We’re continually asked, “What’s going on on the farm?”

This is a seemingly simple question, but with a complex answer. The narrative we’ve built upon goes something like this: We’re no longer involved in day-to-day production. But that doesn’t mean the farm has been put to rest. To the contrary, the garden is going full boar while we are generally focused on building for the future. Anne just celebrated eight years of commercial production in the garden while living on the farm, raising two of the most amazing, well-rounded and enthusiastic boys (now ages 10 and 13). Our chicken and turkey production is taking a brief hiatus while we seek the right farmer to take over these enterprises.

Besides taking care of a small flock of chickens for our daily egg consumption, our time is spent implementing numerous regenerative practices that are aimed at improving the soil, the farm’s bio-diversity and the farm’s hydrology. The way we explain it, the farm is one huge organism with many tentacles, all of them related to each other, akin to an aspen grove, where the health of one tree affects the overall health of the entire stand. We’re caregivers to creatures large and small, from the elk and bald eagles that reside here to the nascent micro-organisms that populate the soil.

]We are also responsible for maintaining the farm’s infrastructure, two farm houses and other living structures, improving on fencing, irrigating pastures, and mechanically weeding the larger fields. For the past year, Tony has been working hard as Chairperson of the Norwood Water Commission, a volunteer position that is currently working on improvements to a 50-year old potable water treatment and distribution system on Wrights Mesa and beyond.

What are the regenerative farming practices that we’re so involved with? Intensive rotational grazing, interceding, cover cropping, composting, planting trees and shrubs, creating swales, improving water storage and irrigation delivery systems, maintaining a 52-panel 10kW solar system, and creating a perennial plant area in the garden, to name just a few. We’re proud participants in San Miguel County’s unique Payment for Ecological Services Program (PES), which credits us financially for some of the resultant carbon sequestration of our efforts.

(We’re not ones to toot our horns too loudly, but we have to mention that the farm has been recently featured in a section of a Patagonia Publishing book called The Blue Plate, authored by scientist Mark Easter. The book is a wonderful read and highly recommended.)

Perhaps most importantly, we spend a lot of time brainstorming on exactly what we want for Indian Ridge Farm as it matures and we aim to hand the reins over to another farmer so they can maintain this place as a viable, productive farm. There is no blueprint that we’ve come across to assist us with this effort. We know we want the farm to remain productive; we know we want the farm to be protected from development; we know we want the farm to be nurtured and loved as we have loved it for so many years. Now it’s a matter of finding the right person or persons.

The beauty of the landscape here on the mesa, the ever-changing sky, the progression of the seasons, the expansive views in all directions, is something we never take for granted. Combine that with living in an energy-efficient straw bale farmhouse, being a part of an amazing community that is being maintained and enhanced in Norwood and surrounding areas, the opportunities to ski, hike and ride bicycles, in addition to the nutritious food we consume on a daily basis, all confirm that life is good!

Besides engaging in the regenerative practices spelled out in the agreement with the County, an important and valuable aspect of the PES program is performing annual soil studies. These soil studies assess whether the soil health practices we employ show improvement. In particular, we’re performing these studies in a field that we’ve designated for intensive rotational cattle grazing. If we can demonstrate improvements to the soil without external inputs (i.e. commercial fertilizers, etc.) then perhaps we can also help change some of the practices of the more conventional methods of cattle grazing that historically has taken place on the mesa. At a minimum, the demonstrated soil health improvements through intensive rotational grazing on this parcel will help sequester more carbon thereby helping offset some of the ill effects os climate change.

Please be safe, live free and don’t drink the Kool-aid (ha!, that’s a political commentary that some readers will undoubtedly understand). Most importantly share your love with those close to you.