Berries, Burgers & Baseball.
The three things teaching our family the most about life.
If you stopped by our house on a summer evening, there's a good chance you'd find all three.
I’m flipping burgers on the grill.
The kids have strawberry juice running down their chins.
And someone is looking for a baseball glove five minutes before we need to leave for a game.
It's loud.
It's messy.
It's ordinary.
And lately, it's made me realize something important.
Some of the greatest lessons we're teaching our kids aren't happening in their schoolbooks.
They're happening in the strawberry patch, on the baseball field, and in the everyday work of building a family farm.
When I first started farming, I had this idea that good farmers didn't make mistakes.
If a calf got sick, I replayed every decision I'd made.
Should I have checked on her one more time?
Should I have caught it sooner?
If strawberry production wasn't what I'd hoped, I didn't think, "This season has been challenging."
I thought, "Maybe I'm just not very good at this."
Every setback became evidence that I wasn't enough.
It took me years to realize there is a huge difference between experiencing failure and becoming one.
Then our kids started playing baseball.
Here's the funny thing about baseball.
It's a game built around failure.
The best hitters in the world still walk back to the dugout more often than they reach first base.
They strike out.
They pop up.
They drop the ball.
And then...
They grab their glove and run back onto the field.
No one expects perfection.
They expect another at-bat.
I have fallen in love with watching my kids play because it has changed the way I think about so many parts of life.
Because farming is the same.
Some years the weather cooperates.
Some years it doesn't.
Sometimes the berries are abundant.
Sometimes we're releasing beneficial insects because spider mites decided they liked our greenhouse too.
Sometimes a calf needs extra attention.
Sometimes the market is packed.
Sometimes it rains.
You don't get to control every outcome.
You just keep showing up tomorrow.
Building a business isn't much different either.
Some ideas work.
Some don't.
Some emails get opened by hundreds of people.
Others disappear quietly into inboxes.
You learn.
You adjust.
You try again.
Motherhood might be the hardest one of all.
I don't know a single mom who hasn't laid awake replaying a conversation, wondering if she handled it the right way.
Wondering if she was patient enough.
Present enough.
Enough.
But maybe our kids don't need mothers who never fail.
Maybe they need mothers who know what to do after they fail.
To apologize.
To learn.
To laugh.
To get up the next morning and keep loving well.
Because that's what they'll need someday too.
That's one of the reasons Garden Ridge Ranch exists.
Yes, we want to raise delicious nutrient dense food.
Yes, we want to fill your freezer with beef and pork and your table with strawberries.
But if you spend any time around our farm, I hope you see something bigger.
I hope you see our community learning that meaningful things take time.
That living things require care.
That not every season goes according to plan.
That hard work matters.
That failure isn't something to fear.
And that the people who build beautiful lives aren't the ones who never strike out.
They're the ones willing to step back into the batter's box.
So whether you found us because you picked up a carton of our strawberries, stopped by our farmers market stand, or simply stumbled across this little corner of the internet...
Welcome.
We're really glad you're here.
We hope you'll stick around for the recipes, the farm updates, the stories, and maybe a few reminders that none of us have to do this perfectly.
We're all just trying to raise good kids, grow good food, and build a life worth sharing.
Thanks for letting our family be a small part of yours.
— Darci
Garden Ridge Ranch
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