Summer hit North Carolina like a kick in the nuts. Spring was lovely; nights were cold, days were warm enough for t-shirts and shorts. But summer, holy crap, it’s the hottest experience of my life. Humidity and heat together left me sweaty, angry and lethargic by about 10am everyday. It’s tough farming in that weather.

Before it got so hot Kate and I planned to make moves North by August this year. The cow, 2 pigs, 21 chickens, 2 cats, 1 dog and a hive of bees made the trek last week on our micro-Noah’s Ark. The greasetruck pulled this small two-horse trailer from the late ’70′s 700 miles from here to our worthington, MA (I stockpiled 100 gallons of grease for the trip). Cow on one side, pigs on the other, chickens in the loft and bees in the tack compartment. Rudy and the cats rode in the truck and we drove through the night to keep things cool.

Our next home is in Western Massachusetts, a farm called Sawyer Farm. It’s run by a young couple who embrace low expense, low input farming. They run a “full-diet CSA” which will provide a small group of people their entire year’s worth of food. Their customers come to the farm once a week to take as much food as they want. There are no limits on what they grab, which fosters a real sense of community and support. The farm produces everything; grain and bread, milk and butter, eggs and beef and more. It’s like a community homestead.