nature of keeping the detailed records necessary to managing the business side of their life.
Their life is literally and figuratively woven together with the art of living in harmony with the earth. Sarah spins, weaves, and dyes, creating garments that are made entirely of natural fiber and dyed only with natural plant-based dyes. She and Doug are also landscapers, taking on a few, select projects each year. And they also do some natural garden maintenance.
Doug carves wooden bowls and spoons, makes brooms, and weaves baskets. He also works a part-time job at Bloomingfoods, in Bloomington.
As far as they know, they are the only commercial growers in this area who do not till their land. It is physically harder and slower, but preserving of topsoil, which takes about 500 years to develop to a depth of one inch, is an important consideration.
“ I have to credit my mother with the no-till. She was a major advocate of newspaper and mulch.“ They have also been inspired by Keith Johnson and Peter Bane( permaculture activists based
photo by Marti Garvey photo by Marti Garvey
in Bloomington). Eliot Coleman, who wrote The New Organic Farmer, is also a major inspiration.
Although their life is rooted in hard work, a magical lightness seems pervasive. Sarah and Doug have been together for nine years, traveling around“ like gypsies” for much of that time. They lived completely off the grid for several years and for the first year-and-a-half of Thuja’ s life.
They found their property after much frustrated looking. On a whim, Sarah suggested a drive up Schooner Valley Road, where she had lived for a while as a child and where her happiest childhood memories were created. There was a“ For Sale by Owner” sign.“ When we walked back to the creek, we just knew.‘ This is it.’ It was perfect— a blank canvas with full sun, pretty good soil, and friendly neighbors.”
At the north end of their property, is a conifer garden filled with exotic trees collected by her mother, landscaper Laura Shively, who had hundreds of trees for sale. It is a memorial to her mother, who died in 2012.“ I kept my favorites. And I try to keep her attitude:‘ You never know what’ s gonna make it.’”
“ I’ ve done landscaping my whole life. I landscaped with my mom. My grandfather was also a Japanese culture enthusiast who was one of the people who introduced the Japanese Maple to America. I grew up watering the greenhouse. My son is now growing up with it, too.“
“ We will build a house here, a little cabin, and expand the growing area. When we came here there was no infrastructure. We plan on having more animals,
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May / June 2014 • Our Brown County 45