Farming’s a tricky business, and managing for cash flow is hard. Managing for profit is even harder. So we farmers learn to be careful with our money. Those management skills mean we get pretty good at living within our means. But they can cause a total head trip on those rare occasions when it’s time to stretch beyond them.

I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 7, Episode 3 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow. Want a text copy of this story? Find it over on the blog.

Support the show

Did you ever notice what makes a community feel inviting? It’s not the big box stores. It’s not the chain restaurants. It’s the small businesses that create a true sense of place, that let a traveler know that a given corner of the world is cared-for and cherished. But how much burden and responsibility can a small business shoulder for a community’s well-being before they are unable to exist?

I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 7, Episode 2 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow. Prefer the written version? Find it here.

Special thanks to Tanya Barrow at Unsplash for this week's image!

Support the show

Healing isn’t really possible unless we’re willing to look at the wounds we’ve been hiding. For most of my life, I haven’t been willing to look. That’s changing. I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 7, Episode 1 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow. Find the text version on this story over on Shannon's blog.

Support the show