Outside my office window, the goldenrods are blooming. Meanwhile I can hear the goldfinches flitting around as they enjoy the perennial sunflowers planted around the house. Chip chip chip. Chip chip chip. Goldfinches + goldenrod = good times at [...]

For the last 3 seasons, Mike has made it possible for me and the girls to take a week-long vacation in the middle of the summer.  This year, for the first time, I got to return the favor! Mike took the girls up north to the Bayfield area. They [...]

I am so excited to share this with you all! Growing for Market, a national farming trade publication, came to interview us. With permission from Growing for Market we are sharing the text of the article with you. It’s a dense one and you [...]

Green Life Philosophy One of our CSA members writes an inspiring blog on how to incorporate simple sustainable actions into everyday life. She also happens to meal plan with her CSA box every week. The plans are wonderful and really show how one [...]

Field Chat One of the things I love about farming is the field chat.  Some days we are moving from task to task fairly quickly, or I’m doing more managerial things, so I don’t get to be a part of the field chat. But sometimes, [...]

As you read this, I am unplugged, hanging out with my children in Cass Lake, MN near Bemidji.  That’s right, I’m a farmer on vacation in July! It’s amazing! You may be wondering how. Great question. The answer is: Farmer Mike. [...]

The Negative Weather Vane You know that person in your world who always seems to have a negative spin on any response?You know who I mean.  That person you almost try to back into a positive corner and they still amaze you by finding a way out [...]

The girls and I spend a lot of our time swimming in the summers. I’m always rooting for swimming in the lakes, like Stewart or Governor Dodge. The girls, however, prefer the clean simplicity of the pool. Since my parents live in a condo [...]

Three Girls, Brassicas, & a Thrift Store Our three daughters, ages 9, 6, and 4 don’t do much work on the farm. They are young and unless the work involves eating something, they historically haven’t been very interested. However, [...]

Red-winged blackbirds are one of the first migratory birds who return to our fields in the spring. The males are sleek, beautiful birds with black feathers and these special tufts of red (with a little bit of yellow) on their shoulders.  Their [...]

Caroline has been a CSA member of our farm for many years. She’s come to lots of the events and is the proud owner of the testimonial I use when presenting the concept of CSA to potential new members. Caroline is also a photographer. So [...]

Last Tuesday Mike, myself, and his buddy Trey were at the house playing cards. A storm rolled in and we went outside on the porch to watch. The rain was coming down steady, but not too hard. Then lightning was stretching across the sky [...]

For many of you, this week marks the end of a 6-month run of eating organic food grown on our farm. We thank you!!! We know there are lots of ways to find local food. And organic food. But CSA remains one of the best ways to get local AND [...]

Our girls love the Little House of the Prairie series – especially Little House in the Big Woods & Little House on the Prairie. The parallels and contrasts our girls can draw from the books are pretty amazing. The Ingalls family is a [...]

For the first time in family history, Mike and I were given the full reigns for Thanksgiving. Just because we are organic vegetable farmers does not mean our families share the same values of local, seasonal eating. We often show up at the [...]

For the first time in family history, Mike and I were given the full reigns for Thanksgiving. Just because we are organic vegetable farmers does not mean our families share the same values of local, seasonal eating. We often show up at the [...]

This Farmer Hates Marketing Okay, I just have to admit, I really don’t like marketing. If there’s one part of my job as a farmer that I dislike, it’s the part where I don’t get to farm. Sitting in the office trying to [...]

Putting the Strawberries to Bed The farm goes through a yearly cycle of activity and going to sleep. Each spring we rip off the blankets and say to the fields, “Get up! It’s time to go! Let’s make something of the [...]

Potions & Blogs The Harry Potter craze happened about a decade after I was growing up. Crew here that are in their late twenties experienced the Harry Potter books in real time, waiting for what seemed like forever for the next book to come [...]

The Quieting The farm season at its peak is a crazy, fast-moving animal with lots of moving parts. The farm is effervescent with people and conversation and laughter. Then, starting in October, one-by-one crew members are let off for the season. [...]

The other day the girls and I were sitting around the table after school, and I asked if they would help brainstorm for my Halloween costume. Without missing a beat, Zea, my 9 year old, said, ” I know! You could be a normal parent that [...]

The Best of Days In her book, Beloved, Toni Morrison writes: “In Ohio seasons are theatrical. Each one enters like a prima donna, convinced its performance is the reason the world has people in it.” Having grown up in Ohio, Morrison’s [...]

The average yearly rainfall for our area is around 35 inches. Since May, we have had 72 inches of rain. That’s just crazy town. With a critical eye, and damp feet, it can sometimes be too easy this season to look around and sigh at all the [...]

Last season on one hot June afternoon, my Dad stopped by the farm. I was driving our large Kubota tractor. He walked up to say hello and peek inside, and then exclaimed, “Look at you, you’re a real farmer now!” Inside, I [...]

Sometimes there is a certain metaphorical symmetry between family life and farm life that I find beautiful. A truism one discovers when working on a farm, is that change is the one constant to be counted on. Sometimes, however, you can find [...]

Touched by the Sun One day back in the spring, one of our employees, Taylor, was getting a little loopy after having to hoe broccoli and Brussels sprouts for 5 hours straight. That day she and Fred coined the term ‘Touched by the [...]

I ran religiously 3-4 times a week until my late twenties. By then I was farming, and therefore extremely physically active, and in between pregnancies. Finding the time,  and having a body healed and healthy enough to be able to run seemed [...]

The Sardine Meal Towards the end of each August, right before some of our seasonal workers begin to peel off (thanks, Jared!), Mike and I treat the crew to a nice meal in Madison. Sardine has been our restaurant of choice these past few years. [...]

According to the EPA, in its document entitled, What Climate Change Means for Wisconsin:  “Wisconsin’s climate is changing. In the past century, most of the state has warmed about two degrees (F). Heavy rain-storms are becoming more [...]