the bohemian shepherdess

Being a farmer was something I felt a strong connection to for quite some time. In 2015 a door opened and I was able to turn my large family garden into a market garden. I had the whole farmers market season planned out. It was going to be both beautiful and delicious.  Each week our market table was filled with vegetables, flowers, eggs, and sourdough bread. The community embraced my new farm venture and my love of serving others through farming deepened. I had only just got started when it began to rain. And rain. And rain. For two straight months it rained every single day.  My crops either rotted in the ground or were washed away because of flooding. This was a major blow but I wouldn’t let this setback put out my fire.  After reassessing and thinking long and hard about the layout of my land, I decided that I would need to be a different type of farmer if I were to bloom where I was planted.  So I stopped focusing on what wasn’t working and opened my eyes to what was working. 

During all of those months of flooding I had successfully kept a herd of dairy goats dry and healthy. In the garden, I still had herbs like calendula and comfrey thriving, while plantain and dandelions filled the wild places in between. Right then I decided instead of producing nutrient dense food for the body, I would utilize what I had to produce nutrient dense food for the skin.  

 

Seven years into this adventure I can truly say that this path fits me very well.  At heart, I am and always have been a maker, as well as a perfectionist, who loves to please others with what I craft. The bohemian shepherdess allows me to purposefully combine all the things I love: farming, herbalism, formulating, making, art, design, and serving others. I couldn’t be more happy with my role within the community.  I have met the best people along the way and it makes me so happy knowing that I am producing good things that benefit others from what I grow on my small farm.