About Me

Apparently people like to read my about page. Probably because they wonder “who is this incredibly silly fellow?”

Well, here are at least some of the answers. If you have more questions feel free to email me – whatsup@eldonyoder.com

Where I Come From

In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, my name is Eldon Yoder.

I was born in Guatemala where my parents were missionaries in the late ’80s. They brought me back to the US before I was 1, so I don’t remember much about that first time in Guatemala (ok, I don’t remember anything). I returned to Guatemala for a year of voluntary service, and have been back to visit multiple times as well. Guatemala will always have a special place in my heart.

I am the middle of five children. All told there are three boys and two girls. As I said, I’m right in the middle of all of them. The majority of my siblings are married and have kids, being an uncle is definitely one of my favorite things!

I am a Christian. I believe that what the Bible says is true and I try to pattern my life and world view after it.

What I Do

It’s always a bit difficult to explain what it is I do. It seems a bit complicated just because there are a number of different angles to think about, but I’ll do my best to summarize everything below.

I am self-employed and am the owner/operator of NodleStudios where I do web development and design. I generally work with WordPress and build custom themes using the Genesis theme framework and a plethora of other tools. I also work on a number of projects that are built with Laravel, a framework that I am learning to enjoy more and more. I even host my own podcast called “Becoming a Solo Founder,” I should probably be more regular about it.

Back in the early days, I wanted to be a photographer. I got really into it, and still enjoy working with a camera to capture things. A couple of years ago I started to get into videography. I still do the occasional bit of photo & video work. If you’re interested you can see some of my photo work on Instagram. Some of my video work has ended up on my YouTube channel.

Another aspect of “what I do” is helping with the marketing/business side of my family’s farm. We have several hydroponic tomato greenhouses, grow a pick your own strawberry patch, and then have a corn maze & pumpkin patch in the fall. I, along with my brother Lowell, run a podcast called “Conversations with Yoders’ Farm” that revolves around what we’re currently up to on the farm.

A couple of other things I’m involved with.

• After having designed and cut the corn maze for our farm over the past 6 or 7 years the last couple of years I’ve been doing some custom maze design & cutting.
• I am currently working on several courses for ImagineWP. I hope to launch the first one before the end of the year (2020).
• Since I have direct experience with several of the things that farmers need, I am currently building several projects to simplify farmer’s lives.
  • The first is a corn maze app/game that allows visitors to your maze to find waypoints as they go through for a position on a leader board. This project is being reworked to support more farms than just ours.
  • The second is still in the design/feature list stage, but it will help get farmers online, connecting a farm with their customers. What all that entails I’m still fleshing out. 🙂
• I’ve been writing words for quite some time. They don’t always make a lot of sense, but I find that I can process a subject in a deeper and different way when I write about it.

I do enjoy traveling the world. Over the past number of years, I’ve spent some time in Mexico, Ireland, Hungary, and Austria. Which place is my favorite? Probably the correct answer to that is “the next” place I’m traveling to. As I’m writing this I don’t have any plans (thanks to the “rona,” and my recent transition to self-employment), but I’m definitely keeping an eye on my Scotts Cheap Flights emails. South America and Asia are definitely both right near the top of my “to visit” list.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time outdoors. Generally, that means hunting, fishing, or hiking. Preferably in the two best times of the year, spring and fall.

Other Randomness

I drink a lot of coffee. Probably too much. The current favorite is Lavazza made with an Aeropress.

I grew up and live on a farm. Like a real farm. I love living in the country… I also enjoy a bit of city life from time to time, but pretty soon I remember why I love the country so much.

I dropped out of college. I don’t recommend it necessarily.

And I think that’s enough for now, thanks for stopping by.

If you’d like to email me here is the address – whatsup@eldonyoder.com

P.S. Full disclosure some of the links on this page may be affiliate links.