Posts by Bob
Scary Photo
The adage ‘Nature abhors a vacuum’ seems true on our farm: disturb the soil and in a few days something will grow – desirable or maybe not. The ‘weeds’ around the strawberries and garlic were pretty awesome this year. . . But this image scares the bejbeebers out of me. This is a field on…
Read MoreThe Appropriate Skill Set – Farmers and Bankers
Reading "Credit Skills for Lending to the Agricultural Sector" – a report prepared to help Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) understand how to make loans to farm businesses – helped me see how bankers view farmers. Since most farmers need bankers, this prespective is important. And I'm starting to think it's way out of whack.…
Read MoreA Permaculture Puzzle
Want to help with the farm design? Here’s a challenge for you. The field immediately west of the farmstead (the one that you see in the header photo) appears flat until you look closely. In fact, it’s a gentle valley channeling water north and then east – straight at the pole shed! That’s why I…
Read MoreA “Family-scale” Farm
What name can I give to the vision I have of a farm enterprise that is ecologically resilient and economically viable? I’ve been using a string of adjectives to describe the farm(s) I’d like to finance: small-scale, sustainable, diversified, etc. Perhaps I’m overly romantic, but the notion of “family farm” nearly hits the mark –…
Read MoreThe Golf Course
In a few weeks some friends will be getting married at the farm so I’m trying to spiff up the place for the occasion. The old tractor that I use for mowing is being a bit temperamental so I’ve used it and the trail mower and a regular four-cycle lawn mower to get the ‘lawn’…
Read MoreSpring Surprises
Fourteen inches of snow on Mayday! C’mon! Wet, heavy, miserable stuff that took out about 30 or 40 trees – I don’t have an exact count. Needless to say I’ve been snuggled up to a chainsaw clearing those that fell onto the fields. Then in mid-May a look at the fields indicated that something was…
Read MoreA Permaculture Partnership
Exploring the contours and dynamics of the farm this winter, I’ve begun to glimpse how it may one day work as an integrated whole: wooded hillsides, stream and wetlands, open spaces and pastures. Though it’s only a small farm there are infinite possibilities for interconnected and complementary animals and plants. When asked, “How big is…
Read MoreDiscovering Keylines
Water, water, water! Last summer we learned a lot about the power of water on our farm. Still reeling from last summer, I found that, in his new book Restoration Agriculture, Mark Shepard argues that the first step in making long-term plans for a farm is understanding how water enters, moves through and leaves a…
Read MoreObama, Carter and Public Service
Progressives have been hopeful that with no future elections to concern him, President Obama would consider the economic plight of ordinary citizens and move in a more populist direction. His nomination of Jack Lew is just one indication that this is a false hope. Taking a page from Bill Clinton, the legacy that concerns Obama…
Read MoreThe Young Walsers’ 2012
Here is a bit of our year in review, for them wot’s interested. Click on any image to enlarge it and see the caption. For more information about the farm, look around Uncle Bob’s Blog. For more on Bob’s Dreg Song Project in Scotland check out BobWalser.com.
Read More