What. A. Year. 2020 has brought so many serious moments and some that have also brought us smiles. The most important thing I have taken from this year thus far is to give one another grace and love.
Things on the farm have been quite eventful, without the 2020 Apocalypse trying to help: a lawnmower burning to the ground the first of the year (sign #1 that it was going to be a rough year), changes to the NASCAR racing schedule have made things interesting for Dad, we had to cancel the 11th Annual Inman Antique Truck Show, a tree fell on the front of the farmhouse during a storm a couple of months ago… but good things have also happened: we have updated our website (special thanks to Lynn for helping this not-so-computer-savvy individual get through this), planted sunflowers (thanks to Nolan Harp for your assistance and patience as I ask a million questions) and field corn for photography sessions in the late summer/early fall (check back with us to see when we will be opening up scheduling for sessions), and are already booking Christmas mini sessions as well!
Our intentions with the additional photography fields are to set up trucks and allow photographers to decorate as they see fit… Pinterest has given me some great ideas and maybe we can implement these together! Lord knows we have enough trucks here on the farm to choose from thanks to Dad’s obsession, I mean collection. Just remember, none of these are show trucks. Lots of “character” and “patinaing” with these (is that even a word???). I say these things using nice wording so the trucks won’t hear me and insist on not being in operating order come August. If they ask, they’re all beautiful in their own way!
Although the world is ever-changing, many things are still the same. Farming is still very present everywhere and we have worked harder than ever this year to make sure our Christmas trees are going to be the best they can be. We’ve even taken to rooting our own trees for future plantings, something we haven’t done in decades. Our cousin, Mickey Harp, helped us with determining which misting system to use to ensure the plants get the optimal amount of watering each day (quite a fascinating thing to see in use). Hopefully these trees will be ready to put in the ground this winter… there are plenty to choose from!
It has definitely been an odd year with no vegetables planted… but we’ve been so especially busy otherwise, it has been hard to see how we did it so many other years. We still have blueberries that Cony Mason has started picking and offering for sale at his market stand at Woolsey Antiques (off 92S) and, of course, we will have plenty of muscadines and suppernongs come late summer. Check back with us either through our website or through our Facebook pages to see what we will have in the months to come!
We hope to see everyone in September for our annual show, but will update as soon as we have more information. Thank you all for sticking with us throughout the years and we hope everyone stays safe during these times.
– Stephanie