I’m probably not supposed to pick a favorite season at the farm.
But I’m going to anyway.
It’s fall.
Not because everything suddenly looks like a postcard. Although, to be fair, southeastern Minnesota can get pretty ridiculous in September and October.
I love fall here because the farm seems to settle into itself.
Summer at Big Raven is wonderful, but summer is busy. There is always something growing too fast, something that needs mowing, something that needs watering, guests coming and going, projects happening, and about twelve things Darin and I thought we would get done before dinner.
Then fall comes along and takes the edge off.
The days are still beautiful, but they aren't demanding quite as much from us. The windows can stay open. You actually want to turn the oven on again. A sweatshirt feels good in the morning. Dinner starts smelling especially wonderful when you've been outside in cool air.
And retreat weekends feel different.
People linger a little longer over coffee. They settle into their projects. They wander outside, come back in, eat something good, and get back to whatever they were making.
Nobody is trying very hard to slow down.
They just do.
And I think that's why, if someone asked me when they should come to Big Raven Farm for the first time, I'd have a hard time not saying fall.
Fall in Southeastern Minnesota Is Pretty Hard to Beat
Fall doesn't happen all at once here.
You notice one tree changing. Then the sumac along the road turns bright red. The grasses start going from green to gold and bronze.
A few days later, you look across the valley and think, well, that happened fast.
That's Minnesota in the fall.
And at Big Raven Farm, you don't have to go looking for it.
We're right in the middle of it.
You can take your coffee outside in the morning. Walk around the property between projects. Sit on the porch. Wander down one of the trails. Look across the valley. Watch the birds. See what the chickens are up to.
Then go back inside when you get cold.
That's a perfectly acceptable Big Raven Farm activity.
Actually, it's encouraged.
First Piece of Advice: Bring Slippers
If you're coming to the farm in the fall, here's my practical advice.
Bring slippers.
Our floors can be cold.
It's one of those things that doesn't make the glamorous retreat packing lists, but your feet will thank you.
There's something about walking around the farmhouse in slippers and a sweatshirt in the morning that makes it feel a little less like you're staying somewhere and a little more like you're living here for a few days.
And that's really what I want.
Big Raven Farm is our home. We want you to get comfortable.
So bring the slippers.
And because this is Minnesota, bring layers. You may need a sweatshirt at breakfast and be sitting outside in a T-shirt by afternoon.
I make absolutely no promises about October weather.
Fall Gives You a Good Excuse to Stay at the Art Table
Maybe it's the cooler weather, but fall always makes me want to make things.
Paper. Paint. Fabric. Thread. Old books. Something I've been saving because I knew I'd eventually figure out what to do with it.
At a retreat, you can spread everything out and leave it there.
This is more wonderful than it sounds.
You don't work for twenty minutes and then remember you need to switch the laundry.
You don't have to clear the kitchen table because somebody needs to eat dinner.
You don't spend half of your creative time dragging supplies out and the other half putting them away again.
You can leave your mess.
Go get coffee.
Go outside.
Come back.
Keep going.
By Saturday, the workspaces at Big Raven usually look like something exploded, in the best possible way.
There are half-finished projects, scraps of paper, paintbrushes, fabric, scissors and supplies everywhere. Someone is inevitably looking for the thing they literally just had in their hand.
This is my kind of mess.
We've talked before on the Big Raven Farm blog about how nature changes the way we create, and fall makes that connection particularly easy to see.
People come back inside with leaves.
They take pictures of bark, seed heads, mushrooms and whatever is happening in the trees.
The colors outside start showing up in things we're making without anyone really planning it.
You don't have to make fall art while you're here.
But fall has a funny way of sneaking into things.
Or Go Walk Two Miles
Here's another nice thing.
You don't have to stay at the art table.
We have a two-mile trail that circles the property.
In the fall, it's one of the best ways to get away from whatever you're working on for a while.
Go walk.
You don't need a destination.
You don't need to count your steps unless that's your thing.
Walk for ten minutes or walk the whole two miles.
The trail takes you out through the property, with the woods, hills and changing landscape around you. And because it's fall in Minnesota, there's a decent chance the grass will be wet in the morning.
So this is my second practical recommendation after slippers.
Bring shoes you don't mind getting a little dirty.
You are on a farm.
We have chickens.
We have trails.
There may be mud.
I feel like we should be honest about these things.
And Then There's Hot Yoga
This is one of the things people sometimes forget about Big Raven Farm.
Yoga is a big part of how this whole place came to be.
We make yoga mats here. I teach yoga. And we have a beautiful yoga studio right on the farm.
So if the cool fall weather isn't your thing, you can go in the opposite direction.
Hot yoga.
