It’s a new year and that means I’ve been spending some time reflecting on the past year, the good the bad and the ugly. Maybe its because its so cold outside, or maybe because I finally have a chance to sit down. I am reflecting about the future. Maybe because everyone around me is doing the same thing and giving out free advice about how to do it better. Which ever it is, its what I’ve been up to.

I am at a turning point in my career, and we are at an inflection point here on Brow Dog Farm. We have been here 5 years now. The farm cottage has been remodeled. Mom and Dad’s house on the hill is fully integrated into the landscape and feels like its aways been there. The barns have been cleaned out and been given new assignments. We continue to fix them up and remodel them in turn. However, the honeymoon is over. The earnest work is beginning.

I feel especially driven to set some audacious goals this year. Partly, because I am impatient and partly because I must. Last year, because of COVID or a midlife crisis, or because I finally cannot say ‘later’ for one minute more, I became a full-time entrepreneur in my Farmer/Artist business Brown Dog Farm Studio. I simply must make this work. I have no back up plan B. I have chosen the word ‘Steadfast’ as my inspirational word for 2022. I’m more like the tortoise than the hare in chasing down my dreams. I am a late bloomer in my career choice, but I find comfort in the word steadfast, the slow steady, inevitable strength and faith of an old brown dog. I really miss Raleigh these days. (New shirts will be available with the updated word of the year.)

So- this blog is where I keep you updated in all things Farm and Art. Each blog post this year will have a farm topic and an art topic. You can come along and see the world from this unique perspective, a weird mash up of what goes on in my brain; so, you can know this Farmer Artist.

To impose accountability on myself I’m going to share this month some of my audacious but specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely goals. Here I go jumping into the deep end…

Farm Goals

1.       Double our ewe numbers. The goal is to be a sheep farm and practice rotational grazing, I need more sheep, more sheep come from more ewes. Pretty simple- the math, and nature, is working. Last year we doubled and if everyone is bred, we are set to double again. If not ewes, then we will have more meat in the freezer. If you like lamb, we have tasted ours now, and it is amazing. Shetland Lamb is on the Slow Foods Ark of Taste. We will be adding lamb to our list of farm products when it is available. Let us know and we will add you to our list of lamb lovers.   I would rather raise my own than buy more ewes, but we have two years to get numbers up to 12 ewes which is the stocking rate we are working towards.

2.     West side of Big Barn repaired and repainted. Old barns are beautiful, and this girl is the heart of our farm, but old barns need upkeep and this year I’m gonna need to rent a man lift for my man. New knees mean- no ladders.

3.     Re-establish new pasture and hay field on the south 20 acres. Last year I was awarded an EQIP grant. This year phase 2 involves replanting the field with a better mix of forages, designed especially for grazing, and making hay. We will plant in the spring with a nurse crop of oats. The fast-growing oats will help nurse the new grasses and legumes and keep the weeds down. Then the oats will be harvested, and the new pastures will grow on for a year before we graze them the following spring. It is a long process to get to the goal of our farm being 100% perennial: no tilling, all that green pasture sequestering carbon and building soil organic matter.

4.      Moving flock daily. Last year, I added some portable fencing and kept the animals in smaller paddocks, but I didn’t do daily moves. The drought affected where I could put them and the lack of watering facilities, made it hard for me to keep them in certain areas. So, they overgrazed some parts and under grazed others. I got practice with the portable netting and trained the animals to it but underutilized it to the detriment of my grass growth. This year, I will purchase a bit more portable netting and move the animals daily, bring them back to a smaller paddock at night and see if I can get better growth.  It’s all about the management and that’s my responsibility.

My Art Goals:

1.        I will have 2 openings a month for commissions. I have January and February already booked, but I have slots for each month in the coming year. Paintings can be as large or small as you like. I love the commissions I did last year, and this year promises to be equally fulfilling. People are more and more comfortable purchasing art online. I find communicating clearly and answering peoples’ questions, being flexible and responsive, and being sensitive to what people are looking for helps me be successful at creating artwork specific to a special gift or specific spot in a home. I work form reference photos folks send to me easily by email or messaging apps. Technology has made it so much easier to accomplish the work.  Custom artwork makes a wonderful and unique gift and is a perfect way to take those memories we all fill our phones with and turn them into something beautiful to hang in your home or display on a shelf.  

2.       Teaching! This year I am going to have the opportunity to teach in person in my hometown. I will be teaching painting, drawing, and collage in a beautiful new space in the historic downtown of Delavan. In my past I loved teaching gardening, and horticulture classes and now I will return to my grad school days of teaching fundamentals of drawing and painting. I am thrilled to be able to give back to my local community and share my creative passion.  Stay tuned for all the juicy details.

3.       Finish the Livestock Conservancy Series. Yes- 198 paintings of all the animals on the Livestock Conservancy’s Priority list. This has been 5 years in the making and this year I am going to finish it. STEADFAST. Then I am going to put it together and make a proposal to have them all shown together in a single space. Think of all the diversity! Don’t worry they are still for sale, feel free to purchase, they are all in the studio shop, I can make replacements for the ones that sell. The sales have funded the continuation of the project! Each one is also available as a high quality giclee print, so feel free to buy 3 for the price of a painting! This project has been a joy- it brought these opportunities to me:

•  ‘meeting’ other producers of heritage breeds both online and in real life,

• - getting noticed by the staff of the Livestock Conservancy and having orders for prints to be given as thank you’s to retiring board of directors,

• -making a donation from the 10% of sales of all the paintings, prints, calendars, note cards, and magnets to the Livestock Conservancy each year.

 I have loved this project, but I am ready to get to the end. THEY ARE STACKING UP!

4.       Remodeling my website. I know – not the arty thing, but being an artist these days means all the business of making art after the art is made. Cataloguing, photographing, framing, marketing, accounting. My website is my #1 employee. As a rural artist, I rely on making connections through the interwebs, and my website is the digital hub of my business. It is the place where current and potential customers, connect with me, see my work, see Eds work, and purchase our offerings. It is where you can connect with us to create something custom for you.  It is also where we show you what our farm has produced and offers a place for you to purchase our goods. I will make improvements so it will be easier for you to connect with me. I have a super mentor in Liz at Britelime Creative , and this year promises juicy big changes in my hardworking website.  

There are of course other goals that we continue to work on and new challenges always ‘pop up, but these are our biggies. We will need all the support we can muster to make them happen. Feel free to stop by, pay a visit or check in here or on all the socials. Join our mailing list if you haven’t already.

AND…

If you would- be a ‘dear-heart’ and post in the comment below, ANY questions or topics you are especially interested in hearing about. I’ll put them in the blog topics box and well get them on the schedule.

Here’s to 2022 and being a Steadfast Brown Dog