Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
A week ago today I was in a frantic frenzy to get the Runamuk homestead de-cluttered, cleaned, and scoured in preparation for an inspection by Maine’s Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations. Marshall Piper, the Consumer Protection Inspector who manages inspection and licensing of home-processing and commercial kitchen licensing for our area was due to…
It is with a heavy heart that I share this news with you. In the wee-hours of the morning on Sunday, July 20th, our brave little dog Ava ferociously faced off with one of the forest’s wild creatures, and lost her battle. We did not see the animal that took her life, so we cannot…
It was the first thunderstorm we’d had since moving back onto the property–and what a doozy of a storm it was! Howling winds and torrential rains, hail, and deafening thunder berated the area. Pease Hill, where the Runamuk farm is settled near the peak of the hill (one of the highest hills in this area),…
Sunday was the first market of the season for our local Madison Farmers’ Market–Runamuk was there with 4 other vendors, and also the local boy scout group was there with us. It was a big improvement from last year when it was just myself and 85 year-old Thelma Lawrence of Hawley’s Little Acre in Madison. …
My first attempt at making video for the internet is–well–not great, but it’s not completely horrible either. Honestly, I’m just not comfortable in front of a camera. But I did it, and I added it to our Indiegogo campaign page and with a deep breath I went live with our fundraising campaign. I’ve got all…
We’re gearing up to get underway here at Runamuk, we’ve got animals lined up to come to the farm (you know–as soon as the snow melts so that we can build shelters for them!), we’ve arranged for a neighbor with a tractor to come till the new gardens, and the bees are flying! I’m so…
What’s a beekeeper to do during the winter? Those–like me–who hold such passion and adoration for their honeybees–for whom there is no better feeling in all the world than watching these busy girls coming and going, carrying pollen and nectar to the hive; for whom opening the hive, viewing the larvae-grubs in their cells, or…
We’re finally moved in at the new homestead and the family is settling back into our familiar routines. With my kitchen unpacked, I am at long last able to get back to my typical Sunday baking habit–admittedly, homemaking (cooking, baking, cleaning, etc.) is not my most favorite of activities, but baking my own breads really…
It’s that time of year again–no, I’m not talking about the holidays–it’s time to start thinking about Bee-School! This year is the 3rd annual Bee-School offered by the Somerset Beekeepers, hosted by the University of Maine’s Somerset County Cooperative Extension. I’m excited to be able to teach this course yet again. Last year we had…
It was painful to visit the farm after we were forced to move into town. And easier to avoid it, even though the old trailer sat there, rotting away, and needing to be cleared out. The mess nagged at my conscience, but still we left it. It remained a scourge upon the land, a hideous…