
“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.
4/17/2021
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...
4/16/2021
Our next animal endeavor entails a rather extensive fencing project. First we enclose all of the gardens. Only then can we focus...
4/15/2021
We’re out here again today altering the landscape, bringing plants to life, but also putting them to death. In the morning, John...
4/14/2021
In honor of Earth Month (and the almighty wind) we planted 1200 trees today. The Keewaydin windbreak is long overgrown and, as...
4/13/2021
I’ve been working on an Instagram campaign for Earth Day with Davines, a company that sells sustainable beauty products....
4/12/2021
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...
4/11/2021
The remainder of our foraging books have arrived and Rufus and I spend a good part of Sunday flipping through the pages. We read...
4/10/2021
I pulled on Rufus’s fly fishing waders and drove to a nearby stream to harvest watercress. The waters whispered their ever...
4/9/2021
Day by day, we sculpt the farmscape; strategically placed perennials, uprooted weeds, freshly built garden beds, flower...
4/8/2021
Henry David Thoreau said, “Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence”. I’ve...
4/7/2021
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...
4/6/2021
All across the land, root fingers take hold of subterranean nutrients, drawing them to the surface and manifesting green life....
4/5/2021
I’ve been studying for Driftless Curiosity’s upcoming workshop on foraging for spring edibles, and I’m learning a ton! At this...
4/4/2021
A barred owl perched upon a wind-fallen tree and surveyed the damage (of the tree and perhaps himself, for he seemed to be...
4/3/2021
A car full of visitors rolled down our dead end gravel road. One of our CSA families from Madison is in the area and arranged to...
4/2/2021
We worked through an ambitious to-do list this Friday and I can feel the season’s momentum building. We weeded all 4 greenhouses...
4/1/2021
The farmstead hums with the ardor of springtide. Farmers bustle back and forth with garden tools, realigning the soil to their...
3/30/2021
Since we foolishly left a mega feast of hazelnuts on our greenhouse tables overwinter, there appear to be some little critters...
3/30/2021
I looked at my bones on a screen today. In a sterile doctor’s office, I inspected an image of my spine. What a peculiar feeling....
3/29/2021
Boisterous air currents blasted me from every direction on my way to move the sprinkler. It was the type of wind that draws...
3/28/2021
Each spring, I’m bewildered by the renewal of overwintered crops. The garlic cloves planted in fall thrust eagerly through the...
3/27/2021
A stroll at dawn brings William Wordsworth, “Lines Written in Early Spring” to mind. The birds around me hopped and played,...
3/26/2021
Wisconsin columnist, Doug Larson, said, “Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush” and I can...
3/25/2021
Rufus and I have been talking about growing mushrooms for a couple of years and today we took a deep dive into shiitake...
3/22/2021
The greenhouse in springtime is my happy place. After a long winter, there’s nothing better than soaking in the sunshine and...
3/21/2021
This wind is relentless. The sound of the greenhouse plastic beating against the frame like a nonstop drumroll wears on my...
3/20/2021
It’s a happy day when you get a book in the mail. Who’s ready for spring foraging? A friend suggested Samuel Thayer’s, The...
3/19/2021
Seeding is one of my favorite jobs on the farm. It’s restful in comparison to the majority of laborious garden chores, even...
3/18/2021
I pulled my first weeds of the season this afternoon. At ground level, I identified which little sprouts didn’t belong....
3/17/2021
Since March is Women’s History Month, I’ve been asked to write and speak to my experience as a woman farmer. It’s an intriguing...