The Art of Noticing

Message From the Farm:

We sat down with Bre Harris, founder of The Wild Quiet Company, in mid July, and the conversation kept circling back to one idea: slow down enough to notice.

It's easy to fill a day with tasks and call it productive. Bre's work is a good reminder there's a second half to that equation — after you plant, build, or change something, you have to actually watch what happens next. A finished task tells you what you did. Observation tells you what it meant.

We're living that out right now. Our new mealworm setup has developed a moth population — not planned, and not (so far) hurting the mealworms. But it raises real questions: why now, why this setup, and what does it mean going forward? We don't have answers yet. We're just paying attention, the same way Bre talked about paying attention to a garden, a yard, or a patch of "wild" ground most people would tidy away without a second look.

That's the heart of living curiously — not rushing to fix or explain everything, but noticing first. Slowing down long enough to see what's actually there, and letting the questions sit before chasing answers.

It's a good practice for a garden. It's a good practice for a farm. Honestly, it's a good practice for most things.

- Ryan Garvin, Acres of Asher Integrator

Watch our conversation with Bre:

Curious what "leaving it" looks like in practice? Bre's hosting a Leave It + Winter Bird session in the Lakes Area — a great next step after this conversation.

I personally have been a big fan of winter effect in our gardens. I like leaving the tall grasses, the tall flowers with their seed pods through the winter. Many people tidy up the garden every fall without realizing they're clearing out habitat overwintering insects and wildlife actually need. This session covers what to leave, what to cut back, and how simple changes — food, shelter, a little less tidying — can help birds through winter.

A little wilder yard, a lot more life. Registration details are up on The Wild Quiet Co.'s site — go take a look and save your spot!

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