It's a Better Farmer's Life for me!

This unfamiliar sense of forced relaxation has washed over over me here at Better Farm like a lush green wave. I came here to write, so I figured a blog introducing myself was the best place to start.

I'm 29, a dog owner, avid reader, and currently bleeding from my knee thanks to a chainsaw. The betterArts residency at Better Farm appealed to me on a variety of levels, mostly for the opportunity to get away from city life and concentrate on words instead of traffic for a month. I plan on starting a book (Oprah, get ready) about some of my time in the military.

The sense of community here on the Farm is palpable. Everyone is welcoming and friendly, especially little 1-year-old Tesla. He can't talk yet, so it's easy to blame him for all of the food i throw on the floor and the crying in the middle of the night. My dog Percy follows Tesla around all day, as she has found him a generous food-giver. The cast of characters here is as varied as it is interesting. People help with all aspects of farm life, from gardening to meal preparation to drinking beers. The latter is quite the heavy burden that weighs on all of our shoulders equally, mainly because we have a mini-fridge full of brews after the Memorial Day party last Saturday.

The next 27 days should be very interesting for me, as I plan on bothering the other resident artists enough to learn the fundamentals of their respective crafts. I came here to learn as well as create, so this will be fun no matter what.

Yours in farming,

Matthew Lane