Last summer, Bob and I moved down to the farm at the start of lambing season to help pull things together in the wake of Mom’s death. All in all, it was a bad idea.

I’d do it again. I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 7, Episode 4 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow. Find the text of this story here.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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I was always an A student. Actually, I couldn’t NOT be an A student. After writing this week’s post, I think I could fairly say I was TRAPPED into being an A student. I’m beginning to see how that has been working against me. It’s time to turn things around and make life more sane.

I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 6, Episode 17 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow. For a full transcript, check out The Radical Homemaker Blog at SapBushFarmStore.com.

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If your doctor advised you to cut back and do less, could you do it?

I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 6, Episode 16 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow. For the transcript of this story, visit The Radical Homemaker blog at https://www.sapbushfarmstore.com.

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It never occurred to me that cleaning my mother’s house would shed light on her fears. But as we continue to work to revitalize the Sap Bush Farm House, more mysteries about her are solved…and revealed…

I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 6, Episode 15 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow. Find the printed version of this story over on The Radical Homemaker Blog at SapBushFarmStore.com.

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We got a day off this week! Bob and I took off for a paddling trip to the Adirondacks, where I used to dream of buying a cabin with a fantasy $500,000 book advance. On this day off, I got a chance to reflect on where that dream got us. I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 6, Episode 14 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow. You can read this story on The Radical Homemaker Blog, which is now located on the Sap Bush Hollow website: SapBushFarmStore.com.

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