In the death that signifies the end of the growing season, I wondered if I would ever know forever. Then I met it for dinner. Until it’s time to carve the turkeys, I work almost completely alone on the day of the community turkey supper. Bob is madly cleaning the house for some out-of-town guests […]
What kind of a friend am I?
How does friendship hold up in the face of social media and full lives? I am sitting with a group of mothers of infants and toddlers at my local co-op’s natural parenting meeting, wondering what kind of friend I am. I’ve known the group’s organizer, Meg, for several years. She asked me to come speak almost […]
The Pressure Canner
Farming and radical homemaking are great lifestyle choices….If you can avoid these pitfalls. It’s one o’clock in the morning. I’m walking through the kitchen, on my way to letting Nikki and Dusky out. After that, I need to draft the farm newsletter for the week. The moonlight streams in on the kitchen table, blanketed with […]
The Unattainable
Some things seem beyond reach… But only because we’ve forgotten how to stretch ourselves. My friend Nancy and I have brought Saoirse and Ula to a nearby art museum for an exhibit of Maxfield Parrish’s paintings. Saoirse is wandering the gallery with a notebook, gazing at the pictures and writing down story ideas. Ula […]
The Math Problem
We couldn’t see a way forward to keep the family farm profitable, afford the labor, and work through our transition. We found the answer in the mail. When’s somebody ever gonna buy that place? I shake my head as we head home past the post office building that sits in the center of our little hamlet of […]
Duct Tape
How I got duct tape in my hair. And why I’m leaving it there. Shannon Hayes It is two o’clock Saturday morning. Yes, I should be sleeping. The kids are sleeping down at the farm with Grammie and Pop Pop. Bob and I need to leave for our farmers’ market at 6:30. But I’m sitting in […]
Livestock Farming: Scourge of the Planet, or Victim of Bad Research?
Does the meat on your plate play a role in our planet’s health? Absolutely. By Shannon Hayes A few weeks ago I got into a lengthy discussion with one of my long time customers about the role of livestock farming in our future sustainability. I was reminded of this piece, which was originally printed in my […]
Farm in transition? It’s a job for the Super Friends
What does it take to move a family farm between the generations? Heroes. Bob and I have just finished unloading from the market when Kate, our summer intern, clomps by in her barn boots carrying a dead chicken. Dad is just coming in from the back fields in the Mule and she walks […]
My Mothers’ Day Gift
She swore at me. I ignored her. It was just a typical Mothers’ Day. Until I thought I could lose her. The heroine had decided to go down into the basement. Alone. It was a trap. I knew she was making a mistake. But she was the last hope — the only one who could prevent […]
Can we truly honor the earth on Earth Day?
As a radical homemaker, I want to live within the bounds of our ecosystem. But to do so, I’ve had to defy impossible odds, break the law, and quite possibly deny my children something that has been considered a fundamental entitlement in this country. This blog post is drawn from a talk I delivered in […]
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