Life with the Cole’s

Welcome to Life with the Cole’s here at The Heirloom Acre! I debated so hard on a title, even ran a Facebook campaign to decide what to name it, and yet ‘Life with the Cole’s’ just seemed so fitting. Because a big part of a small farm and what we do, is sharing our lives with others. Which we have been doing since 2020! Here on our small farm we are raising babies, food, flowers, animals, and praising Jesus all the while.

Since this is the first blog post, I feel like introductions are in order. I’m Jody, the head lady around here! The one that cooks all the food, plants all the things, plans all the plans, and takes care of all the babies. With the help of my husband, of course, but he does have his own jobs too. As with any marriage, it’s a joint effort to get everything done you need to around the house and farm. We live and love in Piggott, AR with our three blessings: Audrey Jo, Jack and Elijah. And yes, life is a whole lot more like the last image than the first. If you're a mom, you know my sentiments here. My little hot messes.

Matt and I are agronomist by trade so we love all things agriculture. Do you know what an agronomist* is? Don’t feel bad, I didn’t either when I chose it out of a course catalog and I came from a farm family on both sides of the family. But it was definitely a God thing because once I started working on my agronomy degree, its like life finally made sense! I do like to refer to myself as an agronomist turned horticulturalist though. Best of both worlds! I love helping others grow there gardens (or fields!) and teaching about different options so people can choose what’s right for them.

We are so excited to have you join us on our flower and food journey. I would love to see you at one of our classes, or out at one of the events we will be attending this fall! Come find us at the Fall into Arts festival in Kennett on September 7 from 10-4 or at the Dexter Fall Fest on October 12th from 9-3.

I have so many fun garden tips, recipes and more to share with you so follow us on social media to keep up with our day to day! Praying that each of you stay rooted and grounded in love each day. Blessings.

*agronomist: a field scientist that is knowledgeable about soil management, crop production and entomology. Agronomist advise farmers are how to best manage and grow a crop.

Life with the Cole’s

Oh the joy I feel when the first fall breeze blows through tickling your skin and signaling to you that relief is coming. It's like God is speaking to your soul that crisp, lazy mornings are in the near future. Where the fireplace glows every evening and you get to unabashedly enjoy everything pumpkin, apple, maple spice thing you deprive yourself of the rest of the year. So basically, it’s the best time of the year for me!

Maybe it’s because I am outside so much but I feel the burden of the Earth this time of year. Its dry {usually}, leaves are becoming harder to maintain on the trees, shrubs and plants, the flower field is becoming increasing hard to keep happy with light hours dwindling and it just feels like the Earth is tired of sustaining all this beautiful life that it sustains. It’s time for rest. Maybe that sounds crazy that I view Earth as one of my children that needs a rest. But really it’s just me saying ‘you’ve done well these hot months and we have made it through. Now let’s all hibernate for the winter.’ Like Earth really cares what I have to say yet here I am saying it.

But I’m a mother of three who has two at home all the time and am trying to give my business a kickstart. Who has time for rest? I kid. Even I take the time to enjoy the fall and the relief it can bring. In honor of slightly cooler temperatures coming, I want to share one of my very best and most requested recipes. This one seems quite fitting to be the first one on the blog. White Chicken Lasagna Soup!

I am a soup lover. I love the fact that you can “edit” as you go, testing with each stage to make sure the favors are coming out how you like them. Sometime in the last few years I heard it referred to as ‘cooking with feeling’ and that is exactly what I like to do! It’s also why baking can be difficult for me to get right since it has to be perfect before putting it in the oven. This soup recipe takes about one hour from start to finish and I love serving with some fresh sourdough bread. Or just with a little extra parmesan cheese on top because really it’s a full meal by itself without extra carbs. {What's life without carbs thought? Especially long fermentation carbs!}

Click the first picture to get this delicious recipe!

As noted by the picture above, my dutch oven has made this recipe several times and it won’t fail. A heavy bottomed pot is definitely the best choice for this soup. It cooks so even and keeps it warm for hours afterward so you can keep coming back for more! The best part of this soup is that it is very flexible. You can add or subtract ingredients you may not like for ones you do like.

You be sure to give this recipe a taste this fall and let me know what you think. Promise it will quickly become one of your favorites! Stay rooted y’all. Blessings.

Jody

Life with The Cole’s

Fall has always been my favorite season. You have the Delta Fair, Homecomings, football games, school starting back, the harvest season…so many activities! Oh and how can you not love the absolute, unquestionable beauty that is the trees in the fall? The vibrant reds, brilliant yellows, all mixed with varying shades of browns, oranges and greens. It’s truly spectacular. Since moving to Crowleys Ridge four years ago, I have gained an even deeper appreciation of the beauty. God really paints the most beautiful of paintings for us to enjoy before the glum days of winter.

