Well folks it looks like Runamuk will continue to bootstrap it’s way into business. 20 years ago we could have easily gotten a loan for our start-up venture, but the game has changed and investors today want to see that you can start a business with nothing before they’ll give you money. My business counselor…
Category: Farming
The next hurdle…finding funding
Well we’ve got the land, we’ve got our ideas and plans and goals, now all we need is the money to put things into action. In order to even get started at the new site of Runamuk Acres, we’re going to have to establish a foundation at the new farm–that means all of the basics…
Resources for beginning farmers at the Maine Agricultural Trade Show
We came home from the Civic Center in Augusta filled with hopeful optimism that lingers with us even now, after spending the day at the Maine Agricultural Trade Show on Tuesday.
Designing a sustainable future with permaculture principles
When the idea of Runamuk first began to form in my mind, I envisioned a future for my family that revolved around living in harmony with the land. I imagined that we would cultivate, nurture and protect the land, and the land in turn would support and nurture our family for generations to come. I…
Gift of a lifetime
On December 21, 2012–the day of the Winter Solstice, I received the gift of a lifetime. After the flurry of opening gifts had passed we bundled up and trekked across town (when I say “across town”–I mean that we crossed the bridge that spans the Kennebec River, and went from Anson into Madison), the two…
Boundary marking ritual
The day came at last when Keith and I could go out to the old Burns farm to mark out our 50 acres and we were bubbling with enthusiasm and excitement. We’ve been together since our senior year of high school, some fifteen years–married for nearly thirteen of them–and building this old farm up to…
A long road
I went out to “Ye Olde Burns Farm” on Sunday to get these photos to share with you. Even after five years in-town, it still feels like going home when I drive out there. The drive up the hillside always fills me with anticipation, all the trees seem to be reaching out their limbs to…
Runamuk at the Farm Service Agency
Now that we have the agreement of Keith’s parents to have a portion of the family’s acreage signed over to us for Runamuk, I’ve been plowing along trying to finalize the details of the arrangement, while also exploring possible avenues for financing. In order for Runamuk to be a profitable and self-sustaining business we need…
A Home for Runamuk
I am ecstatic–I am ridiculously exuberant and utterly over-joyed. We have a home for Runamuk–a place where we will be able to expand our business and our efforts to lead a more self-sustaining life. A place where we can truly be ourselves. It is the old Burns-family farm-land, just five miles outside of Anson on…
Good news for next years’ honey
This has been an exciting year for the Runamuk apiary, we were able to expand from two to six hives throughout the summer. My new-found partnership with Medicine Hill in Starks gave me the chance to increase the number of colonies, and I seized the opportunity with both hands. And I am pleased to announce…