Can you help us name our new farm?!

I name everything...and usually right away. I think this creates a sense of commitment, accountability and affection to any "thing" or project. I named my container garden the "Painted Parterre" which is French for "garden arrangement of flower beds". We named our pontoon "Ruff Life" and our house "The Dog House" because of our love for dogs and our dog weather vane. I like the cute names, Rob always jokes with any new idea or purchase, "What are you going to name it Jul?".

Well the time has come that we need a farm name! Our LLC is "Time on Texoma". Rob's future fly fishing business is "Texoma on the Fly". We think it should have Texoma in the name, but nothing is resonating with us. Rob likes..."Grim Acres"...that is a hard NO from me. Sounds like a cemetery. I like "The Humble Bee Farm". He says no way am I feeling super bad ass about my tractor, barn, ponds and workshop named "The Humble Bee Farm". Ugh...we need help!

So let me share a sense of what we want this farm's personality and energy to feel like. It is ten acres rectangularly shaped with a working apiary of 8 hive and a small commercial flower farm. There is a winding road back to a white raised center monitor style barn with charcoal trim and a cute cupola with a darling weather vane (dog, bee, or chicken) that is quaint and inviting. Inside will be a dedicated space for creative workshops, or rented meeting space. It will be warm with a cottage feel to gather and be inspired. I see joy over the creation of a new painting you never thought possible, or the wonder in watching a project come together. I will have guest artists in residence to share their talents and educate on their techniques. I want you to fellowship with your friends. I dream you will be so squishy with a peaceful appreciation to be together and enjoy each others company while you work on your annual vision boards together. I can just see the long table full of poster boards with cut outs from magazines and photos. I see scissors clipping out dreams and friends gluing commitments to travel together born out of your reconnecting about your love for Europe! I can hear the dreams being shared, the losses being mourned and from all of it a sense of renewal and hope for the coming year! I want to be facilitating that joy amongst friends. What an honor. I can't wait. I am squishy just typing this! I can smell the candles and coffee in the air, and hear the joy in the sounds of laughter and stories. I think I just heard champagne pop! Wow...how lucky will I be?

The barn will eventually include a living space to allow a small group to gather and stay at the farm for a few days. Maybe even a family reunion! It will be modest, and efficient, but well appointed and cozy. It will hopefully sleep six comfortably as long as some are willing to bunk or share a bed. Admittedly I am not a bed-sharer!

There is one remaining third of the barn that will be Rob's sancutuary of toys! All our storage units of trailers and tractors and ATVs and Mule, and riding lawnmower and power tools and on and on and on will officially have a home under one roof. It will be so nice for him to have his own joyful space for guy "stuff" like woodworking and projects around the farm (pretty sure I will have a healthy list for him!).

My bees will bee pollinators for my flower farm. Each hive has roughly 10,000 bees, that's 80,000 bees to bee responsible for keeping alive! I am studying hard and attending bee school monthly. I am a little nervous, but nerves are good. They keep you alert and careful, critical with all those stingers in the air. My beehives are all financially sponsored for 2023. What does that mean? I marketed the opportunity to participate in my bee keeping experience. The sponsors name their hives and get a monthly video of their hive's progress from spring farm delivery to honey harvest and winter preparation. I will send a newsletter twice in the year. They get one visit to the hive if they choose, fully donned with bee suit and signed liability waiver in hand of course. In addition, they get all the harvestable honey in a custom labeled jar with their hive name. Each hive needs 30-50 lbs of honey to live through the average winter, so we can only harvest the surplus. Each hive is different and each queen is the CEO of the hive, so she calls the shots and is responsible for the success of the hive. There is an element of gambling on your hive because there are so many different elements at play, from queen quality to gifts from Mother Nature and we all know she has been a little prickly lately. That is the fun in the sponsorship. We don't know what will happen, but we know it will be exciting and we are participating in saving the planet as a community. Personally, I think this is genius...if I do say so myself. My start up costs for each hive are covered and I can begin depreciating my flower farm expenses immediately. The flowers are for the bees and butterflies first and foremost and then my friends and customers of course. I am so excited about this new adventure. I will be using an apiary consultant monthly to help me with bee health and honey harvest. I have never raised honey bees, only mason and leaf cutter bees so this is all new to me. Rob says I am becoming too enthusiastic and that I might "over-share occasionally". He says, "Jul, you come in a little hot on the bee talk, not everyone wants to know everything there is about bees in one discussion. You might be getting a little weird!" Needless to say, bee discussion will be a part of my blog going forward. Probably to share as many fails as successes. We plan on failing often, failing fast, learning fast and growing fast. After all, this is only a ten year plan, after that, we will be tired, fulfilled and ready to pass it along to another eager owner!

My flower farm will be modest. I will start with a plan for two 36' x 40' plots with 2 additional plots added the following year once I have my gotten my feet wet, so to speak. I will have pop up Flower Markets periodically based on what is blooming. I will have a precious Bloom Cart outside the gate where you can drive by and pick out an awesome bouquet to make you smile and add a little joy to your table. I do not plan on working in farmers markets etc. This will purely be word of mouth and social media. My Bloom Cart will be based on an honor system for payment. If someone steals flowers from me, that is between them and God, and he's a pretty strict fella when it comes to stealing.

I have wanted chickens FOREVER! To be clear, I really want just a few eggs, but really I want designer chickens. I have my eye on Polish Frizzles! The feathers grow backwards and makes their plumage ridiculously messy and sassy! I want three white frizzles named CoCo, Chanel & Mademoiselle. The coop will be White and Charcoal to match the barn and have two interlocking C's just like the Chanel logo, but instead, this stands for "C"hicken "C"oop. I told you I love a good name! Are they not going to be the haughty totties of the farm? I need to add a Rhode Island Red for some guaranteed eggs, since apparently my designer chickens are expensive, finicky and can't be bothered with eggs. Her name will be "Target", affordable, dependable and way better than Wal-mart. I can't wait to be their maid, butler, entertainment concierge and chef. I also predict I will read my blog in two years and hear how much fun the Frizzles were to have and then to get rid of because they cost me a fortune and were complete demanding divas. I will have to remember to be flexible in my chicken rearing. Again, back to fail fast, often and learn fast! We are considering goats, or sheep, and definitely a pony for my grand babies! More to come on that dream chapter later.

Picture a wonderful harvest dinner in the middle of the garden pathway. There will be twinkly patio lights criss crossed over the guests and an abundance of flowers and candles down the center of an old table with curated miss-matched chairs to honor you and your friends. You will sit facing north and south to enjoy the sunsets, but not be squinting into the sun. Imagine eating and sharing a great bottle of wine listening to music with a gentle breeze that quietly restores a sense of calm. I want this farm to conjure a feeling of community, connection and grateful hearts.

We will have a large pond to enjoy complete with fire pit and outdoor living room. I can see inspiration coming from a quiet moment by a fire on a cool day watching the late migrant butterflies work the end of the fall flowers, and the bees gathering the last of the flower nectar for overwinter preparations for the colonies. I can't wait to have it all up and running, but that will take time. We have a plan, and we have a budget, and both are equally important and remain bedrock to the development and sustainability.

So back to my original question..."What should we name this farm?" When read the farm vision, what names came to mind? What words embody our vision, include Texoma and make you want to come for a weekend with your friends and families? Do you have any ideas for us? Please, NOT GRIM ACRES!

Yours truly failing often, fast and learning,

Julie Grim