I was going through some old books when this water-stained scrap of paper fell out, exactly ten years to the day that I scribbled down the beginnings of a dream. I remember it like it just happened. I was living in a third-floor, one-bedroom apartment near Washington, D.C. A friend was visiting, and we were up late drinking beer and goofing off when the name of my farm popped into my head in such a flash of inspiration that I immediately ripped off a piece of paper and wrote it down. I can still feel myself forming those letters in scratchy black pen.

I knew that piece of paper meant the beginning of something big. The next day I bought this domain name and five years later I bought the actual Bonafide Farm and started writing about my project. But what you’re seeing is where it all started. With this little scrap of paper, I conjured into being the biggest challenge and accomplishment of my life.