Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
A gust of wind through the towering oak trees above sends down a smattering of acorns, cracking on the tin roof of 26 Goodines’ Way. It’s rainy and dismal on this cool, mid-October day, but the crackling woodstove keeps things warm and cozy inside the homestead, with the makings for chili cooking in the crockot….
As we gear up to move Runamuk from Starks to Norridgewock I’m preparing to construct a temporary hoop-coop for the laying flock, since there isn’t a readily available coop or barn at Paul’s place. I’ll document the whole project for you in an upcoming article, but for now just know that I’ve made my design,…
The sky was just beginning to lighten Saturday morning as I went out to the apiary with scissors and a wet sponge. The bees were not yet active so it was an ideal time to close up hives in preparation for moving. I manage a few hives for Ernie and Gwen Hilton of Hyl-Tun Farm…
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been more than two weeks since Runamuk and I became residents of Starks. This was our third move in the last six months, and like all of the other moves there has been a period where I was once again without internet access. That, coupled with the business of…
With just 3 weeks left til moving day, I’m looking forward to getting to work bringing Jim Murphy’s old farm back to life. But before I get to dig in there, I first have to get through a marathon work-spree. I haven’t had the chance to share with my readers and followers that not too long…
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…
There were times when the obstacles seemed insurmountable, times when I all but despaired of ever reaching my goal–when the dream of returning to the forested hillside where I found my salvation appeared forever out of reach; but I am finally able to say that yesterday, Friday, December 13th of this year 2013–we met with…
It’s strange that something so trivial as a well being drilled on our property should bring such excitement–but it does. The first time we lived at this property we did not have a fancy drilled well–or plumbing at all for that matter. We made use of one of the old dug wells on the farm…
On Wednesday the new mobile home was brought in to Runamuk. Here she is sitting in the driveway while the Ames crew does some last minute site-prep. This is what the mobile home company designed to be the back of the home, but I decided it will be the front of our home–mainly because it…
Yesterday the Ames crew were prepping the site for the cement pad to be laid. The ground was smoothed out and leveled, and while we were there they began laying a woven wire mesh inside the framework–it will serve as reinforcement for the cement. Keith and I decided that this was not the time to…