The Summer of Kale
Our virtual presence has been lackluster this Summer as Matthew and I are beginning to find our groove with production, managing goats, and selling at farmer's markets. I miss you guys!
We've started to establish some really wonderful relationships with our customers at the market. Week after week they come back, tell us what they made, bring friends visiting from out of town, let us pet their dogs, and comment on how big Banzai is getting (spoiler alert: he's pretty chunky). For a few years we've had an amazing online community supporting us. And now we are starting to get to know our physical community. And it's amazing.
Last summer was the Summer of Love. The summer I re-fell in love with myself as a strong woman and the summer I met Matthew and my whole world changed.
This summer will forever be known as the Summer of Kale. For the past 5 months we have been living out of our garden, which, for us, means we've been eating kale almost every night. Last night I went into the garden to get some more and noticed the leaves are starting to look sad and I realized, my grocery store is about to go belly-up. And then I realized, just how sad that made me.
Before I bought this farm I was unhealthy. I didn't look unhealthy from the outside, because I was super cognizant of my weight, and, consequently, always on a diet. I lived on prepared weight loss meals and exercised all the time. I was miserable.
When I moved to the farm and started raising animals, exercise in the gym sense (elliptical, treadmill, etc.) was replaced with good old fashioned farm chores.
But it wasn't until Matthew and I started the dairy and made the time for the ultimate garden that we can firmly say, our entire diet comes from our farm. Pork and Rooster; Eggs (Quail, Guinea Hen and Chicken); Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese from the goats; Berries and Veggies from the garden. We use our cheese to trade at market for bread and pasta. And guess what. Me personally? No more weight loss diets. I even still get to enjoy my therapeutic amounts of hot chocolate, ice cream, and beer :)
As it turns out. Real food and real work equates to really, really healthy people. This winter we're going to focus on extending our growing season so we can also feed ourselves through the winter. But for now we'll just have to support our fellow farmers at market.
For me, the Summer of Kale represents the culmination of years of working towards creating a farm that can feed not just my own family, but also our community. And for that I am so proud.
Speaking of which.
We are so excited to open up the farm to our community in conjunction with Aspin Photography. Brandi is a friend and a genius behind the camera. I have never seen a photo of hers I didn't think was gorgeous and I especially like how she captures my family and all our personalities perfectly.
Come out, see the farm, get your family photos taken in our pasture, and try our cheese. We'll also be taking sign ups for our pastured poultry program (more on that soon). It's really, the perfect day. Can't wait to see your face!
