WonderTree Farm

Mommies, Moms & Mothers  I was born into the arms of a real woman. She was strong, beautiful, and willing to submit herself to what she calls the pleasure of being a good wife and of raising good children. Of course, the “realness” of a woman is not purely tied to the attributes and priorities …

We host field trips at WonderTree. Field trips, birthday parties, group outings. Some of my favorite moments as a farmer come during these trips. Kids are great. I have four of them…and I still think they’re great. Kids on a farm are a next-level kind of great. Their eyes are wide. Their feet fast. Their …

For my Father and everyone who has lost someone they love. Grief has a remarkable knack for capturing us. It has no respect for time and place. It chose to visit me this morning while I was writing the newsletter.   Sometimes I pauseIn the still of the morningWith so much the day demands I’m struck by a soundGrass bent by breezeThe …

Several years ago, when Jen and I started WonderTree, we started traditions. Like a lot of good traditions many of them had unintentional beginnings. Farm Day at WonderTree is perhaps the largest, most unintentional tradition of them all. What started as a more convenient way to buy meat and eggs turned into a farm party the whole …

Calm and observant — My daughter pointed at the lifeless runt piglet.  She then looks up at me to observe my reaction. In an instant, those three words from our four-year old’s mouth evoked two immediate and conflicting emotions. As a parent ~ I felt anxious. The exposure to the fragility of life postures me to protect her. Inherently, I want to …

What if there was a cultural center that was also a farm producing clean food, clean experiences, and authentic community–right here in Zionsville? What if that farm was a place for families to, once again, reconnect with nature, animals, and work while learning the origins of food? What if that farm was placed in a community …

If you didn’t think we were crazy already, this might push you over the edge. In the early days of WonderTree I adopted a personal conviction regarding meat sales. I made up my mind to never, ever sell a cut of meat I hadn’t first tried myself. This, in my naive, self-perceived professional opinion, was …

It was a Saturday in the Spring of 1983. I was five years old. Every year about this time we loaded our Spring and Summer yearling calves from the previous year and took them to market. In the livestock world a group of calves like this is called a “calf crop.” Every year we loaded …

Parasite – an organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host. A person or being who receives support or advantage from another or others without giving any useful or proper return, one who lives on the hospitality of others. You are a native, organic being. You are designed to steward and enrich the earth. …

I need to make something clear here at the start. My wife, Jen, gave her consent to this piece. It is a 100% true retelling of a marital event that occurred several years ago. Facebook is full of posturing and perfect false fronts. Our life together is imperfect, but it is real. We aren’t much …