On humility

As a kid, I was a smartass. I think it got less annoying to others as I got older, but it's still there on the inside: the tendency to learn about something, assume that it's Right, and that therefore others are Wrong.

As they say, though: "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so."

I've been learning a lot over the past year. The more I read about nature, the more astounded I am at how little we know. "We" as our family, trying to reconnect with the land and "We" as humanity, trying to wrestle nature and feed ourselves.

I used to have strong opinions – that I thought were Right – about industrial agriculture (how else are we going to feed the planet?), GMOs (same reasoning), and so many other things. I was Wrong.

It's worthwhile to be humble and keep an open mind. Not everything is black or white. Understanding, best practices, and long term effects change with time.

Given all of this, it may seem hypocritical for this site to exist. Who are we to give advice to anybody? We barely know anything. However, our goal is simply to document our journey: what we did, how we failed, what worked for us, and what we learned. If any of it inspires, motivates or helps anybody, great. If not, oh well.