Look who spent the day at our farm!

For twenty four hours, we opened our farm, home, and lives up to a camera crew and videographer who work for Vermont Public Television. About two months ago, I received a phone call from VT Public Television. They are piecing together a special series called “The Vermont Guide”. They were looking for a farm to feature that raised lambs. After a brief phone interview, they became excited not just about the sheep that we raise but also about everything else that our farm is involved in. After a couple months of planning and juggling schedules, we arranged to have them spend one day with us this past week. 


The videographer, Wendy Erikson, would spend 24 hours at our farm filming and interviewing in order to put together a six minute video that captures our farm and all the activities that go on here. She arrived in the evening just in time to help me finish up some of my evening chores. She and I walked the property giving her a feel for our farm. With camera in hand, she and I visited the animals, fiber studio, and took a walk up the hill so she could see why our farm is named, “Grand View Farm”. The next day would be a busy one, and Wendy wanted to film a few things before our day began. 


We arose early the next morning to begin our morning chores with Wendy and her camera. She wanted to get everything we did on film so she followed my daughter and I around as we filled hay feeders, shoveled manure, hauled water, and cleaned bunny cages. Sometimes, she would ask us to repeat what we had just done so she could adjust her position. 

Dropping hay down from the hayloft.

Filling the hay feeder.

Before the camera crew arrived, she spent some time interviewing members of our family and learning about drop spindling from every angle and using the spinning wheel. Once she learned that we had a fiddle player in the household, she convinced him to allow her to film him while he played. She would like to use his fiddle music as the background music for our piece.

Photo taken by Valerie Mazzarella

Interviewing Anna and…

learning about spindling from all angles

 
Wendy wanted to learn as much as she could about the fiber classes that we teach here on the farm. I had arranged to teach a needle felting class in the morning so that her camera crew could film that aspect of our business. A couple of my fiber friends agreed to come over and help me out. (Thank you Nancy and Valerie!) The camera crew filmed our busy hands from almost every position possible.

Wendy ended her time with us by interviewing me. We talked about how we began farming in Vermont so many years ago,  homeschooling and the role our children have played in the farm, the rewards and challenges of farming and shepherding, the our bed and breakfast and the many people we have met by opening our home up to them, and about our yarn CSA shareholders and how they support our farming endeavor in a very tangible way. Wendy now goes back to her home and takes the many hours of filming, edits it so that she can tell our story in just six minutes time. The piece will air on television sometime in November of 2012.