A Wedding On The Farm

Its been a little while since I sent a proper newsletter.

Its been a crazy few weeks on the farm - we've been sorting cows, planting cover crops, and making hay (and I had the pleasure of my first bout with COVID).

But there was also one more, much more fun distraction....

Last month I got married right here on the farm!

We got married right behind the barn, surrounded by friends and loved ones, and featured meat raised right here and flowers grown and arranged by Amelia (AKA That Bloomin' Farm, AKA my awesome new wife).

It was an amazing night and I have so much to be grateful for.

But above all else, I'm grateful for Amelia.

She doesn't get a lot of press in the newsletters. None of the people around here really do. It's easier to write about cows and dogs and grass.

But today she gets her credit.

Farming is generally not easy on relationships, and livestock farming can be especially tough.

Its a 365 day per year job, and it comes with the unique wrinkle that your business involves animals with unpredictable minds of their own.

So it's easy to let every other activity fall off the schedule. Plus, in the summer I'm usually exhausted, and over the winter its just too dreary (and far) to want to go anywhere.

These days, after years of work, the farm is a lovely place to be ALL THE TIME.

But when Amelia first arrived on the scene, it was very different.

Trash piles from previous farmers still dotted the landscape.

We'd just finished our first season of grazing here, and the fields were still burnt out and weedy from prior years of abuse

Jesse and I were roommates in the farmhouse, which was still partially gutted months after a pipe burst before we moved in.

In other words, it took some vision and faith to think "this might be a good place to stick around."

And our farm was as rough around the edges as the landscape.

The first time Amelia spent a "romantic" weekend on the farm, we spent most of our time herding the pigs who got out of their enclosure at LEAST 20 times over 3 days.

We were cold, muddy, and frustrated. It was about the least romantic weekend I could imagine.

Yet Amelia kept on coming back.

She's been there in the freezing rain when cows got out; sat in the tractor bucket holding a frozen calf we rescued from a blizzard; and listened to me worry endlessly about the cows, the grass, whether the fence is on, and how to make the business work.

She's built her own amazing flower business, and helped us shape the farm into a more beautiful place where a sane person might consider getting married.

More than anything she's always been steadfast in her faith that it would work out great in the end.

So, standing behind the barn, surrounded by friends and family, I was struck by how incredibly far we've come and how right she's always been.

Six years ago it was just Jesse and me (plus our two original dirty dog companions, Ruth and Mack). We rented a new farm and house for three straight years, and moved all of the animals each year - trying to figure it all out.

There were plenty of moments along the way where farming felt like a hopeless adventure.

Today we both have families, permanent homes, and this incredible community of friends and supporters.

So I also want to thank you, because your support has helped us build a business and life that we love.

Thanks for reading,
Josh