Newsletter—Feb. 19, 2026
Surviving the Freeze, Like Blueberry Bushes in Winter
Winter storm Fern gave many of our members a week to remember. For some, it meant hunkering down at home as roads became impassable. For others, it meant finding warmth in a neighbor’s heated home to escape single-digit temperatures without power. It was a difficult—and at times unsettling—stretch. And it reminded us why we’re building Burns Village & Farm in the first place: because community isn’t abstract.
Our frozen blueberry patch hibernating for the winter
It shows up in moments like these, when people check on one another, share resources, and make sure no one is weathering the storm alone. Despite our cold fingers and spotty internet connections, we were able to stay connected as a community without even leaving home: texting, phone calls, and Zoom get-togethers, nourishing our community spirit and making plans for when the great melt would finally let us gather in person once more! Like our previously snow-covered blueberry patch, we were quietly gathering energy beneath the surface, ready to bloom when the sun returns.
We’ve been busy making plans for our future community, when getting snowed in means shoveling our way from our front doors to the Common House, turning a stormy day into games, movies and creative projects. A place where you’re never more than a few steps from support, friendship, or a warm conversation, even on the iciest days of the year. We’re already picturing sharing hot cocoa and warming up our hearts through the cold, cold winter, together!
What Are Intentional Communities and How Do Their Members Make Group Decisions?
An intentional community is a model for living that, at its heart, is about living with purpose with like-minded people. Intentional communities can be based around socializing, working together, sustainability, or other ways of living in close connection with others. They generally have a central theme, agreements or core values that everybody agrees upon.
Cohousing, like Burns Village & Farm, is one type of intentional community, where our shared values include sustainability and group decision-making. Every community, big or small, needs a way to make decisions or navigate conflicts. The way we do so is with “agreements”.
The graphic above depicts the process we have for developing community agreements about our shared spaces and lifestyle. We ask for and encourage community input on decisions that affect us all, such as a pet policy, smoking in shared spaces, and steps for addressing any potential conflicts. These agreements allow us to address concerns, questions or conflicts regarding any aspect of our shared life in a smooth and guided way.
Honoring the Past, Cultivating the Future
This photo, captured by our friend Sheila, looks out from the eastern edge of the 17-acre property we currently have under contract. It’s land with a story: it’s been lovingly cared for by the same family for three generations. Their commitment to preserving agricultural land inspires us and entwines itself with our own hopes for the future of Burns Village & Farm.
Together, we envision this acreage continuing to serve as working farmland, stewarded in ways that not only produce nourishing food but also restore health to the soil. Our goal is to help lease portions of the land to farmers whose practices prioritize regeneration, sustainability, and long-term care for the earth. As we live off the land, so too can we give back to it.
