Stories from the Farm

Finding Inspiration

Inspiration comes to us in many forms, some of them predictable, some of them not.  As someone whose work is passion driven, inspiration and motivation and the rekindling of that passion is critical.   When I ran a mission driven non-profit, I would coach my younger colleagues to remember that when you toil hard towards […]

Greens and Valore Galore

Déjà vu. The radar showed purple, Northfield Farmers Market was cancelled and the radio alerts brought us back to a year ago when we retreated to the basement during tornado warnings. No hail this time for us but the rage of these storms is sobering. The Cornish Cross chicks (a.k.a. the Adirondacks) became soaked and […]

Greens on the Green and Milk on the Screen

It is easy to take things for granted. This week as Mari’s Dad turned 95, our farm was privileged to be part of a positive WCAX series on the new face of farming in Vermont. (Part 1, Part 2 ) We feel lucky. Sometimes it takes stepping out of regular patterns to notice one’s good fortune. “What sold?” […]

Starts, Stops & Living the Life

How can you live for more than four decades and still be shocked at the range of shades of green? Goats are grazing and browsing them, they festoon the farmstand, fields and surrounding hills. These shades of green are themselves a feast. When you visit the farm this week (in person if you are lucky […]

Baby Animal Alert!

For the past week, one lucky lady has been the center of many a farm discussion. While she was lounging in the sun, getting back scratches from farmers, and out nibbling on grass, we were all asking–when is Takamba going to kid? As her due date came and went, we began checking in on her […]

Comings and Goings

Apparently I’m not the only one who appreciates the contented grunts of our ten pigs, who (if you haven’t driven by lately) are quite the roadside attraction aside Loop Rd. A few days ago, Laura, Mari, and Lauren were finishing up a paddock expansion for the porcine crew, when a family drove by, a rear window rolled […]

Just Food, Earth Day and (why) It Is Ethical to Eat Meat

Spring Peepers are peeping, American Toads trilling and Wood Frogs are clippity clopping in the pond, amphibians dominate the April night soundtrack at the farm.  By day the goat kids chime in, punctuated by proud hens announcing their eggs, and occasional grunts from Checkers and squeals from her piglets, as they work out the dance […]

Why is it Ethical to Eat Meat

Answering the New York Times Ethicist Query “Tell us Why it is Ethical to Eat Meat” On a cold day in December 2009 I stood on the steaming compost pile belting out “When the Saints Go Marching In”. I changed the words. “When the saints are of four hooves…”  and I carefully put each head, […]

New Faces on the Farm

There are many new faces around the farm these days, some of them human, some of them not. Indeed the newest faces are Checkers’ piglets that she delivered late Tuesday night. She wasn’t due until Thursday, but the nest building she embarked upon Tuesday morning clued us in that she wasn’t waiting for the 12th! […]