The Family Behind The Family Farm

     I mosly blog about what I do and my thinking behind those actions, leaving the rest of my life and family in the background. Though I work alone during the day—especially throughout the winter—the farm is a family affair.

     Late last summer, we hired Jen Lucas, a Madison Documentary Photographer, to come out for a family photo shoot and capture us (mainly the kids) in our own environment instead of a studio. When she recently posted the montage --12# Watermelon— on her website, the (wonderfully-green-compared-to-now) photos reminded me of why I wanted to farm.

     Odyssey Farm is a business, but it’s also a lifestyle. Aside from me showering before dinner and the kids being cleaner (all for the family photos), it’s a pretty accurate reflection of how we live. Sarah and I get to work together. We can prepare entire meals from food we grow. The kids work and play alongside us. Hazel and Karsten have their own space in the garden to plant what they want. They do small chores and literally get to enjoy the fruits of their labor —the 12 lb watermelon in this case—as a reward for delayed gratification.
   
     You can’t buy that kind of satisfaction.