinter as long as possible. I also planted a few lettuces but I plan to harvest them before any significant cold weather. This weekend or next I will be building one or two cold frames to see what I can do with seed through the winter. Fingers crossed!
We are always searching for land and have visited a few more places:
Monterey, VA: Beautiful landscape, growing local food community. Nearly completely land-locked but huge mountainy mountains. Locals are currently driving an hour and a half to Wal-Mart for groceries every week because there is NO grocery store. No Co-Op, No library, No coffee shop. It’s not a tourist thoroughfare by any means and the only hotel in town is literally crumbling. Oh, and the tiny school system (200 kids, k-12) is shrinking, which tells me the town itself is dying. Very sad. With 30 other couples like us it could be saved, but I’m not sure how that happens…
Floyd, VA: We each spent time here before and after we met, and have always loved this little town. Our recent visit was lovely though very short. The land prices are great: $4,000/acre for most properties. Just 40 minutes from my Alma Mater, it’s high on my list of Towns I’d Love to Live In, but it seems like a lot of things we want to do are already being done by other farms in the area. They are even working on opening a heritage skills school with a grant from the government. Sheesh!
I’ve been looking a lot at Nelson County, VA, though we haven’t visited yet. Nelson County borders the Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive/Appalachian Trail so many of the properties we’ve found have amazing views. I have a couple good friends in Arrington, VA, so I might be able to gain some credibility in the community more quickly than other places…? Plus, there are three breweries and four wineries on the main highway through the county: lots of great things happening in the area, it seems. Only downside: land prices, still high at $6,000/acre.
The gist is: we’re still looking.
But the greatest news is that I have been working on our Mission/Vision and had two amazing brainstorming sessions over the past weekend. Basically, I’ve figured out how to focus my energy and my seemingly endless list of “what kind of things would I like to do on my farm?” into 6 categories: Food, Health, Family, Community, Spirit and Education.
We will make the connection between people and their FOOD, by building COMMUNITY, nourishing whole body HEALTH, strengthening the bonds of FAMILY, challenging the norms in EDUCATION all while honoring the SPIRIT.
No one part of our mission is more important than the other, so we could just as easily say: We will build COMMUNITY by making the connection between people and their FOOD, nourishing whole body HEALTH, etc, etc.
And, lest you insist this is too much for one family, have no worries. I am starting to believe the only way to accomplish my dream farm goals is to enlist the help of one, or two, or four other families that share similar dreams. Between the lot of us, surely we can build something amazing. Stay tuned…