Volume 4 • No. 15 • Full Moon • August 9, 2025
14 inch oscilloscope and CRT power simulation unit from presentation at the Elk Rapids History Museum • 2025
Signal tracers oscilloscope and tone / pulse broadcast system located at the original PROJECT S.T.R.A.T. research facility • Circa 1980s
Custom built 50 thousand volt 1,000 watt U.L.F. high voltage transmitter assembly used in conjunction with the music broadcast studio • Circa 1980s
John Shepherd with one of the high power laser modules that he built for visual communication with UAPs • Circa 1980s
John next to the basement level first stage of the 1,000 watt U.L.F. high voltage transmitter used for deep space S.E.T.I. style space signal broadcasts • Circa 1980s
John Scott Shepherd • Kewadin, MI
Anatomy of a Small Farm Workshop:
Three Questions with Nicole Mezeske of Z&N Farm
Bernie Ware, Nicole Mezeske, and Paul Erhard—the three collaborators behind Heart Soil.
Could you introduce yourself and your background with the NMSFC?
Hi, I’m Nicole Mezeske and I’m a farmer at Z&N Farm in Bear Lake, Michigan. We grow a variety of high intensity vegetables, strawberries, sunflowers, and storage crops for our local community via our farmstand, weekly farmers market, 65 family CSA, local pantries & schools. I’ve been connected with the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference for several years now, first as an attendee, then as a farm tour, and now I’m thrilled to be helping lead a workshop and poetic musical performance this year. The NMSFC has been a key place for me to learn, connect with other farmers, and feel part of something bigger than just my own farm.
Could you say more about what your involvement looks like this year? What can participants in your workshop expect?
This year, I’m honored to be contributing both through a workshop and a special performance, along with farmer Bernie Ware and Paul Erhard, musician, that’s really close to my heart titled “Heart Soil”.
My workshop will be on mindfulness to avoid farm burnout. It’s going to be a really practical and honest conversation that includes a guided mindfulness meditation. Participants can expect to walk away with a deeper sense of connection to other farmers, to themselves and their own farms. I’m also looking forward to hearing from everyone in the room — because we learn just as much from each other’s stories as from formal presentations.
Heart Soil is a weaving of farm stories, poetry, and music—bridging generations of farmers and digging deep into the emotional and heartfelt experiences of those who love the land and grow real food. Bernie, Paul, and I hope it will be inspiring for anyone who’s ever felt the pull of soil beneath their hands.
Why is it timely and important for farmers and food growers to attend this gathering now? And what are you most excited about?
Right now feels like such a critical moment for small farms. Between the economic pressures, changing climate, and the sheer workload we all carry, it can be isolating. But gatherings like this remind us that we’re not doing this alone. They give us space to learn, recharge, and build relationships that carry us through the season. I think it’s more important than ever for us to be in rooms together, sharing real talk and lifting each other up. I’m excited about the chance to have conversations that go beyond the “how-to” — conversations about why we farm, how we sustain ourselves, and what a resilient, connected farming community really looks like.
Thanks so much, Nicole! Looking forward to seeing you at the conference soon.
Click below for more details on the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference and registration. We'll be resting up after putting on the conference, so expect the next Whole Field to hit your inboxes in September.
The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration
|| 1 || I’m excited for Heart Soil, the collaborative Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference performance Nicole discusses above. It sparked thinking about this trailer for the documentary The New Peasants, which features an Australian household known in some parts as Artist as Family. Heart Soil and The New Peasants blend Crosshatch’s primary domains: art & ecology.
Is the subsistence-based, permaculture-inspired example from Oceania a demonstration mainly leaning into farming and ecological understanding? Or is it more about something artful and creative? Their answer, which might apply just as well to Heart Soil and Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology, is likely all of the above.
|| 2 || This is similar to John Shepherd’s cosmic quest, the tools of which are featured at the top of this email. His words: “From the very beginning, it was an exploration, a search with a scientific method. But it was also a reaching-out with an artistic sort of method.” Keep your eyes peeled for a longer feature with John in a future Whole Field. Can’t wait to learn more about him? You could start where the quote above came from, a Pitchfork article entitled Meet the Man Who Used Kraftwerk, Fela Kuti, and Other Fascinating Music to Try to Lure Aliens to Earth or the short film on Netflix, John Was Trying to Contact Aliens.
|| 3 || Back to The New Peasants: I find their testament of the process itself to be more inspiring than the exact model that they offer, which is to say, I admire their series of what they call "incremental changes" that have snowballed into something quite intriguing. It seems their ask isn’t for everyone to live as they do. It's more an encouragement that, if you have the bandwidth, there is something powerful about considering what you're thankful for in the world, what you value, and making small commitments in that direction (and vice versa.)
