May Miracles—Swoope Almanac May 2019
May miracles in Swoope Lush, green pastures fill the landscape, here at the beginning of the Chesapeake Bay in the Shenandoah Valley along Middle River. Baby calves form up in groups and run fast with their tails high in the air. The smell of lilacs fills the air. A new...
Earth Day 2019—Book Release Day!
Happy Earth Day! Today the pastures of Swoope are a brilliant, emerald-green. I can see forever north with the Allegheny Mountains to the west and white puffy clouds with flat bottoms overhead. The sight fills me with wonder. We have so much to be thankful for, in the stewardship of the...
Swoope Almanac, the Book
Cows, Calves, and Cranes – Swoope Almanac March 2018
Earth awakens from the cold during the month of March in America's legendary Shenandoah Valley. Days lengthen, migrations begin, chloroplasts awaken and absorb the energy from the sun's photons - photosynthesis begins....pastures slowly turn from brown to green. Life's energy is on the move. March. The end of winter and...
Ruminations – Swoope Almanac November 2017
Migrations and Musings – Swoope Almanac September 2017
I live in such a beautiful place – It’s mostly grasslands and forests. In some places, one cannot see another dwelling in any direction. On most mornings in September, mist hugs the hollows and heavy dew blankets the ground.
Bulls, Carbon and Catalpa – Swoope Almanac June 2017
June in Swoope, Virginia - The Headwaters of the Shenandoah River June is the beginning of the farm year for our cow/calf operation in America's legendary Shenandoah Valley. It's when the bulls go in with our three herds of cows. June is also when we make all the hay to...
Calving Season: Swoope Almanac – March 2017
Calving Season Begins March 1st Green grass emerges from its brown, dormant cloak of winter. Northern Harriers glide and teeter, close to the ground in search of anything that moves. In the vast grasslands of Swoope, Virginia, the headwaters of the Shenandoah River it’s voles they hunt. American Plum pushes...
Sipping Africa, Mandela and the Reality of Trump – Swoope Almanac 11/16
Journal entry 11/15/16: Sipping Africa Charlottesville, VA: We ordered a bottle of Bayten, Sauvignon Blanc. It’s from the Constantia wine region in South Africa, the oldest wine region in the Southern Hemisphere. It's Cape Town's wine region, at the Southern tip of the African continent. I raised my glass and...