There is something pretty wonderful about a cool Minnesota morning outside and a warm yoga studio inside.
And like so much of what happens during our art retreats, you don't have to turn it into a big production.
You can make art.
Take a walk.
Do some yoga.
Go back to your project.
Take a nap.
Read.
Sit outside.
There isn't a prize for fitting the most activities into your retreat weekend.
Do what sounds good.
The Farm Gets Better When the Weather Gets Cooler
I know "cozy" gets used to death in the fall, so I'm trying not to use it every other paragraph.
But come on.
The kitchen is warm.
People show up in sweatshirts and slippers.
Art supplies are everywhere.
And Darin is cooking.
Food is a big part of our retreats all year, but I especially love it when the weather starts getting cooler.
Maybe it's because you can smell what's happening in the kitchen while you're working.
You don't necessarily know what's coming, but you know something is.
That's a very nice position to be in around here.
And for a few days, none of it is your problem.
You don't have to decide what's for dinner.
You don't have to go to the grocery store.
You don't have to chop anything unless you're actually here for one of Darin's cooking retreats.
You just show up hungry.
Darin handles the rest.
I think we sometimes undersell that part of a retreat.
Having someone cook for you for an entire weekend is really, really nice.
You Can Actually Watch Fall Change While You're Here
One of the strange things about fall in Minnesota is how much can change over a retreat weekend.
You can arrive and see a few trees starting to turn.
By Sunday, there is noticeably more color.
Friday might be warm enough for short sleeves. Saturday morning might have everyone digging through their bags looking for another layer.
Sometimes there's fog sitting down in the valley.
Sometimes you get one of those incredibly clear blue October afternoons.
Sometimes the wind comes up and reminds you very quickly that November isn't far away.
That's part of the fun.
You're here long enough to notice what the season is doing.
Not because we're going to schedule "observe fall" from 2:00 to 2:30.
You're just here.
You'll see it.
The Weather Doesn't Have to Cooperate
I should probably say this since I'm trying to convince you that fall might be the best time for a retreat in Minnesota.
Minnesota weather is Minnesota weather.
I'm not promising 65 degrees, sunshine and peak fall color.
September can decide it's still July.
October can decide it's December.
Occasionally they seem to make these decisions within a few hours of each other.
That's why you packed the sweatshirt.
And the T-shirt.
And the slippers.
And the shoes that can get wet.
See? Now you're prepared.
The nice thing about a fall retreat is that the weekend doesn't depend on perfect weather.
If it's gorgeous, go outside.
Walk the trail.
Sit on the porch.
Take your coffee with you.
If it's cold and windy, stay inside and work on your project.
Or go make the yoga studio even hotter.
Either way, you're good.
What a Fall Retreat at Big Raven Farm Actually Looks Like
If you've never been here, I think this is probably what you really want to know.
You pull into the farm with your bags and whatever you packed because you weren't entirely sure what "farm casual" meant.
You come inside.
We get you settled.
You figure out where you're sleeping and where you left your phone and whether you brought too much stuff.
You probably did.
That's fine.
By Saturday morning, people are wandering around in slippers looking for coffee.
Projects have started taking over the workspaces.
Somebody has already gone outside.
Someone else has absolutely no intention of going outside until it warms up.
We make things.
People wander off.
They come back.
Somebody takes a nap.
Someone goes for a walk.
Someone decides they're going to finish one tiny part of a project and is still working on it two hours later.
Maybe you do some yoga.
Maybe you don't.
At some point you smell whatever Darin is making.
It gets dark earlier than you expected.
Another day somehow went by.
By Sunday, there are finished projects, half-finished projects, supplies everywhere, coffee cups, things drying and things we thought were dry but definitely were not.
Eventually we have to start packing it all up.
That's a fall weekend here.
It's not terribly complicated.
That's probably why I like it so much.
Maybe Fall Is Your Time to Come to Big Raven
I don't think you need a dramatic reason to come to a retreat.
You don't have to be burned out.
You don't have to be searching for yourself.
You don't need to call it a journey.
You can come because spending a few fall days on a farm in southeastern Minnesota making things sounds fun.
Because you want someone else to cook for you.
Because you'd like to walk a couple of miles through the fall colors.
Because hot yoga on a cold morning sounds really good.
Because you have a project you want to work on.
Or because you just want to put on your slippers, drink some coffee and see what happens.
Those are all perfectly good reasons.
If you've been thinking about a fall retreat in Minnesota, take a look at our upcoming September and October retreats at Big Raven Farm and find a weekend that sounds like yours.
Come by yourself or bring someone you like spending time with.
Pack layers.
Bring shoes for the trail.
And don't forget the slippers.
I'm serious about the slippers.