Red Earth Farm is home to Janisse Ray & Raven Waters. Janisse is a well-known environmental activist and author. My family came to know her when her first book was published and we’ve always been honored to call her a friend. (Ecology of a Cracker Childhood; Wild Card Quilt; Pinhook; Drifting into Darien; and The Seed Underground are among her works.) Raven, originally from western New York, oversees the operations of the farm and is an accomplished potter and artist.

At the heart of Red Earth Farm is the beautifully restored circa-1850 Pearson Farmhouse.

The farm is primarily for Janisse and Raven’s personal use, though they do limited retail with vegetables and livestock.

When I made these photographs, winter greens were growing. Red Earth Farm is an organic farm, so everything that doesn’t get eaten goes back into the earth. It’s a practical model of sustainable agriculture.

A menagerie of heritage livestock and poultry breeds enjoy the run of the yard .

This was the norm on small farms a few generations ago.

The calves were very interested in my camera. Winona and Wendell are here, plus one whose name I didn’t get. Most of the larger animals at Red Earth Farm are named for authors and activists.

Barbados Blackbelly “Sojourner” and Katahdin “Mahatma”. Barbados Blackbellies and Katahdins are hair sheep varieties tolerant of heat; after many years of decline in numbers, both seem to be recovering.

Guineas are an old-time favorite on South Georgia farms and are often considered the “watchdogs of the barnyard” for their habit of calling loudly at any disturbance. And they’re very attentive.

Another shot of Cochise, a Royal Palm Turkey, seems a fitting bookend for this quick tour.