Seeking Balance this Equinox

Today is the fall equinox - when both the northern and southern hemispheres experience nearly equal amounts of daylight and darkness. One of the privileges of tending to this piece of land is watching it change. We are noticing the first tinges of fall on the maple trees, relishing in the cool evenings cuddled up beneath a quilt, and welcoming the reminder to balance this time of year.

Summer is a time for expression! The flowers in our pastures burst into blossom, the crops in our garden expand and expand, and our daily cattle moves involve wading through tall grasses and bringing water to the animals more frequently in the heat. We have been busy this growing season with installing new fencing, adding new markets through partnering with Blaney Family Farm on their vegetable CSA and selling to Little Fish Brewing Company, adding a pork enterprise to our operation, planting trees for silvopasture, taking a trip to Tanzania, and planning a wedding.

Now that fall is here, I am listening to the call to turn inward and slow down a little as life moves underground. For me, this means leaving my phone at home when I walk up to the pastures to move the cattle. Reading poetry in the morning. Lowering my expectations for what can fit into an evening after work. Cooking good food. Sleeping in when possible. Remembering that the list of to dos is never-ending, so there’s no rush to check boxes. Journaling. And observing the changes all around me.

I hope this time of year, as the sun hovers above the equator, is bringing equilibrium into your life too - however that looks for you.

Announcing: Monthly On-Farm Pick Ups!

For the first time ever, we provide on-farm pick ups every third Thursday of the month. Now you can purchase small bundles and individual cuts of beef on our website and pick them up in-person at our farm.

• We are open for pick up every third Thursday of the month from 5-7pm.
  • October 19th
  • November 16th
  • December 14th
• Come by with a box or cooler and we’ll load you up!
• Look for a big wood barn (pic below!) and MoSo Farm signs.
• Location: 5686 Enlow Rd, Athens, OH 45701

Stock Your Freezer with Bulk Beef

Ready to stock up for winter? Buying beef in bulk is the most economical way to purchase our 100% grass-fed beef. We offer quarters, halves, and whole red angus beef, which will be available in late November. Bulk pricing comes out to roughly $8-$9/lb for all the packaged meat — that’s including roasts, ground beef, and premium steaks!

Here’s the process:

• Secure your order by paying the deposit online
• We invoice you per lb based on the hanging weight after we take the animals to butcher and know their weights (we pay the processing fees.)
  • Quarter - $5.50/lb
  • Half - $5.25/lb
  • Whole - $5.00/lb
  • The “hanging weight” is the weight of the beef once it has been harvested and inedible products are removed but before it has been butchered and packaged into individual cuts. This is the best way to charge you for exactly the amount of beef you’ll receive, since animal weights vary from individual to individual.
• Select your pick-up or delivery preference (in Athens or Columbus)

What I’m reading…

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia - Book by Elizabeth Catte
“…a frank assessment of America's recent fascination with the people and problems of the region. The book analyzes trends in contemporary writing on Appalachia, presents a brief history of Appalachia with an eye toward unpacking Appalachian stereotypes, and provides examples of writing, art, and policy created by Appalachians as opposed to for Appalachians.”

What Liberal Elites Don’t Know About Rural Americans Can Hurt Us - Letter to the Editor by Wendell Berry - “Earlier this year, the poet, novelist and essayist Wendell Berry, 88, who has farmed along the west bank of the Kentucky River in Henry County, Ky., since 1965, wrote a letter-to-the-editor to The New York Review of Books. In his letter he took this beacon of progressive thought to task for once again promulgating harmful myths about the people of rural America.”