A New Beginning.....

It's a gorgeous Friday here in Palmer, Kentucky. I have totally neglected this blog, our website and our Facebook page. It's time to put a halt to that and head in a new direction. Yesterday morning I took my coffee out front and pondered. I do that alot, sitting on the porch swing and staring across the fields towards Madison County. We had so many plans when we moved here in November of 2010 - and as I looked around at all the changes, I couldn't help but notice what wasn't getting done. The front deck was a mess. How on earth did THAT happen?

The Dave person and I work every day. All day long. Sure, we don't have typical nine-to-five jobs like most people. We also don't have typical paydays like most people. We have focused so much on trying to keep All Things Country Magazine going that we have neglected the farm. So, sitting there I wondered how we got so far off track.

Several reasons came to my mind. We waited for 253 days just to own the farm. That was the first hurdle. Financing turned into a nightmare and we lost $8,000.00 right off the bat. But, we had dreams. Big dreams. So, with hard work, we could surely make a go of it, right?

Then my sister and her husband moved here. Seems like things just kept getting more and more off-track. And the work on the magazine just kept getting slower and slower. The economy jumped in the way and the nasty way our country is being run kept people from advertising. Seems to be that way again right now. What did we do, we worked harder.

I have never wanted the magazine to fail. So much so that all of our resources were being used up trying to sell ads to businesses that couldn't afford them any longer. It doesn't pay to drive around every day, using up lots and lots of gas and not making anything. It's kind of like opening up your shop each day, working 8 hours and never making a sale. That's the way it's been going.

By the time we get home each day, we found the farm was getting less and less of our attention. And that is far from our long-term goal here. Adjustments have to be made. If one way isn't working, you always figure out a different way - and that's what we are going to do. Try things a different way. I'm not good at failing. And I refuse to give up on All Things Country Magazine.

But, I refuse to give up on the AlpacaBerry Farm. It's my long term dream and you just don't give up on dreams. I want this place to be a 'destination'. I want visitors to come and see what improvements have been made. I want you to bring your kids here and introduce them to the critters or learn something about where their food comes from. I want you to bring your momma out here to see the beautiful flower gardens. I want you to bring your grandkidlets out to fish in the pond.

So, this farm deserves just as much attention as the magazine. A lot of people know about our magazine. Advertising somehow comes around during the latter part of the month. I am going to do what I can to promote it through email and online - and we will start making less trips out, which will allow us to be at the farm more - and doing improvements each and every day.

In the long run, I'd rather work 12 hours on this farm and showing it off to visitors. It's very rewarding and to see the improvements each and every day will just keep us more determined to succeed.

So, I'm off to see what we can improve today. Blessings to each and every one of you.

The Pam person


My front porch is your front porch, won't you sit awhile?