Brushing away the dust

I am brushing away the dust - on our farm blog, and on my ability to write as a human and not an academic. Bear with me.

It is January 2025 and this summer will be our six-year anniversary as Blackburn Farmers. We've also ignored this website and blog since early 2022. So much has happened since then - on the farm, in our home, in the world. We gained two beautiful sweet goats, Marshmallow and Graham, who bring us such joy. We gained, and then lost, two roosters, Raspberry and Derek, lovingly named by young friends of dear friends. Then we gained a new rooster, Snowshoe. We lost hens along the way, more than we can count. We gained property - 7 acres! We've gained scars, sore backs, stings, scratches, and bites. Farm and land management are not for the fainthearted, and our bodies remind us of this every day.

Yet, we've produced and sold syrup, eggs, veggies, flowers, raw wool, and even a few t-shirts and hats. We've welcomed countless friends, students, neighbors and visitors to our property. We've helped teach the young, and the old, about animals and wildlife, plants and food, and how all of these are profoundly affected by our changing climate. And we've done this while working more-than-full-time jobs and navigating the complexities of middle age and modern life.

In a time of such uncertainty, who knows how much longer we'll have this privilege? So I am rebooting this blog to tell our story, share our lessons learned, and reflect on what it all means. I write to bear witness to our complex relationships with animals, and the profound climate-driven changes we've seen in the land we manage in just a few years. In doing so, I hope that some of you may know and care just a little more about the woodlands and wild creatures, about local food systems, and about our hoofed and feathered friends.

I aim to write every couple of weeks. Thank you for being our audience and supporters, and for joining us on this next leg of our adventure.