Welcome Home

I write this sitting down for a rest hidden amongst the orchard grass that reaches over my head even on the tallest tip toes. The sun seeps through and the deer flies are out in full force but nestled down close to the damp soil is respite still. I write this, when I should be up building more fence, to tell you about this land.  It's made up of gentle rolling hills, a good bit of wetlands, a section of dense forest plus some hedges, and is home to an abundance of frogs and bugs, white-tailed deer, songbirds and migratory ones.  Soil's mostly clay but all the neighbors say it grows grass better than your wildest dreams.  It was an organic dairy, before that the first grass-fed dairy in Vermont, before that a conventional dairy, and long before that probably a sheep farm.  A little over a week ago we signed all the papers and took a deep breath before feeling the very adultish weight of a mortgage climb up onto our shoulders, and then drove home - to this bountiful and beautiful land in Bridport, Vermont.

That day is a whirlwind starting in the well-lit offices of a (Vermont) city attorney rushing to loading furniture into (mostly clean) livestock trailers, scarfing down take-out dinner, setting up the coffee pot and finding sheets for the mattress on the floor before collapsing.  Only to wake, Colin and I both, at around four because we just couldn’t sleep through the first sunrise on (cue the tears) our farm.

What I’ve been eluding to since spring of last year, have used hundreds of hours towards in our local library hunched over my laptop to put together a massive business plan, filling out applications and proposals, getting over the discomfort in other professionals (realtors, attorneys, inspectors, oh my!) working for me, committed top of mind focus for nearly eleven months, have lost sleep and pulled out hair, and most certainly cried over has reached the end. What is actually a huge beginning and one we can finally share with you.

We bought a farm. There’s so much to say and also I’m lost for words. So I’m just going to list the highlights of the last week and a half.

We moved in! Before we were comfortable moving sheep over, we needed to move shepherds over. And my golly, are we grateful to have our own home.  It’s small and old and imperfect and ours.

We moved the ewe flock! Thanks to Lydia of Echo Ridge Flock for the extra trailer.

We brought home our first LGD! Stannard is a Maremma X Karakachan pup. Additional names include Stan, Stan the Man, and puppy puppy. The last one is the most reliable way to call him to you. We’ll be working on that recall more.

We picked up a new ram! He’s a North Country Cheviot from a Maine flock that is the product of ohhh 250 years of selection by the winds of the Atlantic. From sheep raised in the lowest of low inputs, literally born and raised on islands without human intervention for generations, his home flock is an extraordinary example of what sheep are capable of when we quit fussing over them so much. Bringing home a piece of these genetics, which are shepherded by a master in the art of stockmanship and shearing feels like a massive “we’ve made it” in itself.  

We bought another LGD! Because all the advice we’ve got is that we’ll need it. He’s older meaning ready to go to work sooner with less training.

We had first-cut come off our own land for the first time! And we didn't spend a single second in a tractor to do it.  While we were in Maine the custom hay harvester showed up and did in two days what would have taken us more than a month. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when we work together instead of trying to do it all ourselves.

I know this is an inappropriate amount of exclamations but I just can’t help it!  It all still hasn’t set in. I keep waking up expecting the dream to be over.  There is a lot of work to be done here picking up what was left behind.  We have structures to demolish, I don't know how many dumpsters worth of garbage and scrap metal to haul off, and a full manure pit to empty.  It will be a long while before we have this place looking even close to the dream so now is when you’ll think “young and ambitious” or alternatively “young and stupid” but part of the draw (besides the fact the condition contributed to the price point within our budget) was to know our labor could transform this property into what it deserves to be. One day at a time we’re making it ours; unpacking boxes, fixing fences and barn roofs, and treating the vast ecosystem within it’s borders with care. 

I mean this more than ever - thank you for being here.  If you’ve ever paid for our goods and services or just enjoy reading the blog, thank you.  I can't wait to share with you more about our farm.