We decided that since we can't take the summer off to intern on farms, nor are we going to buy a farm without more knowledge about running our own business—let alone farming and making cheese—we would instead visit farms throughout NY state and the surrounding area this summer to gather information and meet people living the cheese lifestyle. The plan right now is to shoot a lot of photographs, conduct interviews, and compile it all into a documentary-style project. It could become a website or a book, at the very least. At the very most, it could be the first step toward a new way of life.

We visited Bobolink Dairy in Vernon NJ on June 12, 2004. Since I already know Jonathan White and have visited Bobolink before, I figured it would be a good place to get started on the project before beginning more formal interviews with farmers I don't know. Kari photographed the farming and the cheese making process. Overall, it went quite well, but we still need to make sense of the project and figure out what we're doing. It was a great start, though, and I think that by the end of the season we should be solidly on our way to a great project.

Please take a look at the photographs. I'll write more about our experiences and observations soon.