We have a farm, 250 acres of pastures and forests. I want to try to keep it. Here is how.

Handyman Services. I have worked for clients since 2012. I have enjoyed the process of listening to people’s needs and solving problems. I know there is always a need in the area for this kind of service. It is a good fit and will keep me flexible to prioritize my girls and building up the farm.

Rustic cabins and campsites: Did I mention I love building. I want to experiment with all kinds of low cost cabins, traditional timber frame, round pole construction, maybe yurts.

Custom woodworking:  The shop is in place. I want to take projects that push and grow my skills as well as develop projects to sell.

Firewood: There is so much firewood that comes with each tree that I find or fell for lumber. It might not always be the most profitable use of time but I do enjoy it.

Wow that sounds like a lot…

Also, I want to continue growing my skills in 2019, maybe take a few workshops. Plus there are always the crazy projects that my kids inspire or the farm needs.

I started farming when I was 17 after reading The Unsettling of America. Wendell Berry inspired me to connect with land and work that sustains us. I loved it. I interned on many different farms, eventually I managed some, and then I started some of my own. I have done a little bit of everything; fruit, vegetables, pasture based meat and dairy. I even started a non-profit charitable and educational farm and ran it for five years. Along the way I got married to someone that was similarly inspired and brought two sweet children into the world.

I found that I loved building things, from chicken coops, to cabins, to countertops. I loved it. More and more I gravitated towards building, making, creating. It was also nice to produce things that were not perishable! I built for my own needs. I built for clients. I looked for every opportunity.

My parents both grew up on farms. My dad was a veterinarian. We had a dream of the family of owning a farm together someday. They bought what I call the home farm in 2013. A few years later my wife and I bought the neighboring farm. All together it is 250 acres of Ohio Appalachian pasture and forest.

I stayed at home with the kids and with the help of my parents started to put together a farm and woodshop. It’s grown in fits and starts, some dead ends, and some opportunities that are still building.

Now it is almost 2019. My girls are 6 and 4. My wife of 15 years left. It has been very hard…This is the moment where I reprioritize, refocus, and figure out how to really make it all work.