Big Changes at Runamuk!
For the first time in years, taking an off-farm job didn’t seem so dismal
Nothing scares me quite like running out of heating fuel in the depths of winter. It’s the stuff of nightmares when you’re living well below poverty level, scraping and scrabbling to get by, with no savings in reserve and no steady paycheck to fall back on. I can recall several such winters in my life, last year being the most recent. Still waiting to be discovered as the next JK Rowling, and having accepted I’ll never be the next Joel Salatin, I’ve taken the position of Head Cook at the local elementary school with the intention of remaining comfortably WARM this winter. Your lunch-lady jokes may now commence, lol. Join me at Runamuk Acres for the latest farm-update!
Welcome to the latest Updates From the Farm! If you are new here, I invite you to check out my About page to learn what this is, who I am and why I am doing this. Or just dive right in! At “Runamuk Acres” you’ll find the recantings of one lady-farmer and tree-hugging activist from the western mountains of Maine. #foodieswanted
Winter of 2004-2005
Probably the worst winter I ever suffered through was the winter of 2004-2005, when my first-born son was going on 2. My ex-husband and I had secured a free mobile home, paying only to have a gravel pad put in and the trailer moved to the site. The trailer came with a furnace, but without means we were reliant on family to make necessary repairs, and then a family dispute left us with only a portable kerosene space heater.
Terrified my baby would get frostbite, there were mornings I left home altogether, visiting family so my child could have a warm place to play. It was well into December before I finally stopped waiting for my husband and family to repair the furnace and called a technician.
Winter of 2015-2016
The winter of 2015-2016 is another that stands out in memory. That was the second winter following my divorce, when I leased a farm over in Starks, Maine. The farm formerly belonging to James Murphy—the man I named my dog after.
I struggled to heat that old farmhouse, reducing my living space to just 2 rooms, barely using the furnace and desperately cutting slab-wood to burn in the woodstove. When the boys would stay with me, I had them camped out around the stove to make sure they were warm enough.
Last Winter
Then, there was last winter… We ran out of heating fuel repeatedly, with no funds to buy more. This is probably the only farmhouse in Maine with no woodstove even for back-up heating and we had guests due in to the farmstay. I had to resort to asking a friend for help and then humble myself to request emergency assistance from my community.
Multiple Income Streams
A firm believer in having multiple streams of income, I currently have 5:
The Farmstand - Where we sell all of our products: eggs, breads & baked goods, vegetables and lamb.
The Farmstay - Through Airbnb we offer farmstays to guests, with the option to add a farm-fresh breakfast.
The Remote Campsite - Visitors from away book through Hipcamp to stay at our ecological reserve.
Writing - Growing slowly, but surely, I now have nearly 450 subscribers, as well as 19 paid members to the Runamuk-stack and 1 over at Wild Hearts & Harvests!
Housemate - Going on 3 years now, I’ve had the same quiet young man renting one of the guest rooms.
For a while the farmstay generated enough to allow me to stay on the farm full-time, but business with airbnb has slowed for us and this last year has been a financial stretch. I'm having a hard time just buying grain for the animals, let alone heating fuel.
Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to take a job just for the sake of having a job. Minimum wage at the local convenience store or Dollar General is utterly soul-crushing after living your dream-life for almost 2 decades.
Head Cook
The position of Head Cook at Kingfield Elementary School, however, struck a cord somewhere deep within me. For the first time in years taking an off-farm job didn’t seem so dismal. I love children—especially the littles.
What’s more, the hours required allow me to continue most of the work I’m doing at Runamuk. It’s fairly ideal, really. Some of the best opportunities in life just seem to fall into place… Y’know what I mean? It’s like fate…the stars align, everything is in position, and—magic happens.
With school starting on Wednesday, SAD 58 was eager to have a cook in their kitchen. I saw the posting Saturday night, sent my application and resume to them on Sunday morning, attended an interview on Monday, went for fingerprinting on Tuesday and I’m starting work today! Woooooooooooo!
Hooray for being warm this winter!!!
Big Changes at Runamuk
Of course, this brings about some big changes at Runamuk, but I’m relieved to be able to say that my work here will continue. This is largely thanks to my son, BraeTek, who is voluntarily stepping up to take on my chores and a lot of the responsibilities I attend to on a daily basis. I know I am blessed to have such a son.
18 in just 5 months, BraeTek and I have had many talks about the farm. What we should keep doing and what should be let go of. While I expect him to do chores, I’ve never forced the farm on my son. He doesn’t want to be a farmer, but he knows these income streams allow us to exist as we do and so he contributes.
For now, we’re going to keep everything except farmstay-breakfasts during the work-week. The farmstand will remain open, BraeTek will continue to do the baking and I have every intention of continuing to grow and raise fabulous fresh produce to share with the people of my community.
Since not writing is not an option for yours truly, I fully intend to continue doing that as well. Yup! I’m gonna do it all!
Though I reserve the right to pivot as needed, and if “it all” proves to be too much, and I have not yet made it big as a writer, the first thing to go will likely be the farmstand.
When I created Runamuk Acres, I had 2 major goals in mind:
I wanted to grow an income for myself that would enable me to buy a home for my family.
And I wanted to promote pollinator conservation—this can continue with or without the farmstand.
Ultimately, it all comes back to my mid-life transition—this shifting of priorities and re-centering of self I’ve been growing through. I don’t feel effective as a solo-farmer and there’s a very real need to save myself first—to put the needs of my family above all else. The fear of running out of heating fuel come winter is a powerful motivator, indeed. Check back soon to see how this all plays out!
Sending love and good juju to you and yours.
Your friendly neighborhood farmer,
Sam
NOTES FOR SUBSCRIBERS:
*Due to the demands of my new schedule, the audio-version of this post will be released tomorrow.
*In case you missed it—here is last week’s post, which goes into more detail about my mid-life transition and what that means for the farm.
Mid-Life Transition
*Also, I’ve put together a pretty fantabulous resource on “How to Make Homemade Dog-Food” and that is slated to be published on Monday. I’ve offered it up as a guest-post to
who writes Dog Snobs, so be sure to watch for that coming soon!
Thank you for following along with the story of this lady-farmer! It is truly a privilege to live this life serving my family and community, and protecting wildlife through agricultural conservation. Check back soon for more updates from the farm, and be sure to follow @RunamukAcres on Instagram or Facebook!
Sam, I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you're facing. You're doing a LOT for one person! It's dizzying and commendable.
I'm really looking forward to your dog food post on Monday!!
Well, you're getting there. Crowdfunding could be another option for you. As well as expanding your paid newsletters with short how-to's and recipes.
Just some ideas...