The Luna Acres Homestead: May 2013

Monday, May 27, 2013

we made garden

I read in a book I use as my ultimate compilation of knowledge and wisdom of all things gardening,

Dirty Knees, printed in nearby Rockbridge county, that is is often said that one

has "made garden" when everything is planted in a day or weekend.

We made garden this weekend.

old picture, more to come of the progress we have made

Live simply,

Angela Kelly

Sunday, May 19, 2013

rainy day birds

chickies on fresh grass

one big happy poultry family

I love to watch the ducks drink water

always on the look out

It's certainly the rainy season in the mountains. Overcast and showers nearly every day last week, and on the forecast for this week. The birds don't seem to mind much though, just another day to them. It's good to have them out on pasture now, and their hoop house is so easy to move, we just hook it up to the four wheeler and drag it a few feet. This isn't by any means our ideal chicken living space. We hope to get an electronet fence sometime this summer, then we could let them out of the hoop house during the day to be more truly free range, then lock them up at night to protect them from the predators lurking in the woods. The electronet is an amazing temporary fencing system, it's easy to move around and with a solar charger we can move it anywhere on the property. One day...

rainy day birds

Live simply,

Angela and Jonathan

hello there

We are Angela Kelly Jones and Jonathan Taylor, the farmers, if you will. We have been a couple for five years, and sharing our love of farming and animals for two. We were lucky enough to spend eight months on a working livestock farm outside of Richmond, where we learned the skills to raise animals ethically and naturally. The focus is on grass-feeding and pasture management, and while we don't have much pasture land ourselves, the techniques and benefits are still incredible. We also learned tons about gardening and growing mushrooms. We just returned home in early winter and are setting up to produce several varieties of mushrooms, and raise several different animals. Please support our homestead so we can continue to grow!

behind the name

I struggled for months trying to decide what to name the farm. I wanted it to be something creative, that caught your attention, that was interesting. Something meaningful. I wanted a name that could express our dreams, ideals, love for nature and animals, and commitment to sustainability and quality of life- all in one word. The name Luna seemed stuck in my head for weeks in the end of summer, and one day I was jotting down ideas on paper when it came to me. Luna Acres. I played around with the letters, trying to think of an underlying message I could convey within the name itself, this is where I thought, "life's unexpected natural abundance." Our society is so fast paced and materialistic, it's hard to see the amazing abundance that's all around us. We had been discussing the terminology of our business for several weeks as well, and we decided that homestead most accurately described what we are doing. We want to create a home where we can provide for ourselves as much as possible, that we can leave behind. The Luna Acres Homestead.