As heat bears down and cows find shade, we are envisioning a revised future. We have found a fine new home for these cows with Tyler Greene in Lancaster County, Kentucky. They depart on Monday. Fortunately, he is close enough we can buy back offspring in the future, should we need to. The cows' calves from last year will be heading to Tyler's farm as well. He is a young man, who represents the best of the future, and his farm is Sunwatch Homestead. We accept this outcome, unexpected though it is.

This is our "rose garden". These wild hibiscus are nestled throughout the wetlands, accented by button bush and an unending bed of rice cut-grass. Their brilliant pink bloom is transporting to behold. This flower has come to symbolize for us the ethereal nature of these wetlands and of the journey we find ourselves on. It also blooms faithfully on Susan's birthday, at the end of July, giving it a special place in our regard.

Letting go brings returns. Since being locked out of the Hyde Park Market two months ago, our perspective on our business has turned. Despite a devoted group of faithful and essential customers, our sales are registering half what they were a year ago. Financial flow has thus diminished, which is of note to those close by. It takes time and investment to develop new customers to replace walk-up traffic at a busy market, and in the meantime, one bears the brunt of consequences.

Is the sun setting or rising? Is this a matter of perspective or fact? It is some of both fortunately. Sometimes we are moving so fast we are not sure whether we are rising or setting. While it can be exhilarating to move at such pace, it can also be defeating.

We enjoyed an intimate farm tour this past weekend with four long-time customers. One of the highlights of the afternoon was firing up our dormant grill and serving sliders again. We cooked Moroccan sliders, coupled with homemade aioli, greens, a bun, corn-on-the-cob, fresh watermelon, and chocolate chip cookies. We ate near our new hog-heaven area, and while Susan and I grilled, Scott and Chris introduced our new woodlot complex and its inhabitants to the visitors.

With grilling season upon us, heightened pleasure can be gleaned from a grassfed steak.

With the dawn of June, the grass rolls in like waves on the sea. What to do with the abundance? It can be either grazed, mowed, or trampled. We do all three. The flock of sheep will be in this field in two days. They will eat much, trample more, and leave behind the pernicious ironweed. We await the custom hay-maker to exercise his magic on other fields. We feel like we are waisting grass at this time of year. The only way not to do so is to make hay or increase numbers of livestock. But then one has to feed the livestock through the winter, when grass is at a deficit. Does one stock to supply of the spring-flush or the winter deficit? It depends on objectives. We strive for middle ground.

The cool mist of dawn gave way to a hot morning yesterday. By 11:00 AM, the sheep were under the shademobile, ready to wait out the heat. By 5:00 PM, it was raining and temperatures had fallen 20 degrees. As so the variability of the day goes.

Gyoza originated in China, migrated to Japan, and now partially resides in Pike County, Ohio. These two-month-old hogs carry inclination to help you enjoy Gyoza at its finest. Gyoza is a dumpling whose ancient origins lie with a Chinese nutritionist, who sought treatment for the common malady of frostbitten ears... He was ahead of the times in anticipating the connection between stomach and ears. When you taste the delicate nature of these dumplings, your ears will ring in gratitude, and the connection will become clear.

Hogs sleeping in the morning sun speak of perfect contentment. After the storm we have been through, it is tempting to crawl in among these noble ones to rest the head and spirit. Life looks so simple there in the shining rays of sun.

The Japanese concept of Kintsugi is to reconstruct broken pottery to an even more beautiful form than the original. This exquisite pouring vessel lost its handle to over-use. What was once perfect might now be considered obsolete or even useless. But Kintsugi offers another interpretation. It suggests that if we were break the vessel into even more pieces, it could be rendered to a state even more exquisite.

A week ago, our world turned upside down for a moment. We awoke to three inches of snow amidst and atop the green of late April. One had to rub one's eyes to make sure they were seeing accurately. I don't ever recall such a snow this late in April. Temperatures were not bitter, and one could tell this would be a momentary phenomenon. By early afternoon, the dream was over and the world had righted itself again.