Our meadow is our dream, our pilgrimage into living close to the land, and our mission in trying to do our part to make local food a possibility for more people in the Triad. The health of our land, our animals, and those around us is first and foremost in everything we do. Our meadow was 
once an old tobacco farm and by some strange act of nature is a clear and open spot of beautiful sandy loam soil that is surrounded by a sea of the more typical southern red clay. In that beautiful soil we grow perennial vegetable crops, pumpkins, popcorn, apples, pears, plums, nectarines, and several strains of paw paw (including two strains that were here on the land when we moved in). We garden until we can garden no more, and still have space for our vibrant and diverse pastures where goats, turkeys, chickens, and a donkey range during the day. Here on the blog I try to take some snapshots of our goings-on at the farm which is never quite the same day by day. There are chores that fit the daily rhythm. Goats must be fed, chickens watered, turkeys moved, and everybody has to get morning treats and friendly hello’s. Those are the only constants however. The rest of our lives move with the tide of the seasons. Births happen in early spring for goats and chickens. Turkey eggs follow to be hatched in late spring and early summer. Trees are pruned and planted in February. Tomatoes are planted in May. Growing chickens start to lay eggs in June and goat babies are weaned. Cheese-making starts in May and June, and we pull fences generally in July. Fall planting starts in July and August. August sees the earliest apples and September sees more and they continue until late November.
Fall squash is coming around in September and October, honey is beyond ready to harvest, and fall vegetables are coming into their own. Cheese is still going strong. In October and November the turkeys are starting to fatten, and by mid November they’re are about ready for Thanksgiving. In late November the goats are beginning to dry off, and should stop milking by mid December. January we flip our aged cheeses, study seed catalogs, take stock of the previous year, feed feed feed those pregnant does, and try to catch-up on some much-needed sleep. February is time to start ordering seeds, kids and chicks are on their way, and the year is going again before we know it.
It goes something like that every year, but then again, it’s never the same year twice. We’ll summarize, document, and share as the year goes round with pictures enough to share the trouble, the joy, the change, the growth, and decline that goes with the cycle of the year.
