How Quickly Things Can Change

“Thank you to everyone whom have so generously and loving given to a family you’ve never met! My name is Joelle and my partner, Britt, and I moved her about 1.5 years ago with our children Kevin, Pieta and Everett, and have been so amazed by this community. Through the wildfires, then the ice storm, and now this - we are rooting in a truly strong, special place.

Receiving so many caring and concerned messages, we wished to update our community on our current safe status. Investigators have determined as of yesterday that fire occurred after our generator dried out the adjacent exterior wood wall siding over many years enough such that it eventually took to flame while the generator was in use. Thus they noted it was not an “if” but a “when” scenario and I am grateful I was home alone without our children, during the day and awake, and that we had all working smoke detectors - especially since the investigators said the fire grew three times it’s size with every minute.

The unique shape, materials of our home and roof made it difficult to put out the fire. It went up and stayed up in the vaulted areas, eaves and attic spaces. There are plenty of areas that appear untouched by direct flame, however between the caved ceilings due to tresses, dry wall, insulation, wiring and more, falling from fire damage and water weight, there is also an enormous amount of smoke, debris, and water damage throughout every inch of the home. Our team notes the entire house itself must be rebuilt.

We have temporary shelter for the year through an RV from friends, and thereby have heat! Yay! We also have electricity and hope this week we will have water once a broken line is found and repaired.

We have tons of bottled water, snacks, toiletries, blankets, sheets, an air purifier, plates, bowls, silverware, pots and pans, paper towels and toilet paper, a standing heater, hair brush, Tylenol, a toaster oven, towels, sleeping bags, pillows, and even clothes, coats and shoes as well as toys from both many incredible donations and some things we have gradually been able to remove from the home and save through cleaning with the help of our neighbors! Seriously, this is just mind boggling how folks have come together so quickly to shore us up!!!

We have a dry office/studio space unattached from the home for our animals - and all their needs have been met including replacing their enclosures, bedding, feed, litter, and more! It’s amazing how many little things go into taking care of everyone but golly everyone contributed so quickly it was almost seamless how that came together within two days!

We plan to have a portable storage container so we may store items salvaged by fire fighters and now potentially also through the cleaning teams working with the demolition crew that will begin coming through the house next week. We are hopeful we may be able to use the unattached garage for some additional living/play space for the children.

What a village and beyond that has made this possible for us! We are truly speechless and count that we have far more blessings than losses! Thank you to every anonymous person whom have showed us love but never even met us. You are all amazing! This is the kind of world we live in, this is what humanity is really about. We might not see it on the news but is absolutely is the greater fabric of our being. We look forward to the myriad of ways we can give back to each of you and more in the coming weeks, months and years here in Beavercreek!

While words are absolutely not enough to capture the full measure of the depth of our gratitude, we will take every opportunity and forum to express it however and whenever we can: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

We are Beard & Braid Farm!

We, The Beard & The Braid, along with our children, moved here to this small farm in summer 2020. Like many families taking the leap into a more simple, agriculture-based lifestyle, we left the city of Portland, Oregon, and have been loving on this plot of land about 30 miles outside the city and almost 2000 feet up on a butte of the cascade range for over a year and a half. It’s been a wild ride attempting to learn what it might mean and look like to unlearn so much of our habits and dependence on a system, and to find what a small, permaculture inspired farm could operate by just our own hands?

Upon our arrival, within the first month we acquired a host of farm animals: chickens, rabbits, ducks, bees, sheep and goats only to suddenly evacuate from wildfires that came as close as a mile away. A few months later at the start of 2021, an ice storm wiped out thousands of pounds of natural forest on our property and trapped us in without power or water for weeks. (We did say we moved here to simplify things, right?) Later that summer we experienced record heat waves of over 110 degrees which hung on for days scorching our animals and gardens. While we began with five goats, we grew to almost twenty sheep and goats - an amazing journey which at after birth, growth, weaning and sales, are now back down to six sheep.

In another adventure, we went from two chickens to sixty in one year. We learned how to ferment feed, to allow our hens safe range over the farm co-existing with our sheep and dogs, and established an (ever-expanding) customer base for our rainbow eggs. Yet, living rurally we also learned hard lessons about the vulnerability of our poultry to many natural elements and said goodbye to many a favorite bird over the last year.

For our first year our gardens were surprisingly productive much in part due to the many steps we took and still take to feed our soil and support our local pollinators. Our best amendments come from our small community of bunnies! We had such a bounty our first year we were able to give away weekly bundles to our egg customers. The Beard built an impressive 20x40 greenhouse, completed in late summer 2021, and we hope it will play an important part in expanding our production in the coming year.

More than anything, we have loved - and relish in, all the time we spend sweating and laughing outside with our plants and animals. Finding the balance of how to live and farm here in ways that fit our hearts and this land has been the most beautiful adventure. Thank you for taking a moment to read about our beginnings. We look forward to sharing stories and adventures here at Beard & Braid Farm with any whom may enjoy them, or coming to play along here with us!