January Newsletter - Judah's First Steps

posted on

January 30, 2018

Judah took his first steps!!! Our little farmer-in-training has been standing up on things for months. For the past several months, we have thought Judah would be “walking next week.” But, our little guy was in no hurry to take the next step (no pun intended).

That all changed early this month when Judah turned, let go of the sink in our bathroom and calmly walked to Mariah who was standing across the room. We were stunned! It had finally happened! Since then Judah has continued to refine his skills: walking between toys, using objects as ladders to climb onto tall chairs, waving objects above his head while walking, and most recently mud throwing.

Check out the photo below for digital evidence, Judah had his first experience with mud. Needless to say, he loved it! Warm temperatures on a calm Sunday afternoon combined with his new found mobility turned into a great time for the whole family.After Judah shoved a handful of dirt into his mouth, my mind was drawn back to an experience we had several months before at a neighbor’s house. We were visiting on a warm afternoon when Judah had first learned to crawl. Standing in the neighbor’s driveway, Mariah went to set Judah down to play. Realizing what Mariah was doing the neighbor quickly explained that they had just sprayed their driveway and it wasn’t safe for Judah to be near.

I was stunned. Was there no safe place left for kids to play? Being restoration agriculturalists, we don’t use harsh chemicals or herbicides on the farm or at home. But just next door, not even the driveway was safe.That moment really highlighted for Mariah and I why we do what we do. Modern industrial agriculture has sold the culture on chemicals. Everything is sprayed with toxic chemicals: pastures are sprayed to  ”keep out the weeds”, crop fields are sprayed multiple times a year for weeds, bugs, harvest, and seemingly because the chemical company ran a sale, and fruits and vegetables receive nearly the same treatment.

The results of this system are devastating- soil is sterilized, beneficial insects are wiped out, water resources are tainted, and farmers become more and more reliant on industrial chemical companies. Even worse, the food produced from these sterile, chemical bathed soils is nutrient barren and has often been directly sprayed. In our country today, most families are not starving for calories they are starving for nutrients. One need only consider the myriad of health issues that are assaulting families today as evidence of the consequences of industrial agriculture and nutrient barren food.

Our farm is different. Our mission is to provide nutrient rich food that promotes healthy thriving families while restoring the health and vitality of the land. We want the best for our family, and we want the best for you too. By mimicking biological systems and utilizing animals in their strengths to promote the health of the soil and pasture we eliminate the need for chemicals, GMO’s, poisons, antibiotics, herbicides and insecticides. When our soil is healthy and alive the food we produce is packed with nutrients.We won’t produce anything we don’t think would nourish Judah or use anything that we believe might harm him. That includes many “organic” chemicals.  The result: peace of mind. When we feed Judah from the farm's bounty, we are confident it is nutrient rich, free from chemicals, and safe. We call it family friendly food.

Do you want family friendly food? You will be able to taste the difference in your food, see the difference in your family, and experience for yourself the peace of mind that comes from watching your family thrive.

To your thriving family

Your Farmers,
-David, Mariah, and Baby Judah

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A Template For Family Christmas Tree Cutting Success

A Tale of A Farm Christmas Not Too Long Ago"We grabbed all four boys (yep we had another one :) ..... and with a hard 1 hour deadline before we had to be somewhere else we set out.  Aided by the knowledge that we needed to find a tree and fast, I set off in the truck for an area of the farm I had never looked for a tree in before....Well finding a tree underneath the water hydrant in the field was admittedly very unlikely but we had to make an emergency stop after Levi (who was sitting on my lap) deposited a fermented version of the milk he had slurped over the last 3 hours or so down my hands.....Having washed off Levi's contribution to the adventure, we continued on and thankfully found a tree rather swiftly afterwards. The discussion about the tree in question went something like this - Mariah, Judah and Ephraim in rapid conversation about how the tree was or was not too small and about how it probably wasn't any smaller than previous trees.....Me - pointing out this tree was the largest one we had ever considered and might not fit through the doorway. After several minutes of discussion, I took initiative and began cutting down the tree. The noise of the chainsaw drowning out the sobs of "Daddy that tree's too small!" You will note that the top of the tree is not visible in the picture.....Guessing it might touch our tall ceiling in the house, I actually cut about two feet off of the bottom of the tree - to the sounds of even more tears, wailing, and great consternation. Haha, that last cut was also important when it came to getting it on the truck - it was almost too large for the truck bed and I could barely flip it onto the back - for some reason there was a lack of volunteers to help lift "the smallest tree ever onto the back." The highly concerned members of the family had calmed down some as we drove back to the house and thankfully the tree did fit through the front door - just barely :)And it didn't quite touch the ceiling! Afterwards the boy in question who was crying because the tree was too small came to me and apologized of his own accord..... as he strolled away he commented " that's the biggest tree we have ever had!"He was right. It was probably 2-3x bigger than the previous biggest tree! Next year I'm thinking something knee high. There was a little tree that would fit the bill over by the hydrant......"

"There is nothing like a wild cut farm cedar tree for Christmas!

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