Happy Autumnal Equinox! We blinked and summer passed. For us it was the haze of newborn days. A series of naps, diaper changes, meals, and suddenly it’s 7pm and time to wind down for bed. Sprinkle in a few swimming days, playing in the hose, on the trampoline, lots of popsicles, and horse lessons and that was summer. It’s been an interesting time for us with 3 kids in very distinct phases of childhood: infant, toddler, and middle childhood. It’s fun, and challenging, and full. And it has me longing for something of my own outside of my role as a mom. So, after the whole summer season off, it’s time to reopen our little mercantile for Fall.

The big news around here, in terms of the farm, came on my birthday, August 12. Those of you who follow along with the on-goings of the cosmos may remember there were three big events that day, one of which was a solar eclipse. The other two had to do with planetary shifts. On that day, Cliff came inside after tending to the four dogs and the 23 sheep (in the extreme heat), and announced he wanted to get rid of all the sheep and some dogs. He wants to spend his farm work time in gardens, tending to the plants and building a greenhouse instead of repairing fence and spending so much on vet bills and food. I looked at him and said, “Ok, I’m ready”.

I had this same feeling almost 4 years ago just before our second child was born. It took him one more kid to get there but eventually we both arrived. Somehow what started as a small component of a whole farm ecosystem became our entire farm identity. It’s time to regain our overall vision and refocus our attention to what we want to do here, which is grow plant food! And so began the great animal simplification of 2026. Yesterday we sent 19 sheep to a new farmstead near St. James, MO. We know they will be so happy and healthy there under great care. We found a new home for our beloved dog, Shadow, one of the puppy’s from the surprise litter a couple years ago, at another family homestead nearby where he gets to be king. And finally, our rescue dog, Saoirse, is going to be a perfect companion for our sweet friend and neighbor. With so few animals left, we no longer needed three livestock guardian dogs. Our original two dogs, Cu and Demi remain. Cu, our big, burly six year old Great Pyrenees, and Demi, our sweet family Border Collie.

We kept two sheep who both had surprise late season lambs, two ewes. This means we are no longer breeding and will no longer be selling lamb once we sell out of the meat we have now. While we’ll miss the product, we won’t miss those early morning trips to the processor; loading up our sweet sheep and sending them out of this world. It was a task with which Cliff and I always struggled, even while it deepened our appreciation for the sacrifice animals make to nourish us. This awareness will forever inform the way we eat meat and we are so thankful we don’t have to make this trip any more.

So from here on out, we’ll keep the few sheep for grazing around the farm, small batch wool, and ethereal purposes only. Maybe our kids will want to show them in 4H, or maybe we’ll just enjoy their peaceful presence and ability to transform grass and poison ivy into our favorite fiber.

Chickens too! We are slowly letting our flock fade away, as they inevitably do, and not replacing them. We’ll miss the eggs but there are many other local farms and homesteads nearby who sell plenty until we are ready to again.

We are excited to have the chance to dedicate our time to raising kids, tending gardens and to improving and building infrastructure to support our long-term goals instead of always putting out “fires” with animals.

I continued to bake bread for our family while on maternity leave and look forward to daily baking again. Keep an eye out on social media for posting what’s available daily and as always reach out to me directly via email (most reliable for a response) or on social media to see if we have what you have come for.

We don’t have any veggies presently, as I took the year off from the garden. I’m so glad I gave myself permission to let go of the pressure to “do it all” so I could really soak up my baby and allow myself to fully heal from birth. But wow, I miss our garden and fresh veggies even more than I thought I would. We all do. The garden reached a level of untamed I didn’t know existed. I’m talking 12 ft ragweed and wild amaranth. A full blown garden re-haul is in order but honestly we can’t wait.

Currently, we also have Fair Share Farm Ferments, Marion Milling Flour, and Golden Rule Honey. We have lots of lamb still until sold out. The end of an era. Also, we have a selection of beeswax candles and yarn as well.

We appreciate your loving support as we added our sweet new baby boy to the family last summer. I am eternally grateful I could put a full pause on most of what I do outside of motherhood this final postpartum. Last go-around, I was so preoccupied renovating a house and attempting to prepare to sell veggies it was all a blur. This time the intentional pause in my life was so restorative and redemptive and healing both physically and emotionally. The four of us were all able to dote on our baby together for weeks on end. It was heaven.

We hope to see you soon as we reintegrate into the community and refocus our farm’s vision as a family of five. Happy Fall!