Starting At The Beginning

Before I say anything else....

I have to say...

you guys are the BEST!

So many questions....so many ideas....so much to say.

And although the rest of gray winter looms ahead of me...

my mind is full of ideas to share with you.

I cannot thank you enough!

I will try over the coming weeks to answer each and every one of your questions.

If I miss something...by all means, nag me!

To quote something near and dear to all of us...

"Let's start at the very beginning....a very good place to start..."

Let's start with a little history...

and I will take you down the path to how this place came to be.

(Tracy...the farm was both fortunate happening and long-held dream.
I wanted a pig when I was just a small girl...and always had my hands and feet in the soil!)

Originally purchased with friends as a weekend getaway,

the farm began with 37 acres, a contemporary house, 

the A-frame guest house,

a 200+ year old log cabin, 

and a barn.

It was wild and wooly and uncultivated...

the acreage divided between woods and fields that were leased by a neighboring dairy farmer.

The more time that Hubbs and I spent here,

the more the dream began to grow.

It started with a garden...

a fairly big garden (at least it seemed so at the time)
 that was hard to take care of only on weekends.

The property had an old apple orchard, five blueberry bushes, and an overgrown berry patch

 that had been neglected for some time.

Over time, more adjacent land was purchased.

Eventually, our friends sold us their half of the farm.

With no interest in having or caring for two homes (an hour apart from each other),
we made the decision to move to the farm and live there full time.

The original house, however, was in slight dis-repair, was difficult to heat,

and not the style that we could have called "home"...

so we had it de-constructed for salvage and in its place built our log cabin.

This move occurred during the time that our children were in or out of college.

So... none of our children were raised here on the farm.

Most couples decide to simplify life once the children leave home...

not us.

No, for some odd reason this place called to us and we plunged headfirst into growing a farm.

It all started slowly...and over the next several years....

We enlarged the garden.

We got some chicks.

We added a henhouse.

We got some ducklings.

We built a duck hut by the pond.

We started bees.

We enlarged the garden.

We tore down old fences and built new.

We bought a horse.

We added a pony.

We added some guineas.

We started raising goats (fainting goats to sell) with Hubbs' sister Dr. Becky

(who, somewhere in the midst of all that built a house on 5 acres in the middle of the farm.)

We enlarged the garden.

We added more bees.

We planted 100 more blueberry bushes.

We built a grape arbor and planted grapevines.

We cleaned up the berry patch and planted raspberries and blackberries.

We added another henhouse.

We added more chicks.

We added more ducks.

We built more fences.

We added more goats.

We added the Littles.

We added 3 turkeys.

We enlarged the garden.

We added another henhouse.

We added more chicks.

We added more bees.

We planted another orchard.

We built more fences.

We added 2 pigs.

We enlarged the garden.

We added more chicks.

We added another pony.

We added 2 donkeys.

We added more chicks.

We enlarged the garden.

We started a second garden... the pumpkin patch.

We've had our share of barn kitties... that somehow find their way to us,

and pups to share our adventures.

Get the picture?

I warn you... things have a way of growing... and if you are not very careful and very thoughtful

about what you add...

your farm can get out of hand quite easily.

I am happy to say that although we have grown tremendously,

it is all still quite manageable.

We are not currently breeding any of our animals.

In fact, all of our males are now neutered... so things cannot grow unless we make them.

This spring we are adding more chicks,

building more fences and adding two lambs...two little girls.

Why do we do all of this?

Mostly because we love it...every square inch of it.

The work can be hard, but is never without its rewards.

The animals give more than they take from us.

We are able to nourish ourselves with fresh, homegrown organic produce,

 and when the weather cooperates,

we are able to feed our animals as well... from our own hay fields.

So often folks ask us what we grow on our farm,

and Hubbs always replies, "We grow love."

We believe that we are but "renters" on this earth and that we have the responsibility for caring 

for the land and its inhabitants for the time that we are here.  I don't believe that we own the land...

but rather having the deed to it gives us the responsibility of keeping it healthy and if possible for making it better than it was before.

We owe that to our children and our children's children.

So, I suppose if you want to know what my philosophy of farming is...

I would have to say it is just that.

I may not be able to make a difference to our country or to our world,

but I can make a difference here at home...

I can leave my little piece of the world a better place than it was before.

And along the way, I wish to share the love that surrounds me each and every day.

As for getting up each and every morning at the crack of dawn...

I am excited to see my "friends" each morning!

I will admit, though, in the winter time, when it is freezing outside...

it's just a little more difficult to get out of bed.
But, once outside....the bed is quickly forgotten!