A Story Of Hope

I’d like to tell you a story about Hope. Yes, capital H, because Hope is a creature. This year lambing came at an unseasonable time for us. Since our ram paddock needed repairs, we were not able to keep the randy rams away from the ewes (the ladies) and they bred in August instead of September or October like they usually do. That meant we had lambs born in January, during the absolute cold heart of the year, when we had record low temps (in the teens most nights). Many of our ewes had their lambs in the middle of the night, and by early morning by the time we could find them, they were too cold to muster the energy they needed to find mama’s teat and get the lifesaving colostrum they needed.  

    Some of our lambs perished before we could find them and save them, but this little lamb, named Hope, survived despite the odds being against her. Her mother’s name is Faith, and Faith, on a freezing cold morning, had her twin lambs, Hope and Love. For some reason she picked Love to clean off and nurse, but Hope she rejected (this is sounding a little too allegorical, I know). She didn't even bother licking her off (as all mama sheep do if they are being maternal and helping their lambs survive). A neighbor happened to walk by and see her after she gave birth. He told us, "One lamb is healthy and nursing mom, the other lamb looks dead."

So Pete and I go find the lamb. Sure enough, she is not dead, but certainly right at the door. She was cold, and unable to take a bottle because she couldn’t hold up her head. We brought her inside our home and put her in front of the fireplace and cleaned the afterbirth off of her with towels. Then we put a heating mat on her and brought her temp up. While we worked on cleaning her and raising her temp, I was defrosting colostrum (that we save from our cows colostrum) that I had pulled out of the freezer.  After the lamb warmed up a bit she was able to drink from a bottle this lifesaving elixir that is colostrum. She sucked weakly and wearily from the bottle at first, but by the second feeding she was a little stronger.

    She did not nurse well enough by day two for me to think she was going to survive. I started to think it was folly to name this creature Hope. I really didn’t want my Hope to die (literally or metaphorically speaking). But by day three she started nursing like a little champ. And now she’s just the most robust little imp of a lamb, so miraculous I can hardly believe it.

Why am I taking the time to share this little lamb’s tale? I’m sharing because I know all too well, that when life is difficult, and the outcome looks bleak, it is quite easy to lose hope. I have lost it before, and know it to be a feeling akin to death, and things often die as a result. Maybe a relationship, maybe a dream, whatever the loss, it’s not good. If you find yourself in a dismal situation today, I encourage you to hang on to hope. As stewards of the land, we get up every day with a belief that our interaction with this created world can actually make it better, not worse. I call it Kingdom come, God’s will here on earth as it is in heaven.

    Now I know we are not all farmers and land stewards, but we are all stewards of beautiful created things in the world. And by our interaction with them; kids, spouses, friends, dogs, cats, plants, etc., we can make their life better. We can be beacons of hope and life. We can believe in hope, that we can bring light and life where darkness and death once flourished. Who is the person or creature that needs your light today? Don’t let go of Hope. Even against all odds, miracles still happen. 

Bless you friends!

What's new at our Farm Stand this Fall?

Happy Fall season to you! I hope the change of the seasons finds you thriving and well!

Here at the farm we are enjoying the cooler weather and we look forward to the changes that each season brings. So what do those changes look like for Woodsong Farm?

As our laying hens age, we select the chickens that graduate to stew hens. What is a stew hen you ask? It is chicken meat that is best cooked in a slow cooker, large pot, or instant pot, cooked slowly (12hrs is good) and yields delicious meat, but most especially LOTS of rich, magically delicious chicken stock. 

How does one cook such a bird. And why would one want to??

Well, it’s an extremely economical way to yield for yourself lots of chicken broth. Which could then again be bone broth. To cook, I simply put a stew hen in a large instant pot (or you could do a slow cooker), fill the pot with water, add my veggies, and in the morning I have about a GALLON of broth. And these bird were pasture raised, organically fed, corn-free, soy-free all of their lives. This is some nutrient rich goodness!!

What do I like to add to my stock? I usually add about a 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 onion, 3 celery stalks, 3 carrots, some whole peppercorns, and viola!

You can also use the meat for dishes such as: chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie, chicken noodle soup, butter chicken, etc., you get the idea.

