How do you run a small farm and have sanity at the end of the day to be a good family unit? I’m not really sure, we’re very much running this show with a “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” mentality. We don’t have it all figured out, I’m not sure we really want to have it all figured out. And quite frankly as grey hairs keep creeping onto my head I’m pretty sure NO ONE has it all figured out. But we’re slowly learning how to make this farm work for us instead of us constantly working for this farm. I can’t stop thinking about this article I read a few weeks ago called “Darwin was a Slacker and You Should be Too”. To save you the time of reading the article heres what it’s about: Charles Dickens, Henri Poincaré, and Ingmar Bergman showed an almost superhuman ability to focus on their work This superhuman ability comes from only focusing on something for four to five hours a day and napping, walking, and resting your brain for the rest …

During the school year, I usually go to bed with a tired mind and a restless body.  These days, though, I’m typically going to bed with a tired body and a mind full of ideas for what needs to get done the next day.  I’m not that old, but it only takes so many 10-12 hour days in a row to remind myself that I’m not getting any younger here.  The work is good, though, and usually provides a tangible result that teaching doesn’t often give to those of us crazy enough to keep at it.  Right now, though, this farming thing seems pretty crazy.  After a wet and cold spring, we were a little behind on our planting schedule.  Now, though, we’re struggling to get seeds to germinate with all this incredibly hot and dry weather we’d had so far in June.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s been absolutely beautiful weather, but a little moisture would go a long way.  And it’s amazing how different 80 degrees feels compared to 90 degrees, especially when …

Chris has been hauling major keester in the farming department. We purchased a BCS tractor and it has been a major game changer for us. We’re able to turn stuff over quickly and get plants in the ground more efficiently. We are in major prep mode as we head into wedding season. Our peonies are in their second year and we are SUPER excited to be able to finally cut on them next year. We have even squeezed in a little fun during this holiday weekend. Have a fun, safe holiday weekend friends.

If you knock yourself in the head in the vast acres of Illinois corn and soybean fields, does anyone hear it? No. The answer is no. Mothers Day needed some spicing up. And what better way to do it then accidentally knocking myself in the head with a t-post driver while being home alone? After a great morning of mimosas, cinnamon rolls, and reading in the sunshine under our walnut trees, Chris and Lincoln went to my in-laws to assist with a few project. I stayed behind to get some child-free work done. I started installing our trellising system for some of our cut-flowers. After driving in one t-post, I put on some safety headphones, because the metal-on-metal banging hurt my delicate and dainty ears. Little did I know that wearing these ginorm-o, yellow headphones will prevent me from a concussion twenty minutes later. I’m not sure how it happened, but I wacked my head with the driver. I thought, “hmm. that sort of hurt.” and then felt something wet seeping towards my forehead. “Sweat, …

Your mom really is a miracle worker. Because she tucked you at knight, kissed your owies, and can still take one look at you and know if you are about to catch a cold. Celebrate the important women in your life with three special ways from Finding Eminence Farm! Purchase a custom Mother’s Day Arrangement, take a class together, or visit us at the Retrofit Pop-Up Shop this Saturday, May 13, 2017.

This weekend over on Instagram Stories, I talked a little about “grit” and was surprised by the number of growers that reached out in appreciation for what I was saying. By grit, I mean the stuff no one wants to see or the stuff that takes away the magic and romanticism of farming. I listened to a flower farmer at a conference this past fall talk about how you shouldn’t show any grit or talk about how hard farming is because it makes people lose interest very quickly. While I agree there are some things we shouldn’t show, like Chris and I arguing, unwanted rodents that show up, crotch sweat, or ugly crying. But I really believe there are some “good gritty” things we should show. Like Lincoln wearing pajama pants in 75 degree weather, the look of frustration on Chris’s face as he figures out how to operate our new BCS tractor, or me explaining how tired I am from planting 1/10 of an acre of perennials on my hands and knees. I feel like good grit …

Please stay little forever.  Please let me never forget how you said, “I took a good nap, the sun is out, now we can blow bubbles!” Please let me never forget how Chris hates cats, yet Sweet Pea needs to constantly know where he is and likes him better than me, and I hate that.  Please let me never forget the salty, somewhat slobby kisses you give after dinner when you make your rounds thanking us for feeding you.  Please let me never forget that you are enjoying dressing yourself and that you are ROCKING that Daniel Tiger shirt with those cowboy boots.  Please let me never forget how hard it was to follow our dream and days like yesterday are the exact reason why we did.