So it has been 6 months so far in the journey and I’d thought I’d give a recap on the events that have transpired thus far. My little rant last week has proven to be quite cathartic and taking a look back will offer some fresh perspective on my short term & long term goals going forward.
The first steps in the journey
The journey started off of course with local food. We had over the Summer visited many a farmers’ market here in the North Country and when I returned stateside for good Kimmy had picked up some Osso Buco from Whitestone Farm which was delish! This was a great way to kick off the journey proper. Later on I cheffed up some grass-fed lamb.
January – at the end of the month I headed off to Saratoga and the NOFA winter conference. The Shiitake Mushroom session was loads of fun.
February – I joined in some farmers market meetings where I was asked to redo their website, which is nearly done by the way.
March – I launched the Adirondack Food Network on me birthday. So far we’re up to 65 members and growing. We received some nice write-ups at launch, especially one from NCPR blogger, David Sommerstein.
April – I was asked to present at Farmer Marketing training sessions in Essex and Franklin County. It was great to meet and work with more local farmers & businesses. Plus Kimmy and I went to a Farming business class at SUNY Ulster.
May – Kept up improving my sourdough bread baking and even started home brewing some ales. Also we had a few highs but more lows in trying to buy land which was disappointing.
June – I made the decision to quit my local day job and really buckle down on either working in a profession that is more aligned with farming and artisan bread or altogether starting my own agri-preneurial venture altogether in the fermentation arts. The trainings we’ll be attending at the 2013 Kneading Conference in Skowhegan ME in July and the Artisan Bread School in August in Louisville,KY will offer more insight into that.
So there you have it. I think it has been a somewhat productive six months, don’t you? Six months in the journey with the Artisan Farmer Dan. (See what I did just there).
The journey continues…
Here’s hoping that during the next six months I’m able to remain even more open to the universe. So that I can hear its secrets and uncover the plans it has in store for me. Meaning, more yoga and more meditation, more mindfulness.
And isn’t that what everybody needs?
Next week we’ll be sampling our “hopless” ales and offering a podcast of the tastings and review session, hopefully. Until then, I’ll keep thinking about what the fortune cookie said.