We will be selling the stew hens from our farm stand only, located at our farm in Chattahoochee Hills. The farm stand is open Thursdays from 9am-8pm. If you interested in purchasing any product from the farm store, simply email or text us your order by Wednesday to pick up product the following Thursday.

At the farm store we also sell pasture raised, organically fed chicken eggs, pasture raised, organically fed pork, and raw grass fed cow’s milk.

The farm stand is located next to our farmhouse at our farm in Chatt Hills.

We hope to see you this fall! Keep your eyes out for the new babies that are coming this season (200 fuzzy creatures of some kind).

Blessings!

Our Story (How in the world did we become farmers??)

Our Farming Journey: How’d We Get Here?

How did we decide we wanted to be farmers when we grew up? Did we inherit land? Did our parents farm? No and no. So how did two landless, first generationers decide to farm? It’s a somewhat convoluted story, but to give you an idea of who we are, what we do, and what we hope to accomplish with our “bit of earth”, please allow me to tell you our story.

Circa 2008

I could go back a long way. Neither set of parents were farmers, but my grandmother grew up on a cotton farm. Cotton was the ‘cash’ crop, but the family raised everything that they ate, what we would now call homesteaders. Mimi always cooked big, delicious, southern meals out of her garden bounty. And I learned from her example that food was a way to minister kindness and love into the soul of another.

Peter didn't grow up on a farm but has always been good with animals, plants and machines.  He remembers visiting the Amish farms when he was young and marveling at their simplicity and community support.  When he was in highschool he worked on his uncle’s horse farm as well as a neighboring hay, cattle and sod farm during his summers.  He learned more on that farm than he probably did in high school and has been farming on and off ever since.  

Peter and I married soon after we graduated from college, about 10 years ago. He studied International Studies, business management and Spanish, and I studied Child and Family Development. We were offered positions with the non-profit that I interned with for a summer prior to graduation. This non-profit was in Ooty, India. Our job was to establish the infrastructure of a horse therapy program for victims of human trafficking. In many ways, this was my dream job. I had a fire in my bones to help those affected by this horrific trade, and also a lifetime love for horses. We worked on pasture establishment, fencing, pony training and care, as well as actual horse therapy sessions. A year into this job, my mother’s Multiple Sclerosis started to get worse, so we both believed we should be close to home to help out my family.

India 2010

We kind of stumbled into farming full time. For some reason upon arrival back to the states, I had this burning desire to get some…. dairy goats. I didn’t really understand it, I just wanted to be around these silly animals. We started working part time on an organic homestead with goats. While working there, I didn’t have any children and had lots of free time to read. I was skimming a TIME magazine article when I read about this crazy farmer named Joel Salatin. This man was farming in Virginia using holistic, regenerative methods to raise animals, produce excellent food, and heal the earth. I was blown away! I thought all egg laying chickens were raised in confinement. I thought cattle were only finished on feedlots. Could agriculture really be practiced in such a way that benefits everyone (people, animals, plants, soil life, the environment, etc?) You mean you could farm like this and make a living?!

So we began milking goats, then moved on to milking sheep and managing egg layers for Many Fold Farm, and after three years there, we started our own farm, Woodsong. Farming, as you guessed it, is really hard work. Some recent statistics from the USDA tell that 80% of farms go out of business after their second year. And only 2% survive to the 5th year. Those are some pretty grim statistics. And I’ll be honest, sometimes it feels like a whole lot of work for not many rewards (monetarily speaking). But we get to feel the therapeutic effects of our hands in the dirt. We get to frolic with the chickens, cows, and pigs, and on our good days, revel in their antics and charm. We get to raise our children wild and free, and teach them to value hard work. I get to teach them in my farmschool homeschool. But also, I get to share this magical place we call our home and farm with you.

So this is my hope and dream for our farm: That just like the children in India, you would find in nature a place that you belong, a place filled with beauty and grace and goodness. We hope to share that in every bite of good food that you put in your mouth. And if you pick up your products from our farm stand (open every Thursday from 9am-8pm), I hope you get a chance to see with your own eyes where your food comes from. Come pet a baby calf, increase your athletic prowess by trying to catch a chicken, ponder quiet ruminations while lounging with our cows. Listen to the frogs singing in the pond, come pick your own flower bouquet (U-pick garden open mid-July).

