New Moon Farm is not closing down, it is merely in transition. Unfortunately, I am finding that the transition is taking longer and costing a whole lot more than I had planned but I have faith that it will all work out in the end. My motivation is strong because I need to preserve the integrity of this Farm and successfully take it into the future. I owe it to Dave's memory to make sure that the amazing things he/we accomplished here continue to mean something. I am also a woman who lost the love of her life very recently and who is struggling to find a way to live in that future without him. One day I was part of very dynamic partnership and the next day it was over. That is very hard and it slows me down some days. So, if you are not seeing me at my regular markets these days, please bear with me and keep the faith. I am not gone. I just have a lot on my plate at the moment.

Dave and I have practiced sustainable, organic agriculture since New Moon's inception in 2000. We demonstrated our committment to those principles by becoming the one of the first certified organic farms in this part of N. C. (we were the first certified organic farm in Rowan County). I have been told by many aspiring organic/sustainable growers that New Moon has been the model that they looked to to gain knowledge and inspiration. We have had volunteers, interns, apprentices, whatever you wish to call them come to the farm to learn and to participate in our lives. Everyone was welcomed as part of our "farmily" and we loved teaching them about what we were trying to do here. We took that part of our stewardship very seriously...the passing of the "torch of knowledge" to others. Sadly, you will notice that all of that was referenced in the past tense because frankly the end of a decade of New Moon Farm Organics as it has stood until now, is no longer. I personally am not only mourning the death of my much beloved husband, I am mourning the loss of what we had to show for the last 10 years of our life together. It could be worse, I guess, but it doesn't feel that way right now.

WHY IS NEW MOON FARM MOVING TO A NEW LOCATION
Up until now, on this website and in my blogs, I have skirted the issues surrounding the demise of the present incarnation of New Moon Farm Organics. I do not feel that it is fair to my customers or myself to be vague and evasive any longer about the reasons for what is happening at the Farm right now. While I have tried to make the best of the situation, to think positively and only put that face forward, the truth of the matter is that none of this is my choice.

The land that New Moon Farm occupied never belonged to us. It was always Dave's "family farm", as I have referred to it many times. And, as I stated in the past, not everybody involved in New Moon Farm has appreciated or understood the importance of it. Very shortly after Dave's death, I was informed that the Farm needed to be leased to someone else and that I would be required to vacate the house. Needless to say, I was devastated, hurt and angry but I wasn't given a choice, so I have had to accept it. Financial considerations were given as the reasoning behind this decision but if that were true, didn't those reasons exist long before Dave passed and couldn't they have been discussed when he was still alive? I have no answer for that.

I was informed that the new leasee needed to get into the fields by May 1st. As of June 1st, he has not done anything in either field. While no concrete date was given for my vacating the house,after that news, it was hard to think about remaining any longer than absolutely necessary. Because the only plot prepared in time to plant anything for spring harvest was our small kitchen garden, it was the only area planted at the time that Dave died back in March. At that time, it had been too wet to work the bigger fields and so no other ground was ready for planting. It was already getting late in the season and so a new plan had to be formulated almost overnight. I admit not everything was thought completely through at first and some things have not worked out as planned. Now that the initial shock is wearing off, it is becoming easier to make more rational decisions.

RISING AGAIN FROM THE ASHES
When I was handed this pronouncement about the Farm, it only made sense that I completely abandon any and all efforts to get anything into the ground here and put my focus elsewhere. Along with the Farm, went my life, my livelihood and my sole source of income. (Dave left no life insurance - try getting that after a cancer diagnosis. We owned no property and no investments to speak of. Our savings were drastically reduced by uninsured medical bills and I am still facing many of those which are unpaid.) Obviously, not much thought was given to the effect that this would have on New Moon Farm, my entire life and the lives of several others. It sent me scrambling for ways to preserve whatever semblence of order about the Farm that I could muster. Luckily, my own very supportive parents came to my rescue with an offer to let me use their land to re-establish the Farm in its new incarnation. That is the direction I am traveling now but it is slow going. In order to get re-established in a new location and to have any kind of chance at a decent growing season, something obviously had to be initiated immediately. And so, I put my grieving aside (and much too soon, I should add) and have plunged in with both feet to establish the next incarnation of New Moon Farm in our new home in Lincoln County.
(I am still working on putting aside the hurt and disappointment.)

TRYING HARD TO STILL BE GRATEFUL
I have had some incredible, wonderful people who have given their time and effort to helping me and I am so very thankful for them. But the bulk of the packing, etc. has fallen to me and it is taking much longer than I anticipated. I hope to be completely moved to the new location by the end of the first week of June.

One of the hardest things I have had to do is to dismantle my furred and feathered "farmily". I had to sell off my flock of Delaware chickens. I am having to find homes for three of my beloved Jack Russells because the house where I will be living (not where the new "farm" will be) will only allow me to keep 2 of my dogs. I have taken in stray and abandoned cats for several years and now I can't find placements for them, so I don't know what is going to happen to them now.

New Moon Farm was one of the most important things in Dave's life and he was completely dedicated to it. No matter what has transpired since his death, I will always be eternally grateful to Dave's family for allowing him (ergo, me and "us") to realize such a dream. (Of course, I do think that they were very lucky to have had him so close all those years, too, particularly in light of his illness.) Yes, without their support over the years, we would never have been able to have done what we did here, although I have no doubt that Dave would have found a way to do it somewhere. He was the kind of man who, once he set his mind on something, rarely, if ever, failed. He was a farmer, a waterman, a falconer, a shaman and the purest soul I have had the pleasure of knowing. He was everything I could have hoped for in a husband and he was my best friend. I am so very thankful that I was allowed to have him in my life, even for the brief 16 years we had together. Dave told me the week before he died that he had never loved anyone as much as he loved me and that our time together was the best time of his life. Until the day I am called to join him, I shall always strive to be a person worthy of the love of such a man. He told me over and over I should do what makes me happy after he was gone. I will do everything in my power to keep his dream alive because that is what makes me happy.