We knew this day would come....

There is no way around it, animals on a farm die. We knew this day would come...

We lost one of our chickens to what appears to be a prolapsed intestine. This makes me realize what a rookie I really am. I really have no idea what I'm doing but I am very grateful for Google. I am learning every moment of the day. There is a part of me that thinks who do you think you are? You can't just get these animals and start a farm with no experience. Then I talk to people and I read all the books I've read and I learn that this is pretty much how it's done most of the time. You learn as you go and you make lots of mistakes and that's ok. For those of you who know me you can imagine how I feel about that. Mistakes are not something I like to do....and not knowing what I am doing is not a very comfortable place for me. Oh but it is SO good for me!

My two youngest children had a rough start in life. We have had many people ask us how will you deal with death on the farm and process it with two children who have experienced such loss? I wasn't sure and maybe I'm still not sure, but today actually went well. Maybe learning about loss and processing it "on he farm" will bring healing and emotional health not the opposite. Tayler said "its helps that you keep saying this is what happens on the farm. I need to remember that". She did cry at first but was over it pretty quickly. I think we all need to learn not to be afraid of being uncomfortable but as Brene Brown says "lean into the discomfort" and let it teach us and heal us........

Are you a Techo Geek or a Farmer?

Reconciling the farm girl in me and the technology lover isn't easy. I dropped my IPhone in Teddy's water bucket the other day and I Was devastated. :( I love my "techno toys". I have an IPhone, an iPad, cable tv on a flat screen etc. Those things have become a part of my life and I can't live without them. That being said there is another part of me that feels connected to nature and all that entails. I love it so much and feel like it's so important to our health and happiness, that our family has moved to a farm and started a business revolving around it. Can we be both? Can a nature lover and a techno geek coexist?

The name "Turn Back Time" comes from a time in the past when children left the house in the morning and didn't return home until dinner. They played, discovered and negotiated with the world around them in a way that many children have never experienced in today's society. We are a society that is "plugged in" for most of the day from a very young age. It is difficult to imagine that the recommendation for the amount of television watched by young children is less than an hour a day, yet if you speak to many families their children watch five to seven times that amount. If you ask parents if they thought being outdoors would benefit their children the answer would be an unequivocal yes, but the practicality of actually making that happen is too difficult. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends "60 minutes of unstructured free play as an essential part of children's physical and mental health and social development".

Our goal of "Turning Back Time" comes from a desire to bring the children and families who come to our farm back to a simpler life. Adults will find themselves remembering a time when they headed outside in the morning and didn't come home until dark. Children will be able to get dirty and move their bodies, putting aside worries and focusing on the small miracles in the world around them.....then we can send them in to play video games guilt free!

Where have you been!

Something happened on the way to my blog....I got really really busy!

It turns out "Turning Back Time" is not as easy as it sounds. Let's see what's been going on here at the farm. The goats and chickens have company. Teddy the horse arrived in November and the pigs got here in December. Learning to juggle the care of the animals is teaching me that all things in the natural world cannot be learned in a day. I am learning that patience is part of the process.

Erik (our nephew) arrived in October and has been a great help. Farming seems to suit him. He attended the Northeast Organic Farmers Winter Confernce and enjoyed himself. The pigs have been his project and he was excited to attend a class on raising pigs at the conferance.

In case you were wondering we are farmers and will be eating some of the animals we raise here. That seems to be problematic for some people but our philosophy is why would we want to support an industry that treats animals so disrespectfully. Instead we can love the animals and then be so grateful to them for providing food for our family. If you'd like to be enlightened on this subject watch "Food Inc".

Our next step is to finalize the legal process of becoming a non-profit. We have started talks with a lawyer and are in the process of forming our board of directors. I'm in school full time and will graduate with an Associates Degree in May. I will most likely go on to some sort of bachelors degree. The most amazing part of going back to school has been the overwhelming support of our idea. The networking opportunities have been amazing, it has helped us to gain momentum and to feel confident that we need to keep moving forward.

My goal is to do a better job of keeping up with our blog...ask me questions and make lots of comments so I'll know that someone is listening......

Welcome

Welcome to the Burris Farm blog! We are a family run farm with the motto "turning back time" (you can sing the Cher song to yourself if you must). It's been a long journey getting here and we want to share it with all of you.

Why do we want to "turn back time"? How many times have you heard someone say "when I was a kid" or "back in the day"? We're missing something....we sense it. This created world has something to offer that cannot be found anywhere else. As we clear the land and make something out of nothing (not really because God has already done the hard work) we'll share our trials and our victories with you.

The first order of business was our environmental testing...we had to make sure we stay out of those precious wetlands. I say that with geniune concern mixed with a bit of sarcasm. Luckily we have 57.88 acres so we were able to carve out farmland and still preserve the wetlands and the forest. Our forestry plan has been submitted to the state, we should hear back by September 30th.

At this writing we have some gardens planted and we are working on animal housing and fencing....we'll keep you posted on that!

We'll check in again soon!