Salutations!
It’s so nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself…My name is Dawn Renée Markley Webster a.k.a. Miss Dawn and I’m pleased to announce that I will be one of Laughing Buck Farm’s guest bloggers for the summer!
When I was approached by Rosemary to write for their family’s farming web site community, I was taken by surprise with a variety of emotions that eluded me for a moment. We just stared at each other for a brief second. “Me?” She then presented me with that engaging and gorgeous ray-of-sunshine smile that everyone who knows her has experienced…the one that immediately makes your heart melt with the realization that this woman has already welcomed you into her family’s realm. It’s that smile of reassurance that you’re already a member of ‘the hood’, The Farmhood! I returned a knowing grin which sealed the deal. It was clear. “Hello?! Why haven’t I written about the farm before?” Of course. The farm’s essence is ingrained in our family’s history. It is now in our DNA, regardless of where we go and how long between visits. It stays with us, the embodiment of what she represents. If you’ve been there, you have her in your veins too. If you haven’t yet experienced the farm’s loveliness, you will soon understand as you hear the rooster crow and you begin to pull out of the driveway.
It’s so nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself…My name is Dawn Renée Markley Webster a.k.a. Miss Dawn and I’m pleased to announce that I will be one of Laughing Buck Farm’s guest bloggers for the summer!
When I was approached by Rosemary to write for their family’s farming web site community, I was taken by surprise with a variety of emotions that eluded me for a moment. We just stared at each other for a brief second. “Me?” She then presented me with that engaging and gorgeous ray-of-sunshine smile that everyone who knows her has experienced…the one that immediately makes your heart melt with the realization that this woman has already welcomed you into her family’s realm. It’s that smile of reassurance that you’re already a member of ‘the hood’, The Farmhood! I returned a knowing grin which sealed the deal. It was clear. “Hello?! Why haven’t I written about the farm before?” Of course. The farm’s essence is ingrained in our family’s history. It is now in our DNA, regardless of where we go and how long between visits. It stays with us, the embodiment of what she represents. If you’ve been there, you have her in your veins too. If you haven’t yet experienced the farm’s loveliness, you will soon understand as you hear the rooster crow and you begin to pull out of the driveway.
We’ve been friends for almost 10 years now. Sometimes the memories on this farm feel like they just happened yesterday while other days I get melancholy remembering the history of events that have taken place between our families. Our history began with only about a year after they moved into this quaint community of FoCo. I had recently adopted 2 munchkins from Haiti and needed to resolve a way to integrate them socially with a gentle openness without overwhelming our new family’s nest with the chaos of the outside world. It was as if the universe heard my inner wishes of inclusiveness and presented us with the Jedel-Graff family! We created a preschool cooperative together, became one of the first chicken (Marigold, Iris) cooperative members in 2008, pulled weeds/planted seeds in the original garden and made paper bag bumble bee puppets for the ‘trial-run’ experiment of having a farm class for kids. Then came the day that their family decided to take their homestead to the next level of making it an official community biz and the collaborative process of finding a name that fit the essence of the farm began…
For Mother’s Day years ago, all I wanted was a pygmy goat. Yep! I’ve dreamt of having one ever since I was a little kid. The pet farm they used to have at our San Diego zoo was my favorite and I’d giggle when the goats tried to eat my shirt, my paper map and nibble on my arm while my sister screamed as they walked towards her! Well, leave it to Miss Rosemary, the ultimate conversationalist and listener of all things that are dear to others — she offered a stall to house my mini dream — we drove to another farm 45 minutes away to adopt Rocket, Laughing Buck Farm’s mascot of fun, the quirky lawn ornament that everyone wants in their backyard to play with.
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Throughout the years, as time has passed, there have been joyous blessings of the heart and also the breaking of our hearts. We’ve witnessed the beginnings of seedlings in all forms. Whether it be the green shoots of a stalk in the garden, the birth of kittens from the resident cat, newborn kids of the furry and human kind or nailing the first piece of lumber into the chicken coop…we have been able to reap the harvest of bounty that we’ve received in eating that vegetable, naming that resident cat Violet after a special stuffed animal, watching the toddlers grow into beloved beings and held the precious chicks that eventually grew up to lay gorgeous eggs for us to nourish our bodies with each day. We’ve de-feathered roosters for soup stock, buried sweet little goats that never opened their eyes, cried over lost precious felines that were named, eaten the best bacon we’ve ever had that gifted their lives by loved pigs, scooped poop and endured muscles barely able to move from loading hay bales.
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This farm has taught our family how to love, mourn, sweat and savor the simple beauties of life. Isabelle Rossellini puts into words the epitome of what Laughing Buck Farm symbolizes and what their family encapsulates so eloquently, “Adoption carries the added dimension of connection not only to your own tribe but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties, and family. It is the larger embrace. “ ~ Isabella Rossellini
Blessings. Freedom. Family. Love. Beauty.
You’ll find it all here @ Laughing Buck Farm.
Savor It,
~ Dawn Renée
Blessings. Freedom. Family. Love. Beauty.
You’ll find it all here @ Laughing Buck Farm.
Savor It,
~ Dawn Renée
Dawn Renée Markley-Webster writes about the savory and sweet spices of life by finding beauty amidst the chaos of our world. She's a visionary of Possibility. Seeing challenges as opportunities to discover strengths, she seeks resources for turning yearnings into realities. Dawn is a soul whisperer who engages in listening to the voices of our hearts, encouraging us to nourish our souls with enriching bites of whatever makes us sigh blissfully or squeal with excitement. Reclaim what brings you contentment. A mother of 3 who's passions run deep for community, cooking, culture, teaching and rhythm making. You can follow along in her meanderings, where she dwells and within her own abode by going to:
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