Welcome to our Family Farm!
A book could be written about how we came to this place in our lives, but suffice it to say, the Lord has blessed us, continues to bless us, and we are thankful for His leading. Here’s a little of the story behind our family farm.
James and Shannon are the parents on the family farm with children Margaret, Galen, Sullivan, Israel, Lillian, Zion, Oliver, and Vivian. Papa Bob and Grandma Louise (James’ parents) were regular helpers in the early days along with some others in the homeschool community.
We did not grow up on a farm, but lived in the town of Eden, NC, Shannon on the Country Club side of the railroad tracks and James on the other. We married shortly after college graduation and lived in Durham, NC while James went to graduate school at Duke, studying computer science. James’ first and only job is a professor of computer science at Appalachian State University. Shannon worked in development at the Duke Fuqua School of Business before turning toward home after Margaret was born.
After 13 years living on an acre on the side of a hill, we thought it would be good for our goals as a family to get some land and start a farm. We bought the farm in 2004, worked on the inside for about a year and then moved in the summer of 2005 with a newly adopted baby (Lillian) and Shannon 6 months pregnant with Zion. It was quite a year!
Since then we’ve slowly been figuring out what to do with the farm. We’ve kept laying hens and goats and tried ducks before they died or ran off down the river. Pastured poultry and pigs are often part of the landscape with honey bees being a mainstay in the livestock category. Baking is also an ongoing business component with granola, muffins, cinnamon rolls, scones, and cakes, even gluten free varieties, among the offerings at local farmers markets, coffee shops, and local retail stores. Growing season brings numerous vegetables and rows and rows of sunflowers for selling as cut flowers at the market. Over the years we have tried growing most everything including a good run of shiitake mushrooms. Garlic has consumed a good bit of garden space recently and may turn into a larger venture.
The adventure continues as children grow and marry and grandchildren are coming along and markets change. We enjoy folks visiting our family farm as long as you don’t mind getting dirty or having to pitch in and help out (just kidding)!
