I guess the title pretty much gives it away, but I learned the hard way what bee’s wings are today at the still house, and it has very little to do with bees.

Bobby Self brought his combine and a couple of friends to the farm today and helped us shell about 300 bushels of our first organic corn. He had already finished his harvest, and like most neighbors he wanted to do what he could to help us get our first batches of whiskey and moonshine going at Short Mountain Distillery.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not humbled by how much people are connecting with what we’re doing on Short Mountain. They want to help because they want to see our country get back to work. They know we’ve gone out of our way to make sure our equipment was made by our friends and neighbors right here at home. They see our shared values and our determination in action. Most importantly, they see America’s story.

I want to invite you to connect with a growing community of neighbors and friends who are ready to help export to the world a genuine taste of Tennessee’s rich agricultural heritage. Join us on Facebook and be a part of our shared dreams and aspirations at Short Mountain Distillery.

My blog turns 12 years old today. It’s definitely an awkward tween when you think about it in terms of an actual 12 year old child. In four years, the damn thing will be driving itself.

I did something a little unconventional to celebrate last night. I had a Johnnie Walker Black, and I burned it to the ground.

That means I exported the XML and tucked the years away with the floppy disks while drinking a 12 year old Scotch. Unconventional and special. Cheers to that!

One of the Southern most mountains in the Appalachians (Middle TN’s highest point) is now properly represented on the Appalachian Quilt Trail. And by “proper,” we mean with moonshine, but it probably doesn’t count as much as having this big beautiful quilt tile painted locally by Diane Mooneyham on one of our barns. That’s Diane’s husband Kevin way up there on the ladder.

Kevin had some special help from Short Mountain Fire Dept.’s Brad, Michael, Skylar, and Chris. We love our neighbors!

If you’re traveling the trail through Tennessee next Spring, don’t forget to stop by the still house behind the barn and learn how they’ve been making moonshine on Short Mountain for over 150 years.

Jeff Schuler stopped by and filmed John Whittemore harvesting some of our first organic corn crop earlier this Fall with an old borrowed one row corn picker.

You’d be on to something if you imagined it took John a few days in between the rain. It’s all we got right now, but next year we’re getting a little help from our neighbors.