There’s No More Room: Toward an Anarcho-Pastoralism
What I’ve just attempted to describe are the joys of the edge. Freedom, I believe, has a limited half-life when it’s in the heart of civilization. Anarcho-pastoralism means that there’s the most freedom near the edges, but freedom-lovers are ever in a struggle to move outward.
The Irreducible Reality of Pork Belly
When cut into chunks, tossed with salt and some brown sugar, and then roasted all afternoon in a very low oven, perhaps with a bit of sauce for the last bit, pork belly becomes a gateway to the real.
From Dogs to Fur Babies–and Back Again
As Edward Abbey said, “When a man’s best friend is a dog, then that dog has a problem.”
From Building Things to Building Institutions
What struck me most in reading the book was the role of risk-taking and personal leadership in an organization’s founding phase, and the necessity of consolidating and institutionalizing its vision, so that it outlasts its founders. Such lessons have applicability far beyond the world of furniture.
Resisting Romanticism and the Elision of Labor
I thus find myself in the odd position of resisting romanticism while, nevertheless, hoping that future conditions will create that temptation.
In Defense of Okra
I doubt okra tops many people’s list of garden must-haves, which is a shame since it is such a determined grower. Gardens are only guaranteed to produce one thing year in and year out: humility.
The Beauty of the Unexpected
This year an unexpected autumn snow blanketed our farm. In the days that followed, single-digit temperatures secured its place in the landscape, and another,...
Deworm the Goat
The true virtue of a hobby farm is that it gives us the space to confront that tension between natural and artificial.
Take a Hike? (I Would Prefer Not To)
My grandfathers’ lives had a greater degree of integrity than mine. By integrity I do not mean the suggestion of morality and righteousness frequently...