Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
I excused myself from the farmers’ market yesterday to spend some quality time with the farm. Perhaps that sounds funny, but to this farmer there is a very real need to spend time outside in nature, working the land that I have devoted myself to. Having to work off the farm means that there are…
A peeping, cheeping box addressed to Runamuk Acres came to the post office in Madison early Wednesday morning, and the postal worker called at quarter after six to let me know that my chicks had arrived. Twenty-six birds total: 7 silver laced wyandottes, 7 speckled sussex, 6 delawares, 5 barred rocks and 1 free exotic…
Fall is here and I love it. I love all of the seasons as part of the wheel of the year. Each season brings something new and different, changing the landscape as only Mother Nature can. But I admit, I have a special affinity for Fall. For the cooler nights, the colorful spectacle that the…
Saturday’s “Beekeeping 101” workshop was a success and I am enamored–ecstatic–and relieved, lol. Okay, so there was only one student–but she was a very important guest on the farm. This woman traded me the new group of birds–the 18 laying hens, 4 heritage breed turkeys, and a goose named Michael–for 2 spots in Runamuk workshops….
It’s a fact that many farmers need to work off the farm to cover their living expenses or to have access to health insurance or other sorts of benefits otherwise not available to them. And while I strive to reach a point where Runamuk is infact a self-sustaining business that pays its farmers’ living expenses,…
Somehow it’s not hard to believe that it’s already almost mid-September. Perhaps other farmers feel the same sense of urgency that I do–from the moment that bare soil is exposed in the spring til the morning you wake to find the first killing frost upon the ground–there’s a sense of urgency–a sense that time is…
It’s been 2 weeks since I received that fateful call on my cell while I was at farmers’ market. It was a beautiful sunny summer day, I’d opted to leave Willow at home while I peddled my wares that day–partly because it was too hot on the blacktop parking lot for a dog, but largely…
I’m excited to announce the opportunity to participate in workshops here at beautiful Runamuk Acres! In the five years since I established Runamuk and the Somerset Beekeepers I’ve spent a fair amount of time teaching the local community about bees, beekeeping, pollinators and pollinator conservation, salve and soap-making. I’ve volunteered as a master gardener for the…
For those who don’t already know, I volunteer my time and services with not only the Somerset Beekeepers, but also with the Madison Farmers’ Market. As market manager, I serve local farmers and the communities of Madison-Anson, as well as the surrounding area. I’m privileged to work with some really great farmers, gardeners, and artisan crafters….
With the Open-Hive behind me, the garden in maintenance mode, and the bees content to do their thing, there’s a momentary lull in the activity here at Runamuk that affords me the opportunity to write. Generally speaking, things are going well here at Runamuk’s new location. It’s painstakingly slow progress, but it’s progress and I’m content…