Well Folks, I’ve managed to write eleven blog posts and keep my followers engaged, and I want to say a big THANK YOU for the support. I wanted to take two short posts and introduce myself and Austin, so you all can put a face to the Weber Hollow Homestead name. If you backtrack to blog post number one (“The Beautiful Inception”), I gave a brief introduction, but now that we have a steady group of supporters, I wanted to showcase who we really are.
I will go first, and I will let you all meet Austin in a few weeks 😊 (spoiler alert; he is writing a blog post from his point of view that I will be sharing with you all, so I want to make his introduction after he becomes an official author of the "Regenerating the Future" Blog).
I hate being put on the spot, so bear with me here as I attempt to tell you guys about myself...
For starters, I clearly am incredibly passionate about agriculture. I grew up in rural SE Wisconsin (most of it is not so rural anymore), and spent most of my time at my Grandparent's farm which was just through the woods from where I grew up. The family farm ended up selling when I was young, but I knew I wanted to stay in the industry. I had my HEART set on Colorado State for Vet School, but like most kids, a 3.4 gpa for a Bachelor's in Dairy Cattle Science and a Bachelor's in Biochemistry wasn't good enough. On top of that, I worked at 2 farms milking cows as well as tutored other college students in mathematical statistics, so between the 3 jobs, I usually worked around 30 hours per week. I was in a few clubs, and had 3 internships under my belt.
I was DEVASTATED when Colorado State rejected me, but when roughly 5-10% of applicants that apply are actually accepted, it's a tough race. Instead of spending the next year working a dead-end job and consuming my thoughts with why I got rejected until I could re-apply for Vet School, I decided to take a technical support role at a cattle monitoring technology company. Fast-forward 4 years and I am now the Training Manager for our North America region.
I could have re-applied, but after being with the company that first year, I decided that this would be my career. I absolutely love interacting with farmers and ranchers on a daily basis and teaching them all about farm management and how to make their operations more efficient. Bottom line...I LOVE teaching people about agriculture. That is ultimately why I started this blog, social media presence, and the Weber Hollow Homestead name, that I hope to turn into a business down the road.
When I say I have hobbies, it's really hard for me to categorize things I love as hobbies, because the things I love have formed into more of a lifestyle. I love the whole concept of sustainability and regenerative living; using the resources you have from the land and thriving. So when I say that raising livestock and gardening/growing my own food are my hobbies, they are soo much more than that.
I guess one of my true hobbies would be playing guitar and singing. I love jamming out on my guitar, and writing music. Fun fact about me: when I was in high school/college, my friend and I wrote an entire album and recorded it. I went under the false name of Ann Hardy because I didn't want people to know it was my music in case they hated it! I am thinking I might have to showcase some guitar jams in a future blog post, or on my social media accounts :)
I feel like I am about to go on a random tangent about some of my hobbies, so I will just write a list of my favorite things below!
-I CANNOT sit around and do nothing, I am always working on projects or putzing about the farm
-bluegrass music and outlaw country music
-The Last Podcast on the Left (podcast of true crime and the macabre)...I HIGHLY recommend taking a listen!! It's a bit rough around the edges, but these guys are amazing.
-cooking and building #thenomnomeffect on Instagram :)
-all things gardening
-wearing flannels and muck boots (usually my daily wear)
-CHICKENS...ducks are starting to grow on me too :P
-learning!
-ice cream (because who doesn't love ice cream)
-hiking and being in the mountains
-Colter Wall, Tyler Childers, and The Turnpike Troubadours (check out their music..you WON'T be disappointed)
-sushi
-"No-yank tanks" from Duluth Trading Co.
-ALL of my fur babies...life just wouldn't be the same without them!
Now that you can put a face to the name, don't hesitate to say "Hi" if you see me out and about! Or, if you are in the greater Milwaukee area the weekend of June 14th-15th, swing by Art in the Barn in Jackson, WI and check out some things I will be selling! I will be posting more details about the event on Facebook and Instagram as the date gets closer!
Until then...enjoy this AWESOME weather, and go plant some stuff!
-J