Cooperating Across the Generations January 29, 2013 Tags: family farming, parenting Farming should be about making way for the next generation, as well as serving the needs of the present. If there’s a romantic image that tugs at our heart strings as much as the thought of homegrown tomatoes, it’s the multi-generational family farm. In […]
The Price of Corn
This past weekend I made a trek out to central Wisconsin to speak at the state’s annual grazing conference, which typically draws farmers from all over the Midwest. This was the second time I’ve been invited to join these folks, and I remembered it fondly from back in 2009, when the conference center was packed, […]
A Radical Homemaker’s Take on Investing
A Radical Homemaker’s Take on Investing January 15, 2013 Tags: gainful unemployment, radical homemaking, Tuesday Post Bob’s mandolin: Our idea of a “sound investment.” I received a phone call recently from someone in the media, who introduced himself by way of exclaiming “Is it true that you have a family of four and live on […]
Hurricane Samhain
Hurricane Samhain October 29, 2012 Tags: family farming, radical homemaking, Tuesday Post Our Samhain Altar will hopefully be lit each night this week, in spite of the hurricane. This week’s Tuesday Post is appearing early as we ready ourselves for Hurricane Sandy. If technology allows, I’ll post updates as we work our way through the […]
The Creative Bubble
October 16, 2012 When I sit down to write, it seems as if time goes into suspension. I’m unaware of my next obligation, of the dogs gnawing their bones beside me, of the hum of the refrigerator. I forget about my last argument with my mother (unless, of course, I’m writing about it), about what’s […]
Can We Eat Meat in an Ecological and Economic Crisis? Yes.
Can we eat meat in an ecological and economic crisis? Yes. October 9, 2012 Tags: radical homemaking, grassfed cooking, grassfed meat, sustainable agriculture, Tuesday Post Thirty-plus years as grassfed meat farmers has taught my family to anticipate unpredictability. One minute we’re in floods. The next, drought. One minute livestock farmers are accused of being cruel […]
Sidestepping the Upsell
Bob and I had the delight a few weeks ago of sharing our day at our farmers’ market with a young man who is preparing to go into grassfed farming. He worked closely with my mom and dad to understand the production end of the farm, then chose to spend a day with Bob and […]
The Other Side of Gainful Unemployment
Earning a living from multiple enterprises can occasionally feel like a tangled mess. “Today, I will do one thing at a time.” These are the words I’ve been saying to myself each morning lately as I leap from my bed. I mindlessly repeat them while at the same time working through what time homeschool lessons […]
Acting Out
Acting Out May 24, 2012 Tags: parenting Maybe intervention isn’t always the answer. Saoirse and Ula are three years apart. Saoirse, 8, is unusually tall, slender, well-spoken, and comes across to grown-ups as particularly well-behaved and extraordinarily poised. Ula isn’t any of those things. At 5, she’s about a foot shorter than her sister, demonstrates […]
Gainful Unemployment
Gainful Unemployment May 16, 2012 Tags: gainful unemployment Life without a job can be full of profitable ventures. It was just getting dark the night of November 1st, 1999 as I locked my bike outside my Ithaca apartment, walked inside and learned from my roommate that Bob had been trying to reach me. He was […]