One quibble with the documentary trailer is that it doesn’t address certain privileges involved—namely, land access, able-bodiedness, and membership in societies with substantial safety nets. Unpacking just one of those, like land access, is a massive undertaking, in this case, spanning varied notions of ownership, economy, and equality. We aren’t going to get there in this paragraph, nor did they in their film teaser. Do know, though, that there are institutions setting their sights on addressing common problems involving access to farmland. MIFarmLinkand MSUExtension, for example, are working on a collaborative research project on land transfer. They’re requesting feedback from people who have “faced roadblocks in the pursuit of acquiring or passing on land.” If that’s you and you’re open to sharing your experience, your participation in this survey is appreciated.
|| 4 || Lastly, if you are currently searching for farmland, and a lovely spot in the East Jordan/Elmira area sounds intriguing, El-Jireh Farm, currently for sale, might be your bread and butter. Infrastructure for gardening and Shetland sheep? Woodland/pasture liminal space? A historic fieldstone barn and home? There’s a simple reason why El-Jireh’s buildings comprise two of the three barn illustrations featured on the cover of Stone Barns of America—they’re stunning. Add in the neighboring good folks at Bluestem Farm? I’m not talking this spot up because I have any vested financial interest in it selling. I include it here because I wouldn’t be shocked if opportunity existed, amongst our readership, for what seems to be a continued legacy of meaningful rural interplay of working hands and the land. And that I do value.
The Weft — News and Events
We’re heartened by a wide-range of expressions of resilient communities and gatherings. Here’s a smattering of regional events and happenings that reflect that diversity, collected for your consideration. Choose your own adventure!
|| 1 || Crosshatch's Land Based Projects Summit, Part II: An Invitation to Farmers, Land Stewards, Creatives and Artists. At Grow Benzie, Monday, Sept 8th, 9am-2pm. Join us for the second Land-Based Summit, a day to explore the conversations, ideas, and relationships sparked at our first gathering and throughout the monthly Land-Based Project Zoom series.
You're welcome to join whether you have attended previous events or are joining for the first time. This is a space for shared learning and imagining new ways to connect creativity, agriculture, and place. Find more information and save your spot here.
|| 2 || Intercontinental Biennial of Indigenous Art & Culture Exhibition at Commongrounds. A traveling collection of artwork from artists ranging across Latin America, along with indigenous artists from the U.S. and Michigan. On view throughout the first and second floors of Commongrounds until August 31st.
|| 3 || Not Our Farm's 2025 Storytelling Fellowship—Applications are now open. A six-month fellowship for QTBIPOC farmworkers centered on the theme of farmworker organizing and movement histories. Running from October 2025 to April 2026, and concluding in a performance and virtual exhibition. Applications are due Aug 26th. Find more info on the program here.
|| 4 || Lakeside Farm Soil Health Field Day—Thursday, August 14th, 8:30am, Boyne City. Featuring Gary Zimmer, founder of Midwestern BioAg and Jeremy Sweeten of Understanding Ag. Farming practices, soil health, breakout sessions and equipment demonstrations. Please RSVP by August 12th. Find more information here.
|| 5 || Virtual Gathering—Rural Assembly Everywhere. "Sign up today to join rural advocates and allies from across the country online on Sept. 17 for conversations and stories centered on the theme of A Bigger Pie: Cultivating Abundance in a Time of Scarcity." Find more information and register here.
|| 6 || Beekeeping Meetup—Wednesday, August 2oth from 7-9pm at the Elder Piper taproom in Petoskey. Join the Little Traverse Bay Beekeepers Guild for a chat on brewing beer with local honey.
|| 7 || Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference Tickets Still Available!—Leelanau County. Mon-Tues, Aug. 18th-19th. Space is limited; two days packed with valuable content designed to get you excited about the remainder of the season and thinking ahead to future years. Not quite ready to commit? Click here to learn more about this year’s conference, or here to purchase your ticket now.
|| 8 || Desiree Cooper Reading and Book Signings. The Antrim Writers Series presents two opportunities to hear from Desiree Cooper on Wednesday, August 27th. The first, from 3-4pm at the Bellaire Public Library features her children's book, "Nothing Special," while the second, from 7-8:30pm at Bee Well Mead and Cider, showcases her flash fiction collection "Know the Mother." Find more on the free events and reserve your spot (and books!) at the links above.
|| 9 || The Water is Life Festival will be held on Saturday, August 30th, from 12-9pm. Find out more and register for the family-friendly, free celebration of water and connection on the Petoskey waterfront. Expect amazing bands, recreation, vendors, and more.
|| 10 || Interlochen's Nature & Art Series—"A variety of two-hour programs focusing on creative exploration of nature, art, and food," offered June through August. Check out classes and dates, and register here.
|| 11 || Happenings at The Alluvion Between Now and the Next Whole Field include: Adrianne Evans, Big Fun, Indigenous Innovations: A panel on Native art and entrepreneurship, Djangophonique wsg Warren & Flick, Will Marsh & The Integration Ensemble, Funky Uncle, Wheatpaste Wednesday, Decibelz Summer Dance Party!, Full Cord Bluegrass, Cory Henry, and Viridian Strings Presents: Reflections and Innovations.
Find more information at www.thealluvion.org.
sponsored by:
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