Sharing the Farm - First Time on TV

And An Invitation for You

This little farm has been my sanctuary since childhood. Back in school, the cool kids didn’t choose skinny me for a sports team or times like when Anne Cecilia called me a fag on the monkey bars, I came home, took off my shoes, and hunted squirrels with my cat. Yeah, I had a hunting cat. Her name was Alexandria, but we called her Xania for my great aunt, who was rumored to be the youngest schoolteacher ever in the state.

Y’all may not realize this, but being a Protestant child at a Catholic school wasn’t always easy. I never understood lots of things, like why the Sisters made us play backgammon while the Catholic kids went to confession. When Brother Max told us boys it was a mortal sin to spill our seed on fallow ground, I came home to this little farm and went into the woods with Xania, where the ground was rich and fertile. In these woods and fields, school rules, names, and ridiculous guilt faded behind towering trees and the embrace of nature.

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For the past twenty years, Tom and I have run this lily farm under the radar. We love to share it with cool, liberal, plant-loving folks. But we just aren’t set up to deal with drop-in customers. We’ve hosted about 3,000 folks this year. We do not advertise. We do not announce our farm open days in the paper. We invite y’all, and we work with non-profits for fundraisers. We sort of prefer being quiet, gardening, growing, building things, and keeping bees with our trusty team of young folks. But we love sharing it in ways that work for us and don’t ruffle the family’s feathers. It is a family farm, after all.

When a local TV personality texted to ask if he could do a spot with us, I had to feel him out. I asked, “Will you avoid showing the house? Will you stress we don’t have normal visitors?”

“Yes, yes, and yes,” replied Brandon. Then he went on, “We recently did a lavender farm that has privacy concerns like yours. It’s just me and two camera guys, and they are both really good at what they do. We’re cool.”

These three young men, definitely very cool, from the TV station showed up. All had a true passion for TV and film. They moved about the farm with the grace of cats, capturing our little slice of heaven without disturbing a petal. The result? A video that we’re proud to share. I even got to promote Substack in it. About halfway through the twelve-minute video, they caught a little playtime with my great nephew—maybe he’s the one who's going to fall in love with this farm.

Speaking of the next generation, that reporter, Brandon, just welcomed his first little one into the world. Congratulations, and thanks for shining a light on our humble farm.

Now, y’all come! OK? We have two events in October.

Join us for one of these events. Click on the link below the photos for tickets.

Friday, October 11, will feature exceptional food, wines, entertainment, and farm and garden tours. We have to do some educational stuff, y’all. Limited to 24 people. TICKETS

Saturday. Oct. 12 is geared toward all ages. Still with great food but also with some hands-on activities for learning. There’s a special price for children under twelve. LINK

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As long as I’m linking in videos, let’s end with one of the different ways we shared the farm. A few years back, Jesse Colin Young and I filmed some music videos here.