Stories from the Farm

I’ve always struggled to support politicians. I’m a libertarian, and the more I’ve learned about our government, the less faith I’ve had that voting actually changes anything.

Thinking about buying Scottish Highland cattle? Here's what to consider first: climate, companionship, pasture, bottle babies, mini Highlands, and where to find cattle for sale.

Two years after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, life has gone back to normal for many of us. For others, it never did. I still think about why some of us were okay, the people who lost everything, and how living through those days changed the way I see suffering elsewhere.

I’ve taken thousands of photographs of Highland cattle over the years, but they were never just pretty cow pictures to me. I know the cattle, the breeders, the pedigrees and the farms behind them. Now I’m getting to repurpose some of those old photographs for HoofnHorn and carry their stories into something new.

How getting scammed, seeing my own cattle in fake listings, and years of warning buyers helped inspire HoofnHorn. 

Learn More HoofnHorn: Heritage Livestock Auctions

I got scammed buying cattle online back in the Craigslist days. I got my money back, but a lot of people don’t. What started as my own bad experience turned into years of reporting stolen photos, moderating Facebook groups, warning buyers and chasing scammers around the internet. Eventually I realized I could keep fighting fake listings one at a time, or we could try to build something better.

I’ve been the excited cattle buyer, the person who got scammed and the breeder trying to help others avoid those same mistakes. Now I’m putting those experiences into HoofnHorn, a heritage livestock marketplace we’re building to make buying and selling easier.

I have almost 80,000 cow photos I’ve never had the heart to delete. Working on HoofnHorn is giving me new ideas for them and a chance to use my artistic talents on something I’m excited about. Every animal has a story, and I’m enjoying getting to bring that much of myself into what we’re creating.

Years of buying and selling cattle, getting scammed and learning the hard way have shaped what I want to do differently. Now Jason and I are building HoofnHorn, a new marketplace for heritage livestock opening October 22. 

Years ago, I sent money for cattle I never received. I eventually got it back, but the experience stuck with me, especially as I watched online livestock scams get worse and more people lose thousands of dollars. It became part of the vision behind HoofnHorn and my belief that buyers need better information before they send money.

Joy gave birth to Peace on the same day my new shirts arrived, and what started as taking a few photos for my website turned into one of those evenings you could never really plan. A new calf, perfect light, good conversation, and for the first time in a while, feeling more inspired by the future than overwhelmed by it.