LITTLE BY LITTLE.
After nearly every evening move, Eric and I like to take a moment to pause and watch the cattle graze. One such evening, Eric was musing about how relieved he was that he hadn't had the money to buy the livestock he wanted when he first started rotational grazing. He's just now, after over ten years of working with livestock, starting to feel confident in what he's doing. In that time, his instincts for the animals have improved tremendously. He's learned how to handle them, and how to better anticipate their needs. And though he knows he's still got a lot to learn, he said he was glad to have learned what he knows on the motley mix of animals that have always made up his herd.The cows he wanted cost several thousand dollars a piece. And had he started with those animals––shelled out ten or fifteen thousand dollars on a few cows––there would have been a lot more at stake. They easily could have bankrupted him before he knew what he was doing. Luckily, Eric couldn't have afforded animals from good stock when he started. He started with a milk cow named Delilah and her bull calf, purchased from a neighbor for $400. The calf was wormy and died, but Delilah lived, and Eric built from there.Now, he has a Devon bull he likes which he spent good money on, and slowly he's starting to build the herd he wants. "Everything worthwhile takes time," Eric once told me and I'm starting to realize how widely it applies, and how sometimes being low on cash, however frustrating or limiting, can be a gift.Hannah and I have spent the last few months moving in inches. We inched into the forest. We inched into the cabin. We'll inch into the rest of our lives and we'll inch because we have no other choice––we don't have money to move more than an inch at a time. When I think about Eric and his cattle, however, in a way, I feel blessed to have such little mobility. Sure, we want our forest cleared and filled with livestock, pigs, goats and gardens. We want our house set up with running water and a solar system. We want a lot of things, but perhaps, by being forced to only move in inches for the next few years, we'll thoroughly learn every inch of what we're doing. In turn, it will make us better farmers, carpenters and partners, preparing us for the day when we can finally move swiftly in feet––or who knows, maybe even yards––while teaching us to appreciate every step. So right now, moving slowly is quite alright––everything worthwhile takes time-- and we have a lot more time than money, and a lot to learn yet anyway.- Jesse.
FRIDAYS.
Fridays are crazy around here.Friday is harvest day, and it sometimes takes just that - all day. We are up early to beat the heat, battling the wind and sun and struggling to keep our veggies from wilting without aid of air conditioning or refrigeration. We are cleaning eggs and rounding up the signs and tents and tables. We are wrestling with bins and baskets and configuring new ways to pack and squeeze the food into the van. We are trying to pick the right amounts of food for the CSA, for market customers, trying to decide which lettuce is ready, is the arugula bolting, should we wait and give carrots next week?! All of this, while still managing the animals and the children and the normal everyday chores. It's crazy, I tell you! Jesse and I can't usually make it to a computer on Friday, but Cher does a great job of recounting harvest days on the Bugtussle blog if you want to follow along.- Hannah.
WHAT WE'RE DOING.
We realized recently that we haven't written much about what Hannah and I are actually DOING this year to make money. Last year we ran a CSA in Danville, but this year, because we are trying to focus most of our energy on the cabin and getting our land ready to be farmed, we've joined efforts with Bugtussle Farm. We've worked out a profit/work share situation where Hannah and I are in charge of selling produce at their table--while they hand out their CSA shares--and we get to keep a percentage of those profits. So remember, if you are in the Nashville area, please come by our table on Saturdays at the West Nashville Farmer's Market to say hi. PLUS, there are a few shares left in the Bugtussle CSA! Any we can sell, we get a share of those profits as well! So if you're interested or have any friends or family in Music City who might be, send them our way and help support two small farms with one stone.- Jesse.
THIS & THAT.
Some random photos from the past week.
The beginnings of blueberries.
Daffy is outstanding in her field.
Our standard supper elevated by THE MOST DELICIOUS GOAT CHEESE OF ALL TIME. (thank you Little Seed!)
Jesse has plans for a sour cherry mead.
The newest calf at Bugtussle.