In response to your feedback…
Galentine’s Day Party
(playing with flowers under the disco ball)
Wow!
It is so much fun to be writing newsletters again. The response to last week’s call for feedback was incredible- and has shaped my plans for the winter & spring of 2026!
From floral workshops to wine dinners to brunches, we are dreaming and scheming on ways to have some fun on the farm.
Keep reading for the full event line-up
27 Jan 2026 | It was 2°F right before sunrise today.
This photo was snapped at a toasty 19°F. Percy loves snow days.
No news here- it’s COLD outside. The farm weathered the storm just fine. All the critters are warm and accounted for.
Each blade of grass on the property is coated in a thick crystalline armor of ice. The fields are glittering in the stark January sunlight. As I write this, sheets of ice occasionally sliiide and CRASH off of the black roof of the building.
I nearly ate it- navigating the slippery sloping walk to the chicken house. The dogs, less aware of the icy perils, skating around me as I fed the critter crew.
Inside the farm building, there is life! This time of year, I use the heavily insulated walk-in cooler as a grow room. It provides a safe, super manageable & hands-off way to get a jump-start on seed starting. Currently, I have ranunculus corms sprouting. These will soon get transplanted into the high tunnel and in a few short months, we will be harvesting showstopping blooms. (Curious about the grow room set-up? Let me know if you want a more detailed blurb on this.)
These kind of weather events have a way of bringing the community together, which I find lovely. Just yesterday I got a text from Norah (if you know her, you love her), letting me know she stopped by the farm while passing by to check on things and feed the friends. Now THAT is community. Check on your friends and neighbors. Be a Norah for someone who needs it.
Ranunculus sprouting in the grow room!
What do we think is going to happen to this iced out rain barrel when the world thaws?
In Response to Your Feedback
After last week’s newsletter, my inbox was like a December mailbox- full of lovely messages from friends and farm supporters. Overwhelmingly, Wine Dinners & Brunches were among the requests, so I added plenty of those to the calendar, along with a few other events.
See the Event Dates below and be assured that I am chipping away at the behind-the-scenes tasks to get info and ticketing online :)
Event information will be released through this newsletter and on Facebook, Instagram, stormbrewfarm.com, and faefolk.site as event pages are prepared.
11 Feb- Galentine's Floral Design Workshop @ SBF | 6-8pm
14 Feb- Dinner @ 705 Loft | time TBD
06 Mar- Dining With Strangers @ SBF | 6-8pm
13 Mar- Wine Dinner @ SBF | 6-8pm
22 Mar- Brunch | time TBD
14 Apr- Vegetable Class with Highlands Fest. @ SBF | 6-8pm
26 Apr- Brunch | time TBD
07 May- Mother's Day Floral Design Workshop @ SBF
10 May- Mother's Day Brunch @ SBF
31 May- Brunch | time TBD
28 June- Brunch | time TBD
I am feeling super jazzed about Valentine’s Day this year!
Past years have felt.. forced. As a floral professional, I’ve felt that I need to make an effort to be a florist on Valentine’s Day-
even though my flowers are months from blooming.
The cellophane-wrapped inauthenticity of it all paired with the spiked holiday pricing has often left me unfulfilled when the work was all said and done on February 15th.
This year, however, I’m excited for the opportunity to support another local farm, provide scratch-made nourishment,
and foster opportunities for real connection and memory-making.
Offering TWO great Valentine’s events this February:
More event DETAILS + TICKETS here.
Girlhood! Does girlhood come across your online feed?
Last week I sat knees to knees with a best friend as she carefully lined my eyes in a way I could never do solo- we were getting ready together for a themed dinner party. Holding in giggles with a sharp pencil on your waterline is girlhood.
That is exactly the vibe for this year’s Galentine’s event.
The girls are getting together to both play AND learn.
Come hang out in the cozy Stormbrew Farm building,
learn some floral design techniques,
play with some locally-grown tulips, drink champagne,
and experience connection with the girls.
Bring a crew or come solo- you will feel at home regardless.
More details on the Fae Folk site
(largely still under construction, but check out my progress!).
A note on ticket pricing:
I’ll be honest — it feels a little rough to put a $60 sticker on this event, but I want to take a moment to be transparent about why it’s priced this way.
