If I'm Gonna Write Anyway
2024 Updates From the Farm: Week 2
Welcome to the latest edition of Updates From the Farm, a subset of Sparkling Audacity. If you are new here, read my About page to find out what this is, who I am and why I am doing this. At “Sparkling Audacity” you’ll find the recantings of one lady-farmer and tree-hugging activist from the Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm in Maine.
Let it be known that this was the year I decided if I’m gonna write anyway, I may as well get paid for it. Writing has been pulled from the back-burner to the front, and I’m stoked that things are really heating up in that department. Even with guests to the farmstay to tend, and the on-going struggle of winter in Maine, I was able to publish 2 new pieces last week. My presence at Substack is growing slowly but surely, and I received my first-ever paid subscriber. That being said, I’m announcing a new kind of CSA program at Sparkling Audacity. Get yourself a cuppa and join me at Runamuk for the weekly tea.
Authentic Experience
We hosted a party of 3 over the weekend. A group of young ladies who raved about my pancakes and enjoyed the slopes at Sugarloaf. Still struggling to keep fuel in the tanks for the furnace, I’m afraid these girls got a more authentic farm-experience than they bargained for, lol. I managed to keep the house warm, but there wasn’t enough fuel for showers. Mercifully, these ladies were good sports about it and I sweetened the situation by giving them their breakfast on the house.
Our fuel delivery arrived yesterday. Another hundred gallons for maybe 2 weeks. If I’m careful.
I’m realizing the furnace is going to need to be replaced at some point in the not-too-distant future. She’s burning through way more fuel than she should, even for a big house such as this. For now, though, there’s nothing to be done for it but to stick it out. I’ve taken to keeping the thermostat at 60° when it’s just BraeTek and I here, and during the day I shut the furnace off entirely. Generally, the radiant warmth stored in the house, combined with the warmth from the sun outside, maintains an ambient temperature of about 64-65°.
It’s not ideal, but it’s okay, so please don’t worry. It’s really not unbearable and I’ll make it through. That’s what we do here in Maine.
Preparations Continue
We’re at that point where winter becomes a grind. Critter-chores are more on the miserable side, because it’s freezing-cold and the wind stings your face. Everything is icy and there’s snow to move. With weeks upon weeks to go yet before we start to see some relief. That doesn’t put a damper on my spirits, though. Not with lambing season just ahead of me! I’m giddy as a schoolgirl as preparations continue. After the losses I experienced last season, I’m determined to do it better than ever. This will be my 4th lambing season.
As the girls progress into their third trimester of pregnancy, I’m very focused on good nutrition. I’ve been feeding out a healthy round of grain each day, along with a share of alfalfa pellets. That’s in addition to a generous supply of high-quality hay. My girls also have free access to sodium bicarbonate (aka: baking soda), a mineral mix specifically for sheep, and a selenium block.
I have a round of vaccinations and de-worming scheduled for this week or next. I’ll crutch them and trim their hooves at the same time.
Note: If you’re not familiar with the term: crutching is when you shear around the ewe’s udder and teats to make it easier for new lambs to latch on.
There are still some improvements and modifications I need to make to the “Nursery” before lambing, but I have a few weeks yet. Stay tuned, my friends! Things are about to get interesting!
Writing IS the Gig
In spite of the winter struggle, I’ve relished these January days. They provide me with the perfect excuse to hole myself up in my office with my electric heater and my laptop. This is why I let go of the baking marathons, re-structured my business and my life. No longer is writing the side-gig to my side-gig. Writing is the gig. And so is farming.
If you’ve been following along for any length of time, you know this has been a long time coming. I’ve honed these skills over the years, nurtured my creativity, refusing to let it go even when the farm had to come first for oh-so long. Now it’s time for writing to─not necessarily take the spotlight─but certainly to share the stage with Runamuk. My two great loves working together for the good of the collective.
Even still, I’ve struggled with the notion of asking for payment for my writing. There’s that natural fear and question of worthiness when it comes to the arts, in particular. But, then, I have a hard time taking payment for vegetables too! I’m admittedly altruistic. It’s both a strength and a weakness.
Because part of my mission revolves around education, I always want my work to reach as wide an audience as possible. I don’t want money to be a barrier to helping someone along their farming journey. Or a stop-gap to inspiring a love for nature in the next environmental activist. Yet, if I can use these skills to generate funds for the farm and for my mission of wildlife conservation, then I must give it my best effort.
Literary CSA
I’m really jazzed up about it, too. Super inspired and eager for the projects I have planned for the year ahead. It was a credit to my creative genius when it occurred to me that framing it as a sort of “literary CSA” made perfect sense for this farmer/writer. Covering a wide spectrum of topics under the umbrella of agriculture and nature, maybe some recipes for seasonal eating, and sharing my journey into authenticity. Of course, the weekly updates from the farm will continue as well─cross-posted both to the blog and to the Stack.
For now, all of my work will remain open to the general public. I’m hoping readers will voluntarily subscribe or make donation to support my work so that I can always keep it available for for all. If there comes a time that I need to change that stance, I can tell you now that the Runamuk-blog will forever remain free and open to the public. Any restrictions to my content will happen at Substack. Or, when I finally get around to writing and publishing that book, I might ask you to pay for a copy of that, lol.
On that note, I’ll leave it with the humble request, that if you enjoy reading my stories, please consider supporting my work. We can take donations here on the Runamuk website. OR readers can subscribe to Sparkling Audacity, either as a free or paid member. If you are not able to afford a payment at this time, or, if you’re not inclined, even the simple act of sharing this content can help support my mission. Lastly, I thank you just for being here and reading my writing.
On the Chalkboard This Week:
Preparing for Vax Day
Gearing up to start the first seedlings of 2024: onions!
Unveiling the new CSA
Spring cleaning continues
Snow Day & post-storm clean-up
I’m Gonna Write Anyway
This is what it was all about, my friends…that re-centering and re-structuring of my life that I undertook last year, in 2023. The reason I gave up the marathon baking sprees. The reason─in part─for letting go of the farm-share program. It was all done with the intention of giving more time and energy to writing. I feel like everything has been leading to this─just as my life’s journey led me into farming. Just as farming led me to this property, which I am now honor-bound to protect as steward.
And I guess I figure, I’m gonna write anyway─you know it and I know it. I’ve always been writing. Why not use it to help the farm? Why not put those skills to good use and fund this ecological reserve that I’m trying so hard to grow here.
Shouldn’t writing contribute too?
Your friendly neighborhood farmer,
Sam
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!