Circle V Farm & Lumber

06/07/2026

You ever like something so much you have to share it?
Given the demographic of our followers on this page, I believe it fitting to share here. Now, please ignore the unwashed hair and sweat-drenched face. However, I do believe that a photo in this capacity will help with the story.

In the last 8 months, I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am no longer able to do certain things without wearing my glasses. Even last summer, I was able to take them off to tend to my garden or just go outside in general. For the last 12ish years, I mainly wore my glasses when working. I used to not even wear them when I was on my phone leisurely or reading. Now, I no longer can plant seeds, till, or feed chickens without wearing them. Especially if it's even remotely getting dark outside.

That being said, back in December, I was faced with the untimely need of having to purchase glasses. Right when the price tag of holiday giving was hitting (not to mention income rather based on weather conditions), my previous set of glasses was so scratched I couldn't tell if I was seeing double or seeing through cracks.

Based on the praises of a family member, I decided to give Zenni Optical a try (this isn't sponsored, but if Zenni would like to sponsor a broke farm wife, I'll take it!). Additionally, since the price offered by my eye doctor's office for a pair of glasses was around $500, I bought one of the absolute cheapest pairs of glasses I could get. I don't believe I paid over $60 for them.

Let me tell you. Since the arrival of these glasses, they have been tormented by toddlers, held my hair up out of my face, fogged by fire and dust from prescribed burns, showered in cedar sawdust from working our mill, and shrouded in sweat from garden tending and chicken feeding. This doesn't include the daily cooking, chores, and chasing children.

As farmers, homesteaders, producers, and just self-employed individuals, we all know a buck can be hard to come by. So even necessities can be difficult to justify.

I don't think Zenni Optical necessarily had people like us in mind when they decided to make glasses 1/684974383th the price of what you'd pay at a doctor's office. But I'd like to think someone had us at least in the back of their mind.

So if you're like me and need a pair of glasses to live up to the abuse they'll receive, you may want to give Zenni Optical a try.

06/06/2026

Summer is officially here. For many, this is a time when we begin to make our way down to the coast of Alabama for a summertime beach trip. Besides gorging on

06/06/2026

Love a good ending- even if it's the end of a cedar log.

06/03/2026

Summer is a great time to get your ideas together and begin working on your fall and Christmas crafts.

Check out these Christmas presents I made this past Christmas with some of our Eastern Red Cedar blocks.

Whether you're looking to do a home renovation or small Christmas craft, we'd love for you to consider our cedar.

06/01/2026

Not sure how many milling operations has a supervisor in a night gown and rain boots...

We may be Circle V Farm & Lumber, but it's really Kaylee's world, and we're all just living in it.

05/30/2026

Made a blueberry poundcake this morning with eggs from another local farm, The Wright Ranch, that we got from Manna Grocery & Deli.

Only thing to make it better would to have it on a cedar cake board (I'll have to get on that).

05/29/2026

If you've been around the Southeast in the last week, you're well aware of how much rain we have received.

As much as we need rain, farmers are also well aware of what an abundance of rain can do. Even though we don't sell vegetables at Circle V Farm & Lumber, our lumber production is directly affected by the rain (and likely not in the way you think).

All of our cedar logs come from areas described as Black Belt Prairie restoration sites. These Black Belt Prairie areas have EXTREMELY sensitive soils. This means that damage to the soils not only stops the restoration efforts but can cause irreversible damage, leaving an almost unusable land.

Every step of our logging is done to foster and continue Black Belt Prairie restoration. Trust us, when the lumber orders are in, we certainly DON'T want to have to put a pause on fulfilling orders (and that's for many reasons!) But the last thing we want is to destroy someone's property just to fill a lumber order.

We pride ourselves on offering high-quality lumber that's part of something bigger than just the boards we cut. And though it's not always easy, to continue to do so ethically, when the rain falls, we have to pause.

05/28/2026

What makes our cedar logging different?

Every aspect of our logging has a benefit.
First, our method of removal helps the landowners have the trees removed in a cheaper way than through just mulching.
By doing so, this high quality lumber fuels many sawmill businesses all over the southeast.

The way we remove the trees is done first to support Black Belt Prairie restoration. We do so strategically and with the soil in mind.
Additionally, we leave the limbs and tops of the trees to be used as fire later as another step in the Black Belt Prairie restoration process.

Each part of the tree and our process supports habitat maintenance, small businesses, our land owners, and the people and wildlife living in and around the areas.

Down trees and limbs may not "look pretty," but each step serves a purpose.

05/25/2026

As we are everyday, we are thankful for the sacrifices that have been made for our freedoms.

05/21/2026

Over the last few weeks, I've seen many posts by people asking for locations of u-pick fruit.
There are many awesome farms in Alabama that offer this option.
Thanks to Sweet Grown Alabama, there's a way that Alabamians can find these amazing producers.

You can find so many great fruit producers here, along with other locally produced items like beef, honey, flowers, and well, cedar lumber 😉

If you have a second, share and save this resource. It's a fantastic year-round search engine for the variety of things produced in Alabama.

https://www.sweetgrownalabama.org

Sweet Grown Alabama is a non-profit organization that enhances marketing opportunities for farmers by connecting retailers and consumers to Alabama-grown foods and other agricultural products.