Happy Thanksgiving
An AWESOME Year in Short
With Thanksgiving just next week, and my day job slowing down as people prep for the weird, often brain-clouded four week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas where not a whole lot tends to get done in the industrial world that I service, I thought it would be a good chance to actually take Thanksgiving at its face value and reflect on our thankfulness for the year and thoughts for the last several weeks of the year.
Kayla and I are extremely thankful for a year of new relationships. The most impactful friendship we have struck up this year has been with the Hyer family, who came out in the first weeks of January to help us chop three ginormous 100 ft fallen eucalyptus trees, and over the course of dinner that night, we found kindred spirits and dreamers within one another and what we want from life. A few months later and we were co-parenting the turkeys with them, and they handled 100% of the baking and veggies that went into Turkey boxes we sold.
I know, I know! It DOES sound like we moved fast, but when you’re lucky enough to find poultry pals (trademarked) you don’t stop and think, you just convince them you know enough to make something work, and by the time they start wondering if you actually do know anything, your kids are friends and they are stuck.
The simple act of finding a family with whom we could bond over the dream of being with our families and farms every day, and people who believe as adamantly as we do that there is a way to make small farms work really provided the boost of courage I personally needed to start writing, building our community presence online, and pushing our limits in terms of projects. I think for Kayla, the same happened for her upon getting our first dairy cow Ruby and how exciting and wonderful the whole experience has been.
Where the Hyers were a catalyst to start getting serious about figuring out how to benefit our community AND make a living while doing it, every other person we have met and relationship developed has been continual nourishment in the form of support for the work we do, the reasons we do it, and more than anything that we are just DOING IT!
See, there it is: Instant soul nourishment. I was doing nothing more than reminiscing about the interactions I have had with the wonderful people we see weekly or have met via turkeys and chickens. Lovely, just lovely.
With each step into animal husbandry and raising poultry we took only emboldened us to take another, and yes, I’ll be the first to admit that the steps turned into running downhill at times, but it has been so worth it. We started by supplying our little friend group with much desired milk and some meat chickens, and were soon asked if we could take another cow and her herd share due to unforeseeable circumstances, which is how we received Bella and what turned out to be a whole new bevy of wonderful relationships in the world that is unadulterated milk. Bella, followed by Gouda a few months later, opened our eyes to the desire and need in our community for clean food and how many people rely on non-processed food.
Speaking of non processed food, our turkey boxes looked incredible. There were kids running all over the place and both families were busy entertaining and talking with friends for three or four hours. The show stopper was Kayla pulling Cozy, our fourth and final dairy cow for the year, up the hill for pets and talking points. A close second was pulling out the 34 lb monster that we raised and watching the children asking to see it oooo and aaaaaa with amazement. I was also able to show new faces the work we are doing in the pasture, around the land ,and talk regenerative farming and spread the good word. I think I’ll call the feeling a “farmer’s high.”
I would like to try and get one more post out before Christmas, but in case I don’t, I want to sincerely thank every single person who has been patient with us as we stumbled our way through milking the cows, figuring out their drying cycle, milk fluctuations, and especially everyone who has made the effort to buy local for the holiday. Our lives have been much enriched this year and we are very thankful and grateful to be able to provide for others as well.
Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. Zach Hyer just wrote his first substack, and it is a great introduction to a wonderful and introspective family.
The veggies are beautiful, and what a fun idea to have Ruby up for some attention! I am very proud of what you and Kayla, and your friends, are accomplishing. And though I cannot live the sweet farm life, you have helped me to become more aware of what healthy can be. Grateful is always good!
We are so proud of you both and the community you are growing there. We are in love with all of your beautiful, healthy, down to earth happy vegies, chickens and turkeys, and beautiful children. We hope we will have some kittens for you soon. They have begun venturing into the back porch to eat and play with their older brother Phelix now, chasing each other around the yard. Momma Kitty has stopped hissing at us and even has come in herself to partake of gourmet treats from the turkeys you have raised, and we have made into healthy food for them all. So all is great on the homestead and on our wild kitten playground. Love to you Andrew and thank you for all you do! Sharon and Robyn