THE NEW FARM.

I want to share something––something we haven’t really had a chance to say in our blistering sprint to get this farm started: we really like the new place, and we’re really happy here.The move was scary. Truly. With so many unknowns about this new farm while leaving a place we knew we loved, a cabin we had built, and customers we adored, made it particularly frightening. But now, a year after we first decided to go for it, we are feeling good. We are feeling like this was the right decision for our family, for our business, for all the reasons we had decided to move in the first place.Decisions are challenging occasions and rarely pristine. There are always unwanted sacrifices that must be made one way or another, and knowing you made the right ones isn’t always tangible thing. Our business is growing and our garden is doing well this year––both of which we can measure––but those aren’t the only measurements of success in a decision like this. For two people, now parents, who got into farming more or less to homestead, the success of a decision like this is measured, for lack of better word, in feeling. A year later does it feel right? Does it feel good? Are we heading in the right direction? Can we build the life we want here? And when I ask myself those questions strolling through the garden at six in the morning, or moving the sheep around the pasture, or watching Further chase the ducks out of his kiddie pool, the answer is unequivocally yes. It feels great. It feels like home.We have received a lot of help, love, and support over the years, and we know how incredibly lucky we are for that. We have learned how critical it is when starting one farm––let alone four (yeah, this is RDF’s forth)––to have people believing in you. We are so thankful for everyone who has helped get us here and stood by us through the ups and downs, written us letters, supported our cabin campaign, bought our produce and t-shirts, all of it. Ultimately, this farm is the product of your support, and we hope you feel an attachment to it. You helped get this small farm going and we hope it feels that way to you––like your new farm, too. And in that spirit, I have to say, guys, I think we did good. I think we got a keeper.Thank you.-Jesse.

THIS & THAT.

Some random photos from the past few weeks on the farm.Biodynamic preparations we spread on our compost pile.Foggy morning mulching the garlic.Surprise flush of shiitakes!Finding hidden treasures as we walk around the new property.More exploring.