(2018)

Around 1971 my grandparents bought some farmland in south-eastern Ohio, hoping to turn it into a getaway from the city and possibly move down there. They dug a beautiful pond and planted 500+ trees, turning rolling meadows and farmland into the start of some beautiful woods. Nowata Farm (as named by my Grandma) is 80+ acres of secluded woodlands. It’s my ideal place: limited cell service, no electricity, and the only noise pollution is the local 4-wheelers and lawnmowers.

The land holds so many family memories (1971)

My Aunt G can trace her love for nature and wilderness to growing up as a kid on the farm. It was the first time she was given the freedom to run wild- going up to the local dairy farm for milk, discovering mushrooms and just plain getting dirty.

Around the 1980s plans changed the land was left to grow wild and return to nature. When I was a kid we went to visit it once and my only memory was all the burs. My sister and I picked more the 300 burs from my mom’s favorite sweater as her Christmas present that year. Although it was overgrown and wild I remember loving every second of it.

Dreams (2015)

The farm passed to a distant memory for me until a few years ago when I was dreaming about tiny houses with a good friend. Then I remembered: the family has land. And it’s beautiful. And I could build a tiny cabin. I’ve always loved building things from a young age and it has been a dream of mine to build my own space. With my experience in deck building, roofing, and other odd jobs, coupled with  the simple fact I can read, I decided to build a tiny cabin on my own.

But it isn’t as simply as going down to the Farm and plopping a structure down. The land had been effectively abandoned for 20+ years. Nature and local hunters had taken it over. There are quite a few permanent tree stands, discarded bullet casings, chewing tobacco tins, and trash scattered around the property. Old buildings had collapsed and paths didn’t exist anymore.

My journey began with a massive clean up that took me well on 2 years, as I was going down whenever I could (which sometimes wasn’t very often).

Now, finally, it’s time to build.

 

The Project, Part Two (2025)

It’s been years since “The Project” has been updated.

2018 to 2025… it feels like a lifetime.

COVID made everything feel like a lifetime.

During the pandemic, the land became a much-needed refuge. We spent nearly every weekend down in the woods, soaking up the peace and quiet and “oh my goodness we are out of our house and the city!” vibes.

Now, The Project has shifted.

It’s still family land.

It’s still a living time capsule.

But it’s become something more.

 

We have friend camping trips, long weekends in the now-built cabin, and sojourns to the pond on desperately hot days.

My partner goes down to draw plants as inspiration for her pottery. I have tattoos of my favorite ephemeral spring wildflowers. Working on the land inspired us to take our garden in the city more seriously, expanding it into raised beds and spreading it across our entire yard.

On top of that, the world has drastically shifted.

(has it shifted, or is it rather simply more loudly overtly transphobic/racist/xenophobic/genocidal due to the rampant rise of fascism and the new-yet-old religion of win-at-all-costs capitalism that has led to unbelievable amounts of misinformation and fear-based political mongering? asking for a friend… )

So.

Instead of tiny moments of dopamine posting photos on social media, I’m going for big moments of dopamine where I lose myself (for just a little bit) in the act of reflecting and sharing the few people who care to read.

I’m going all-in for my community. The people who surround me, support me, let me support them.

My I’ll feed you-you’ll-feed-me drive-to-the-hospital walk-your-dog fix-a-broken-door make-music-together check-in-to-see-if-you-need-a-random-hug wanna-go-look-at-trees lets-organize-a-gathering-together community.

Welcome to Now At A Farm, version 2.0

The Project has expanded.

It is still updates on the family land, deep dives into plants, and recording memories.

It is also chats about gardening, nature, side projects, and their allegories for resiliency, community, and chosen family.

I hope to keep this updated.

I hope it becomes a space to process, both for me and maybe?

Maybe.

Maybe a space for you too.

Welcome to Now At A Farm.