“Dear Farm Journal” is a creative project that connects people to their food and the farmers who bring it to life. We share our daily story to build community, advocate for small-scale organic farming, and appeal to the curiosity of those who want to know what farm life is all about.   

  Rufus, John, and Cassie emerged from the forest with a nice little bag of morels. I knew if they went out with Rufus,...

  Nothing awakens my curiosity quite like a carefree walk in the woods. John, Cassie, and I wandered away from the...

  Sometimes Rufus makes me laugh so hard, farming doesn’t really feel like work, but play. He’s an entertainer that guy,...

  My eyelids opened to maximum widening capacity when I caught a glimpse of the asparagus. Holy shit! I mean, I suspected...

I count myself lucky to have a partner in life who pulls me away from my computer screen of tasks to lay in the hammock or watch...

  We’ve reached a heat threshold which requires multiple waterings per day. However, with the wind whipping through the...

  Once the wind died down, Rufus proclaimed it was too calm not to build garden beds. So, he pulled his stash of cardboard...

  While tending our gardens, we  pause to notice blooming ornaments adorning the trees; lilacs, crabapple, and cherry...

I received my second vaccination today, another line of defense for a healthy season, along with nutritious organic food,...

It was just chilly enough to make cleaning ramps and green garlic mildly uncomfortable. We walked back and forth along the wash...

I scan the forest floor of the ridgetop and smile. The ramps that carpet this area have sized up considerably since last week,...

With the Driftless Curiosity workshop successfully completed, Sunday called for river recreation with friends. I took in the...

I’m awake at 5 AM preparing for the Driftless Curiosity workshop on spring foraging and I feel a playful kind of joy replace my...

Rufus and I walked the land collecting sunchokes, wild parsnip, burdock root, and nettles for the Driftless Curiosity workshop...

On this Earth Day, I’m thankful to connect with the land and loved ones. John and Cassie come to visit and we hike around the...

After the first spring harvest and pack out, I’m happy to be mostly horizontal for a day. I help Rufus get the van loaded and he...

Beyond the typical numbness in the hands during the washing of the ramps, the first pack out of the year was a mild and...

It’s spring harvest time! Radishes, ramps, mizuna, arugula, spinach, and salad mix. We hustle from plant to plant, collecting...

It’s the Sunday before the first week of the CSA and we’re making sure the pack shed is set for the event. We’ve pressure washed...

  Today I’m sharing a poem I found called Sing To The Foliage by M.L. Kiser.  Music soothes the tree and flower all love...

Our next animal endeavor entails a rather extensive fencing project. First we enclose all of the gardens. Only then can we focus...

We’re out here again today altering the landscape, bringing plants to life, but also putting them to death. In the morning, John...

In honor of Earth Month (and the almighty wind) we planted 1200 trees today. The Keewaydin windbreak is long overgrown and, as...

  I’ve been working on an Instagram campaign for Earth Day with Davines, a company that sells sustainable beauty products....

Lest folks suppose I live in the land of perpetual sunshine, I’ll have you know, there are darker days on the farm; weeks of...

The remainder of our foraging books have arrived and Rufus and I spend a good part of Sunday flipping through the pages. We read...

I pulled on Rufus’s fly fishing waders and drove to a nearby stream to harvest watercress. The waters whispered their ever...

Day by day, we sculpt the farmscape; strategically placed perennials, uprooted weeds, freshly built garden beds, flower...

Henry David Thoreau said, “Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence”. I’ve...

As I poured a cup of coffee, the songbirds beckoned, reporting the splendor of the morning. As such, I took up my yoga mat and...