Spider web in our Crepe Myrtle. So lovely.

For farmers, it’s a season to reap the harvest. It's usually a time of high spirits and rejoicing that you made it another year without going under. It’s a time to reflect on the past year and plan and prep for next. Which is exactly what we have been doing! Along with doing some fun classes. Did you see the pictures from the pumpkin succulent class? It was so fun! I’m already planning my 2025 pumpkin patch to prepare for it again!

Along with our classes, we have lots of other projects demanding attention. Our biggest project going on is the high tunnel. Oh my gracious, what a project that has been! We are constructing a 30’ x 72’ high tunnel that will house some perennial plants along with several different annual flowers and vegetables. I’m truly so excited about having it finished not only so I can get all kinds of things planted but also because I miss my husband. He’s been working so hard on it and since I have the kids most the time, it's been hard for me to help him. But, it will get done soon, hopefully, and planting can commence! Yay!

As for planning, I have been streamlining my business to narrow the focus a bit. I’ll be announcing those plans after the first of the year. We will still be growing all the beautiful things though, no doubt. And the yummy things too! Speaking of yummy, did you start your fall garden? I did a small one a little late, and wow, these temperatures have sure helped speed things along! I have lettuce, spinach, radish and turnips ready to harvest. There are even a few flowers and summer vegetables thriving after a month and a half of neglect! Amazing really.

Fall is also my favorite time to order seeds! My top five places to order are….

1. Johnny Select Seeds. They have an excellent variety of high quality seeds for the home grower and the larger grower alike. https://www.johnnyseeds.com

2. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I am a long time fan of Baker Creek and their unique variety of vegetables. If you can’t find the weird vegetable you're looking for here, you would be hard pressed to find it! https://www.rareseeds.com

3. MIGardener. Great Selection and great value seeds for the veggie and herb garden! Also this guy is just a little inspiration for me. https://migardener.com

4. Botanical Interest. They have a variety of flower and vegetable seed with some more on the unique side so obviously I’m a fan! https://www.botanicalinterests.com/

5. Sunflower Selections. This is for the sunflower grower only! This website has the best selection and pricing for sunflowers. So many different beauties! https://www.sunflowerselections.com

Christmas is coming up and I can guarantee that any gardener you are buying for would like to have a gift card to any of these places! I sure know I would!

Stay Rooted and Ground in Love,

Jody

Life with the Cole’s

I don’t know about y’all, but my kitchen has been straight poppin’ the last month. So many new recipes from cakes to poor mans burnt ends…so much cooking! Which also means so many dishes. Easily the worst part of being in the kitchen. It’s likely that if you have ever visited my house, my sink was probably full of dishes and I likely apologized for it. But I am not one of those women who say “my house is wreck” and doesn’t mean it. My house is ALWAYS a wreck because honestly, we love being outside, I cook a lot of meals from scratch, and I have three kids (four including my husband). Mess is basically my middle name.

Speaking of cooking…Soup is my love language. I adore all the combinations of delicious brothy warmth it brings to the body and the happiness each bite brings to the soul. There are so many soups out there…all yummy in their own way. Recently, my uncle pash made a Cajun Potato Soup and….WOW. It was amazing. All the fabulous flavors of creamy potato soup mixed with crawfish tails, cajun seasonings, potatoes and whatever else he threw in. So good!

One of my favorite soups (and most requested) is the White Chicken Lasagna Soup. Which you can find the recipe for in Blog two! Here recently I have been testing out potato soup recipes and I think I stumbled on a winner. A ham and potato soup recipe that is sure to be a crowd pleaser! Unless you're serving dinner to my husband who does not like potatoes…yes I know it’s totally weird.

Check the recipe out to see if all the fabulous flavors are for you! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cGjsOkCI9bT7FzYlt9jMBaLKEjXU5ihgRvyHEaV97L8/edit?usp=sharing

In other news, we have been attending a fabulous Wednesday night Bible study at a local church outside of Piggott. My home church doesn’t have services on Wednesday so it has given me a chance to branch out! We have been studying the Apostles Creed and I swear my mind was blown this week. We were studying some scriptures that were tied to the crucifixion of Christ in Matthew. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I have heard the Easter Story about 1,000 times (and I am thankful every time!). Well I had NEVER heard this passage we read.

Matthew 27:51-54

“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in tow, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs. After his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him. keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Y’all this just had me shook! Can you imagine how awesome, scary and crazy all that would be?! Seeing saints that had passed walking the streets AND Jesus? Wow, what a time that must have been.

Anyways, I’m hoping y’all found that Bible tidbit as cool as I did and the soup is delicious for you!

Stay rooted and grounded in love,

Jody