Sfumato Farm

On Importing Firewood

For those who heat partially or entirely with firewood, sometimes it isn't easy to procure enough from your property to meet the need for the winter season. In these cases, we are often left with the option of purchasing firewood. Sometimes this results in the firewood coming from a few

Restoring a 1930s Farm Sink

This was a fun project over the summer. Took a while to get it done, but the end result is great and hopefully it'll last another 90 years at least!

2020 Garden Review

Gardens are often aspirational. We have grand plans in December and January when we order seed and we may even get seeds started on time, only to fall behind quickly come midsummer. That was the story we encountered this year. Not only a pandemic, but also finishing our house addition

scything

Scything Demonstration

My cousin, David, and my Dad both asked to see a video of me scything, so I turned it into a bit of an instructional demonstration. Enjoy! Using a scythe kit from Scythe Supply [https://www.scythesupply.com] and a 85cm Fux Haying Blade from One Scythe Revolution [https://onescytherevolution.

Footings and Floods

It's been an abnormally dry summer here. Last year was abnormally wet, so maybe it's just balancing it out. But while it hasn't rained much for months, nature decided to drop 5"+ of rain in the last week. The Commonwealth was in a moderate drought state, so it's welcome. I

house addition

Groundbreak

When we moved to Sfumato in 2013, Whitney had but one strong caveat: We'd either expand the house or move by the five year mark.

goats

The Baby Goat Countdown

Sing that article title (badly) to the 80s Europe hit "The Final Countdown" and that's where we are. The first goat born on our farm years ago, Faye, is pregnant here for the third time. She's been seperated with her first daughter (Minerva) from the rest of the herd (Freckles

Seed Starting for 2019

We're a bit late this year getting seeds started. It's been a very wet 2018 and everything around the farm has been getting behind, as it's effectively been a mudslide anywhere you turn. I purchased a large number of plastic cell starters 3 years ago before I really started thinking

farmlife

Saying Goodbye to Beauregard

I’m sad to report that we lost Beauregard the billy goat a few days ago. John and I have been taking it pretty hard. He had gotten anemic a couple weeks ago, but John had been treating him and we thought he was doing better. Then John found him

construction

A Foyer Landing Zone

When we bought Sfumato, the foyer was pretty simple. It worked well enough for two, and with Quincy it was still manageable. Once Gabe arrived and then Teddy as well, the area became difficult to use. It was almost impossible to pass to the closet to gain access to coats.

breastfeeding

Weaning and other thoughts on Nursing

Teddy last nursed two weeks ago. Even just typing that sentence makes me emotional! I am definitely still in hormonal limbo so bear with me if I come across as maudlin. I do NOT take my nursing relationships for granted when my babies are born because I had such a

birthstory

Teddy's Birth Story, A Year Later

1am Thursday, October 27th two days after my due date, I awoke to regular contractions about five minutes apart. They weren’t super strong, but regular and strong enough that I couldn’t sleep so I dared excitement. As John slept beside me and I debated how to pass the

preparedness

Intro to Preparedness

Recently, some friends who are new homeowners asked us about the basics of being prepared. Here's their primary question: > Now that we're semi-normal people who actually live in a house, I'm trying to figure out how to be somewhat prepared (hurricanes make you think...). So...here's where we are. I'd

essentialoils

Lavender: My first essential oil love

I've been using essential oils for four years now and lavender will forever be my first true love. It is known for its anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antidepressant, antiseptic, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. It also has antispasmodic, analgesic, detoxifying, hypotensive and sedative effects. I think most people know lavender is supposed to

The Athayde Musical Canon

My late mother used to quiz my brother and I on classical music and classic rock in the car. 10,000 points if we could name that tune! "No, no 20,000 points!!!" She would plead for us to take a stab at naming the artist at the very least.

canning

Peach Picking Part Deux

Earlier in the summer, we went strawberry picking at Chiles Orchard [https://www.sfumatofarm.com/2017/06/23/strawberry-picking-at-chiles-orchard/]. We went back another time for peach picking but I didn't manage many pictures since I was wrangling all three kids by myself. I thought we had picked enough peaches to

naturalremedies

12 Natural Ways to Manage Back Pain

Whether cultivating a garden or a family, let's agree that it's called "back breaking work" for a reason! Four days ago, I threw my back out for the first time since having Teddy Laine last October. I had a lot of back problems after I had Gabe starting from when

kombucha

Brewing Kombucha

I used to be scared of fermentation, but once you start doing it you see how hard it is to actually mess it up! My kombucha journey started with me posting on a Facebook mom's group asking if anyone had an extra scoby. A scoby is a mother culture or

homesteadoji

We were on a podcast!

I posted this on Facebook, but darn that #Facebookalgorithm Two weeks ago, John and I were on our friend Nicole's podcast "Living Free in Tennessee" and had fun talking about our farm and why we created Homesteadoji [http://livingfreeintennessee.com/2017/08/14/episode-47-a-colorful-way-to-express-your-homestead-journey-homesteadoji/] . But if you are like me

groceryshopping

Couponing!

So I've clipped coupons in the past - digital and paper - but it's felt pretty random. No strategy. Enter my friend Kelsey, marketing maven and couponing diva. Can I say that this feels rather intimate...sharing our grocery list? Kinda like showing you the messy innards of my stocked

Strawberry Picking at Chiles' Orchard

We went picking strawberries a few weekends back at Chiles' Peach Orchard [http://chilesfamilyorchards.com/orchards/chiles-peach-orchard/] in western Albemarle and I made a fun video of our excursion: 15 pounds or so, half of which became jam, a quarter of which was eaten, and the remainder was frozen. Keep

Ben Falk's Advice for Sfumato Farm!

Before we invested more in our orchard with either time or money, we wanted a professional opinion on our permaculture design and general plan for the property so we booked Ben Falk [http://www.wholesystemsdesign.com/who-we-are/] for a consult! John had read his book and I was introduced to

Greenhouse Trusses arrive!

We've been working on this greenhouse for a long while now, and one of hte decisions we made was to not frame the roof out by hand. We figured it would be easier to have a local company, Better Living Components, do our truss work (and certification). They delivered them

beekeeping

A Bee Hive, Fallen.

Whitney was driving out to Church while I was wrangling two sinus-y boys on last Sunday morning and she called me exclaiming, "I think the beehive got knocked over!" We'd setup straw bales to help as a wind break on the northwest side of the hive, but apparently the extreme

whole30

7 Lessons from our Whole30

First of all for those who don't know, the Whole30 is an eating plan that lasts 30 full days. During that time, you abstain from all grains, dairy, legumes (which includes peanut butter), anything with added sugar, and basically anything processed. John and I did it together starting January 1st