Our little part of the world
A land of milk and honey (and blackberries)
Blackberry Fields Farm
Our farm is located outside of Bloomington, Indiana, on the edge of a valley with acres of blackberries.
We are homesteaders living on 17 acres, striving daily towards greater self-sufficiency. Our four children are homeschooled, blending a rigorous classically-influenced curriculum with the freedom of farm living (and lots of afternoons playing in the creek). They're included in everything that we do, from working "in the bees" to calving to feeding livestock and they are able to take part in activities that are disappearing in modern society like soapmaking, candlemaking, and using a spinning wheel to make yarn.
Somehow we've managed to stumble upon the meaning of our lives.
How did we get here? This is the home Anthony was raised in and we were looking to escape the high housing costs in Bloomington. Although the property had been neglected we decided that we were up to the challenge of turning it from an aging farmhouse to a home of our own. Our original plan was simply to buy some laying hens for eggs and to plant a garden and, well, the rest is history. With the birth of our third child we began researching everything--from the chemicals in vaccines to the American model of childbirth to how supermarket meat is grown. The more we read the more disturbed we were and the more our goals shifted to becoming more self-sufficient. We wanted to drink milk but weren't comfortable with the grocery store options (even organic). We wanted to eat meat but the price and availability for grassfed, pastured meat was prohibitive. We wanted to eat fruits and vegetables that weren't covered with that shiny wax that is applied to make the produce look more appealing. Further than that, even, we wanted to eat as much as possible locally and in season. Strawberries don't grow in January in Indiana!
Our journey has taught us that the problems that our nation faces goes beyond simple politics. Whether you are liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, I'm sure we can agree that our way of life is not sustainable. We are writing checks for future generations to pay and our lifestyles are becoming more precarious. It might be an economic collapse, it might be a natural disaster along the lines of Hurricane Katrina, it might be peak oil or climate change, but we've got to look hard at our disposable society and decide what part we want to play in it.
We have decided to be producers; we will grow food and raise dairy and meat animals and try to follow the 100 Square Foot diet model as much as possible. We've also decided that, since everyone does not have the time or space to do the same thing, that we can also produce those items for others. You can take a drink of our cold milk, a bite off of an apple, or have some pastured chicken with your dinner and know exactly what you are putting into your body.
We have dairy animals, a pet lamb, chickens (both meat and laying breeds); Khaki Campbell ducks, turkeys, guineas, pigs, and a llama. Helping us along our venture are our loyal companions, Roman, a Shetland Sheepdog; Sadie, a Border Collie; and Natasha, a Livestock Guard Dog. Our dairy animals have access to pasture at all times as well as high-quality hay and a small amount of non-GM grain. We never use hormones on our animals and only give antibiotics when necessary for the animal's health. In the rare event that antibiotics are given there is a milk removal time to ensure that no antibiotics pass through the milk. We are not a commercial dairy or a corporation. We are a family who spends times with our animals, who are not numbered but rather named. We know that Roselle, one of our cows, likes to eat sunflower seeds and we know that Lucy, our other cow, always gets first dibs on the fresh hay. We know that Esme, one of the goats, likes to eat apples from the apple tree and that Joni and Carly are sisters who refuse to be more than a couple of feet from each other. We try to grow as much of our own food as possible using organic farming methods and heirloom varieties, and make our own raw dairy products (cheese, kefir, yogurt, and so on). Breadmaking is a daily activity here and we have acres of blackberries for the picking.
For the summer we're working on a greenhouse and our orchard.
We will be updating so check back often! We are working on a small amount of CSA shares for this summer but will have in-season produce for sale. Keep an eye on the blog where we'll be giving farm updates, recipes, and so on.
