Remarkable 2018

Here we are nearing the end of 2018.

We are grateful for this year, and especially for YOU.

We know it’s the time when lots of folks look around and find gratitude in the things they have, which is wonderful, and something we all should do much more of, and not just in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and the New Year.

As we’ve trucked along this summer, particularly starting in April and May with our on-farm events, we have had so many reasons to be inspired and thankful and grateful and hopeful about what our farm is growing into, and what it means for you and for us.

We have a vision to “create food, family and farm in the heart of Vermont”.  Yes, OK, that sounds like a canned tag line in some ways, but it’s the absolute truth.  We love food.  We’ve strengthened our existing family and found new family through sharing, cooking, and competing in food.  Farming in the way that we do, caring for the land as an ecosystem and a place for connection and education, allows us to create an outdoor classroom for students of all ages.  Our farm is simply the embodiment of the idea that home is where your heart is. For us, that’s literally the Heart of Vermont, Randolph.

In 2018, we set out to test some ideas about sharing this vision with more people, and new people.  We want to grow the family!  And people responded, like:

• Deb & Gary who saw an ad for our grilling class in the local Front Porch Forum listerv and just thought it sounded like a fun thing to do.
• Kathi, Al and Mary Lou who were each looking for a short getaway from an ordinary evening at our on-farm BBQ dinner.
• Sue and Jenny, who came to our pop-up Village Idiots concert and BBQ dinner.
• Barb, Billie Jo, Cat, and Didi, who shared teaching and learning and digging and looking at soil through magnifying glasses at our Land Listeners workshop.
• Keegan and Isaiah, who came visiting as Randolph students, and are coming back as friends and farm helpers.
• Rob and Gus and MB and Susan and Dave, who all came to help with farm tasks and events.
• Ellen and Stuart who brought their grandson to see the lambs at our Lamb Open House, and Lori and Sarah who walked FANCY up the hill from our overflow parking area.
• AND non-event friends who just wanted to see the place and what we do, like Siva and Darshon and Stephen and Francie and Dave and our guardian angel, Doug, who keeps an eye on sheep and the wildlife on the lower 40!

We love you all.

We tested all sorts of events this year, trying to offer a variety of cooking, eating, and educational experiences.  We are grateful that each event brought old friends and new, and that everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves and feel welcome.

As we look toward 2019, we’re dreaming up a new schedule (with dates to be finalized early in the new year).  Lamb Open House will kick off the events season in the spring, with bouncing baby lambs from Lovey, Dot, Dulce, Brady, and the rest of the crew. We’ll be offering at least two grilling classes, with one focused on tailgate foods and one aimed at building women’s confidence in grilling (with a special award-winning female grillmaster!). We plan to host at least one on-farm dinner in mid summer, possibly a plated Saturday dinner or a Sunday asado.  If all goes well, we’ll host at least a couple of farmer workshops around livestock and land management.

Do you have requests for particular events, or ideas about how we can better serve YOUR food, family and farm needs?  Do you know someone you think would enjoy attending an on-farm event?  Please encourage them to sign up for our email list, so they can be in the know about farm happenings!

Thank you all so much for the kindness, community and appreciation you’ve shown us this year, and we are looking forward to more fun, hugs and great food in 2019.

Jenn and Chris

P.S. AND watch for news about our 2019 yurt crowdfunding campaign, coming soon!