“Wherefore the farm?” Which, as all my high school Shakespeare students from my past life quickly learned, means not “WHERE is the farm?” (it’s in Linville, gorgeous Central Shenandoah Valley Virginia), but “WHY the farm?” I get this question often.…
Our driver shifted into a lower gear as the Toyota Land Cruiser turned onto a gravel road and climbed through one of the eucalyptus plantations that encircles the capital city of Ethiopia. With me was Abiy Eshete, a well-known artist…
I year ago I published my first children’s book! In the year since, I’ve read the story in schools and churches, discussed it with children in the US and in China, and promoted it at international events, festivals, and our…
This is the second time we’ve celebrated a son getting married. I gave a few words at the wedding reception, but didn’t have notes and to my knowledge the reception wasn’t recorded. So I’m not sure, but I think I…
I’ve never been to China before; in fact, this was my first time anywhere in Asia. However, this was not a sightseeing tour. This was a baby-seeing tour. There was baby-squeezing aplenty, as you probably saw in my announcement post.…
There were an estimated 8.5 million babies born in China last year, down from 10 million the previous year. At least a million fewer are expected for 2024. China’s birth rate may be dropping precipitously, but that’s still a lot…
Get Out (of my field, you) Addlepated Twerp! Some days on a goat farm are not necessarily the Greatest Of All Time. Not from my point of view. This story begins with the advice to farmers that if you build…
[Editor’s note: click here and listen to Dock Boggs as a backdrop to this seasonal real-life horror story.] This time of year as the days grow shorter, the corn drier, the leaves brighter and the nights crisper, many farmers’ thoughts…
I had to pull my first goat last night. Four goats were born already that afternoon, and triplets had appeared the day before. I guess they wanted to get on the ground before the wind and rain of the weekend…
Two years ago this month we moved across an ocean, started a farm, bought some goats, some poultry, and a dog. After two years, it’s time to take stock. I think we got our priorities straight—first thing we did was…