The New Year
As we enter the new year, the pull push forces of reflection on the past and divination into the future are equally great. With that productive tension in mind, we are excited to be starting to draft and distribute our farm journal notes that will simultaneously serve as:
A prompt for us to reflect on the trends and learnings on the farm, in the household, and among our village as we gain perspective and share out what we are thinking
Leverage the generative process of writing to help us organize our thoughts and plans to make decisions –which there are seemingly endless amounts to make
An additional mechanism to make the farm and the broader community we are building an inclusive process and invite you all into the a regular snap shot of what is happening outside on the farm and inside our heads and among our conversations
Our aim is to publish some journal notes on a regular basis, with contributions coming from all members of our family and perspectives drawn from all corners of our complicated lives, centering on the day to day experience on the farm. As we approach the turning of the years, our first entry will be themed around cycles.
The close of the calendar year represents many things, both logistically and symbolically. Formally closing down the farm store for the season, storing our equipment, and wintering our outside water lines and pipes feels definitive for the impending cold that is coming and slowing of the ag. Season, which always ends with a culmination for us as we close out the year with xmas tree and wreath season. But it also represents the completion of a series of decisions we made a full year ago about animal production and schedule, business activities and capital projects. While we always have had an eye deep into the future, many decision points only went so far as the end of this calendar year. With these commitments closing, we are now making a new set of decisions that will dictate the farm activities and scale for the coming year–and beyond (look out for a future post about those decision points and what they represent). The end of the year also means school vacation, family interactions, rituals and friends and much more. So much fodder for reflection and perspective;) Similarly, the beginning of the year promises new plans to be made, new rhythms and routines to either adopt passively (by not changing them at all) or by proactively setting a new course.
While the calendar year represents just an annual transition, it also reminds us that there is a seasonality to our lives. Despite entering winter on an annual basis, it is never far from mind that Lydia and I–and so many folks we are close with– are very much in the summer of our lives, with all the fullness and energy that comes with it. Life promises to slow down during the winter months, but all things being relative we are still sprinting as fast as seemingly our legs can tolerate on many levels. Sometimes, there is dissonance in the contrast of life and annual season, but when these two things can work complementary, that is a very sweet harmony. Personally, I find rest more challenging and less of a natural state than running, but I recognize its utility and appreciate the annual cycles that impose it upon me. I will work diligently to try to lean into the season and all it offers; the kicking off of this blog represents a primary way I intend to do that, as I sit compose this note while sitting in front of the fire, soaking up its elemental heat, surrounded by slumbering animals. Welcome 2026!
Derek