Solstice Sown Designs

05/02/2026

I have been working on a comprehensive design and management plan for a beautiful artist ranch in southwest Colorado. Formerly a nature preserve, the 60 acre property was masterfully gardened for decades and hosts a wide variety of species. I helped the management team identify all species and map the locations, as well as come up with a detailed seasonal management plan to maintain and enhance the grounds.

Another aspect of the project is designing an entirely new garden concept near the resident artist studio and to adorn the exquisite marble sarcophagus statue brought over from Italy.

It has been a real pleasure to get to know the team and support their vision for tending the land and creative community near and far!

This project will include a series of large printed maps, a design book with custom land management plans, and budgets for project implementation.

10/24/2025

What a season!

Daily habits and routines are key to my success as a land manager.

Same time, every day. While training, I try to only add one new thing at a time. 1% better every day. It took months to gain this Arabian horse’s trust, and I’ll never forget the first time I got a halter over him. Now he comes on a whistle, catches easy, and leads well. Being an Arabian, when he spooks it can be zero to 60 in no time, and it is truly a marvel to see him at a full run. The c**t behind him has come a long way, too. They’ve both still got plenty to learn, as do I.

I walk ditched every morning, scanning for any changes, invasive weeds, prairie dogs, elk, deer turkeys, coyotes, bear. The geese love the flooded pastures. Flycatchers nested in the spruce near the barn. Red-tail hawks and kestrel hunt fencelines, butcher birds, too. Gopher and garter snakes are a welcome sight. We need all the allies we can get. It’s all about creating habitat for me. Call them food plots if you will, I see it as interdependence.

We still flood the back pastures, and just wrapped up our sprinkler irrigation season. Running a big gun rainbird sprinkler system on our most productive pastures has it benefits, water conservation and efficiency being top priority.

There’s so much life here, it’s good work to take care of a place, it keeps me going.

10/11/2025

Web soil survey

Here is a great free tool for assessing land quality and suitability for use

Be an informed investor and save time and money

Web soil survey is managed by the USDA and NRCS

They have comprehensive soils data across the US and tools for analysis,

I run a soil map and soils data analysis before showing up to any property, and I use this tool to flush out red flags on properties so I don’t end up wasting my time going to see them.

Enter your address
Create an Area of Interest
View soil map
Soil data
Utilize soil data explorer to assess use
Order soil surveys

Be informed about properties and save time and money

DM me to learn more and how to analyze soil data

07/16/2025

I call this season, “in the weeds”. It feels like you are always behind, the long summer days are unrelenting and yet there still isn’t enough time in the day for everything. But, you do what you can and stick with the program.

Here are some shots of the plants we are working with on this little ranch. The Canada thistle is much worse than I expected. And I am learning all about Alsike clover, which much to my dismay can cause liver toxicosis in horses. The brome, orchard grass, Timothy, and crested wheatgrass have done well, and I’ve been overseeding the “equine extra” mix from .

Hang in there and dance extra hard for rain, friends,

Sincerely,
Michael

03/09/2025

Experimenting with ChatGPT to assist project planning for homestead resilience!

Has anyone else tried this? Here are some snippets from exploring these tools. Of course, some of these numbers will vary significantly depending on your context but this is a pretty good generalized baseline. The next step needs human interaction, analysis of landforms to put every structure in its right place, and of course the critical component is skilled labor to pull it off.

Are there any AI programs out there to input aerial imagery to help plan resilient landscape usage?



What are we missing? How can we improve?

12/22/2024

Happy solstice!

2024 was a pivotal year, with a dedication and focus on learning horsemanship and cattle ranch management. I still had time for some landscape design, homestead food forest projects, beekeeping, and pond building. But most of my time was devoted to stewarding large acreage ranches and livestock. This change was questioned by many of my supporters, “I thought you were doing permaculture stuff?” Well, what’s more permanent culture than herdsman and stewardship of grasslands? Colorado is a cattle state, grass, hay, cattle are all more suitable to the climate here than vegetables, fruit, etc… they are tough, just like the mountains they live in.

I gained more experiences this year than I ever expected, I guess that’s what happens you jump off the deep end, you either sink or swim - from building a milking cow pen for an untamed cow, fencing methods with basic tools of gauchos, herding cattle and goats in northern Patagonia, to working on a historic family ranch in Colorado on a cow/calf operation, roping and branding my first calves, riding and gathering on big acreage permits, to landing a job managing a horse ranch in southwest Colorado - I’ve learned more than I imagined this year, and realize how much more I have to learn.

I’m thankful for everyone who was patient with me this year and took the time to teach me - I hope I made up for it with hard work, hustle, and humor.

Here are some of my favorite shots from this past year of work focused on our mission - to cultivate a network of people who value and are actively working on regenerating agriculture.

Wishing you all warm solstice blessings, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

In service,
Michael

11/03/2024

Hey folks,

Please allow me introduce myself if you don’t know me.

Born and raised in the west, I have developed a deep passion for land stewardship, conservation, and agriculture. For more than ten years, I have worked in various land management roles, started my own profitable land planning business, and learned from mentors who have helped me develop a strong work ethic and persevering character. I have demonstrated experience in extremely physically demanding jobs and a proven passion for land stewardship and ranching.

I was recently a ranch hand at Cap K Ranch in Basalt, Colorado. This role consisted of various responsibilities including fencing, irrigation, cutting and baling hay, moving cattle, training horses, managing weeds and anything needed for maintaining a functional ranch . Last year I worked as the Livestock manager for ACES Rock Bottom Ranch in Basalt raising cattle, sheep, broiler chickens, layers, turkeys, and rabbits. I also own and operate my own land planning business, Solstice Sown Designs LLC, based in Southwest Colorado. I work as a regenerative agriculture planner, consultant, and ecological garden designer. I have experience in all aspects of ranch management and a strong work ethic to take on any challenges that may arise. I bring more than four years of experience in landscape design, project planning, budgeting, and management, developing client relationships, and training and leading a construction crew. I have had a diversity of experiences in Southwest Colorado and California raising livestock for market, learning horsemanship, rotational grazing, silvopasture agroforestry, holistic management of pastures, and whole farm systems planning.

More important though than my breadth of experience in ecology and land management is my earnest character, integrity, grit, and humility. I value strong communication and respect. I bring a lot to the table and still know that I have a lot to learn. I am eager to be of service and contribute to a legacy of conservation and land stewardship.

Take a look at the updates to the website after this year of growth and new chapters!

In service,
Michael

10/15/2024

Total makeover on this residential Carbondale landscape!

The town of Carbondale has a program called Bee Friendly, that gives homeowners a rebate to remove turf grass and plant water wise pollinator species. We qualified this project and tore out all the non native turf grass to plant a diverse array of native and drought tolerant pollinator plants, food producing, and soil building species.

Scroll through to the end to see what it all looked like before. I love working on this project and will be heart warmed to watch the wildflowers grow over the years.

Happy fall,
Michael

09/11/2024

08/26/2024

It’s been the wettest August I can remember in Colorado, great for planting!