Our North Star
The North Star.
Most of us as kids learn that, to find the North Star in the sky, we must first find the Big Dipper and then look to where the handle points. I remember never being entirely sure which way was north as a kid and this was a big help when the sky was so large and filled with stars. These days, as I stand looking at the night sky from my farm, finding the North Star is not such a challenge because I know our farm is set in a valley running east-west. But, I still look for the Big Dipper… and then get distracted by the Milky Way racing across the sky, one of the benefits of farm life – no city lights to compete with the universe.
The North Star has always been a constant, a directional tool for sailors and trekkers and all of us trying to find our way from one place to another. For centuries it has been a beacon to ground us on our journey and keep our direction true. Thus, we chose the North Star for the Farmstay logo, partly because it is such a strong motif used in quilts and replicated in the barn quilt tradition that first decorated the barns of European settlers in the eastern U.S. These paintings were used to bring good luck and often doubled as wayfinding tools (i.e., go left on the road where you see the barn with the North Star painted below the eaves). Our North Star is a bit more mission driven. We want to provide a face to farming in the most personal way – on the farms and through their stories.
As we approach July 4th for the 250th year of our nation, the challenges of farming are vastly different now than from the original settlers or even from farming 75-100 years ago. It’s hard to make a living as a small farmer these days and the joke is that “farming is a lifestyle, not a living”. Haha! Actually it’s not that funny. The U.S has seen a steady decline in family farms since World War II.
The North Star farmers on Farmstay have a special talent – they are both working farmers and farming hosts who have opened their farm gates to the public with lodging, tours, u-pick and more. It’s a necessary bridge from the digital world to the natural world. It’s connection to the land. It’s connection that leaves politics outside the gate. Best of all, everyone benefits. Adding agritourism lessens the risks of farming and allows these farms to run sustainably. Visiting a farm often delivers an endorphin rush—thanks to goat cuddles or just laughing at all the things we don’t know, like how to feed the chickens, collect eggs, pull carrots, spot a potato plant, or tell a goat from a sheep.
We recognize the current trend in business is to tell “stories”. We’ve been doing that for 15 years. Every farm has a story. We don’t have to search for them. They are as authentic as the farmers behind them. We hope you will search out some of our farms to visit and listen to their stories. Farms are never boring, so we know you’ll head home with a story of your own—maybe after seeing the North Star or even discovering your own along the way.