Grayson tills an embankment in his backyard. Except for a patch of lawn for his daughters to play in, Grayson has made use of almost of the yard.
Grayson positions an old window over a garden bed to increase soil temperatures.
Grayson replaces a jar of sugar water on one of his two bee hives. He feeds the bees sugar water in the winter to help them survive.
Grayson hands an uprooted onion to his daughter Emma for her to plant in her garden.
Grayson and Emma share a hug after planting potatoes together.
The family’s rooster crows in the chicken pen. The rooster is territorial and often charges members of the family.
Grayson cleans out the chicken coop.
Grayson and Kimberly plant seeds and seed tape in a raised bed.
A day’s worth of eggs sits outside of the coop.
Grayson enjoys a moment with the family’s two dogs.
Grayson covers a row of potatoes, as traffic speeds by his home.
“I call it low-impact farming,” says Grayson Samples, referring to his multiple projects. Grayson and his family, wife Kimberly and daughters Emma and Amelia, live in the small town of Lost Creek, West Virginia on a third of an acre, sandwiched between Lost Creek Road and Interstate 79. Over the past 14 years, the Samples have gradually transformed their yard into a series of beds and gardens, with room left over for a chicken coop, beehives, and fruit trees. Most of the family’s yard is under some sort of cultivation, but Grayson is able to manage most of the projects by working for an hour or two each evening.
Both Kimberly and Grayson come from families that, like many West Virginian families, practiced sustenance farming. Although the Samples do not rely on the food that they produce, both Kimberly and Grayson see their lifestyle as a continuation of a long tradition, one that they have already passed down to their daughters.
“They [Emma and Amelia] always bring up this stuff [like] hunting mushrooms,” says Grayson. “Emma brings this stuff up in the springtime, even though she doesn’t eat them. She’s still got an eagle eye, so she can find them. It gears their minds toward that stuff a little bit.”
Hear more from Grayson in Voices of Farming.