I pray the natural beauty of the farm is an antidote to the chaotic, hurried pace of our modern life. I pray the beauty is a balm. I pray the food is healing. I pray that in these creatures, in this place, you see the goodness of God.

A big move, a baby on the way, pork, and a farm store

Hello dear farm friends! It's been a while since we've given you an update so I though I would fill you in on the latest.

If it seems like we have fallen off the end of the planet, that's because we have been in the middle of moving our family and farm for the past few months.  We moved into a well worn, old pre-civil war farmhouse so that we could live where we farm. And we love it! It has been a long and exhausting process, but the new land and home will make everything we do more efficient and enjoyable. Living where we farm means no more commuting twice a day just to milk the cows! We are so thankful for this resettling. 

I (Kristin) am also very pregnant and expect a baby literally any day now. I am 39 weeks along. We expect another strapping and adorable farmer boy.

Baby bump and Beulah the cow

On product news, we have pasture/forest raised pork now available. If you are interested in our delicious, humanly raised pork, you can purchase at Morningside Farmer's Market in Atlanta on Saturday mornings from 8am-11:30, or at our farm store on Thursdays.

And yes, we now have a farm store! Rustic though it may be, it will be open on Thursdays from 9am-8pm. The store will be manned by farmer Pete or myself and we accept cash, check, or credit card for purchases. If you are interested in this option, simply place your order via email at info@woodsongfarm.net or text at 678-787-5181 no later than Wednesday evening. This way we can ensure we have plenty of product for you and can reserve your order.  You will find the list of our current products and prices here.

It's been a joy serving you and getting to know you, our dear customer. Thanks so much for supporting your local farmers. We love what we do. Let's keep on doing it!

Grace...harvesting that which I did not sow

The longer I farm, the more I learn that farming has much more to offer us than good food. There are so many lessons to be found in the earth. It's comes with challenges and opportunities. Many rewards and pains. Thorns and roses. Slugs and Dahlias.

My first dahlia bloom this season. Isn't she lovely!

The funny thing about this season so far is that despite our hard work and best efforts, our harvest with many enterprises has been less than desired. But something happened in the midst of this feeling of scarcity. I opened my eyes and looked around me.  The things that we planned and sowed have not done as planned. The seeds that we did not sow, the ones that self sowed from the previous year, the wild things, are abounding. Just look at the zinnias in my garden. I didn't plant a single seed.

Zinnias, zinnias, zinnias!!!

Sometimes despite our best efforts things fail. We fail. Do we forgive ourselves when that happens?  Do we allow others the oppotunty to fail?  Do we extend grace?

 Today I'm looking around, and everywhere I look I see the grace of God. In a flower I didn't plant. A seed I didn't sow. Blackberries wild in the woods. Queen Anne's lace on the roadside. Invasive herbs that turn out to be the best filler in a bouquet.  And I'm so thankful. 

And of course this grace transcends so much more than flowers and dirt. It goes straight to our soul.  

What's in a name? Woodsong...

It's a tricky thing, coming up with a name for a farm, or any name  that you think might be around for a while. How did we choose Woodsong?

We live in a place surrounded by dark, dense forest. The forest has not been cared for. It was probably clear cut 10 years ago, and now it is populated by thick scrubby trees and no under story to speak of. Deer love it here, and coincidentally so do ticks.

It's not the loveliest wood to behold. It's wild, dark, and full of nasties, such as the aforementioned ticks. Sometimes the world feels like that to me. Dark, wild, full of nasties....

And then, if I wake up early enough and listen sometime in early Spring, I hear it. Amidst the wild. Piercing the darkness. Rising with the dawn, a song.

Despite the crazy world we live in, there is beauty here that would pierce your heart and break it, if you would but listen. Can you hear it?

It's the woodsong.

There is beauty and joy and goodness to be found. There are praises to be sung, first thing as the sun rises, and again as the sun sets, just like the wood thrush.

And for our farm,

May it be like the wood thrush. A song in the chaos, a light in the darkness, doing right when it's a whole lot easier to just do what's easy or what pays. To remember that there is so much goodness and beauty and joy to be found. To have thankful hearts. May we be a farm that produces this goodness and shares it with others.

May our bounty nourish your bodies. And may your hearts be blessed by the joy found in the wood thrush's song.