The tulips we’ll be playing with are sourced from Grace Farm in Glade Spring, VA. If you look outside today, it’s pretty clear that conditions are not exactly ideal for blooming tulips. These flowers have been carefully tended and intentionally forced to bloom ahead of their natural season — a technique flower farmers use to extend the local flower window.
It’s a labor-intensive, time-sensitive, and costly process for the farmer. Part of my mission with Fae Folk is to make sure growers are fairly compensated for that work.
These are flowers grown by someone in our community who truly cares. They aren’t corporate. They aren’t flown across the ocean. They’re grown right down the road.
That $60 supports far more than the arrangement you’ll enjoy for the week after the celebration — it supports local agriculture, skilled labor, and a values-driven flower system I’m proud to be part of.
Over the moon to announce this collaboration…
I’ve been fortunate to cater a couple of events at 705 State since landing back in Virginia, and it truly is an incredible private event space and music venue right on State Street.
I’m beyond excited to be collaborating with the 705 crew for a Valentine’s Day dinner on Saturday, February 14.
This all came together very quickly, so pardon the lack of details for now — I couldn’t help but share the exciting news early. Once the event page is live and tickets are available, I’ll send a follow-up email and share more on Facebook and Instagram.
Tickets will be $115 per guest, with a cash bar available at the venue.
Honestly, the ticket price is worth access to this stunning space alone. The bonus? You’ll also be eating very well and supporting local farms while you do it. Skip the standard dinner reservations this year — this is where you take your Valentine if you really want to wow them.
Digging sweet potatoes at Red Tail Grove.
From the Kitchen | sweet potato meal prep
If you don’t already own an Instant Pot or some type of safe electric pressure cooker GET ONE. They are life changing.
Sweet potatoes are still in season! Like I said last week-
I love storage crops.
I do a zillion things in a week so when I get a moment, I batch-cook things that I can use in various ways later in the week.
The batch-cook list includes boiled eggs, meat patties,
and sweet potatoes.
You will need an Instant Pot and the little trivet that comes with it.
Set the trivet in the bottom of the pot, add water until it kisses the trivet, and then put as many sweet potatoes as you want to prep into the pot. Secure the lid and cook on High Pressure for 25 minutes. Let pressure release naturally. Cool and refrigerate your potatoes for 1 week (2 weeks if you are brave).
My favorite thing to do with a pre-cooked sweet potato is to melt some bacon grease or butter in a cast iron skillet and mash the potato into it, frying until crispy on both sides.
You can also add pieces into a salad, making for a really rich flavor and texture.
Warm one up and add cocoa powder for a sweet treat.
Add meat (like carnitas) + pickled onions + guac for a tasty full meal.
Prepped sweet potatoes will not disappoint.
Lady Capricorn accepting a hug.
Cap & Sirius playing dog games (they always did this on walks up/down the big hill).
Baby Percy, Capricorn, and Sirius.
A Farm Story | photos from 28 Jan 2021
These photos are from Stormbrew Farm 1.0 in Atkins, VA.
We had Three Big Dogs
and a farm that culminated atop
One Big Hill.
I can thank the dogs for teaching me to
dress for
and
embrace the
weather.
Wearing the armor of long johns, coveralls, and muckboots, marching up a snowy peak in the company of three 100+ pound dog/bear/beasts is a really great time.
Simple mental shifts can unveil epic moments
in your every day tasks.
The winters on the Atkins farm were particularly brutal because of the nearly 3,000ft elevation and up a holler microclimate. During morning chores the first winter, I learned how much Pyrenees LOVE the snow. Flakes would begin to flutter and the old arthritic dogs would pounce and leap with then-puppy Percy. They got excited, and so did I.
Snowy walks became part of my fabric then, when I realized how much the dogs loved them.
These days, Percy is the only Pyrenees left, but on snowy days we still pounce and play. On Stormbrew 2.0, we walk down to the creek and back up the hill to the farm building.
I look forward to the snowy days for this reason.
This ice crust isn’t nearly as fun, but we will make do until a real snow comes :)
This newsletter is for you, and I’d love your input.
What do you want to read more about?
What do you want to learn?
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Click the button below and let me know
— I read every response
Daisy