We spent our first 15 years together buying, building, fixing up, renting and selling nice little homes in cul-de-sacs in quiet neighborhoods. In fact, in those first 15 years, we moved eight times. But then, three years ago, we decided to embark on a new adventure. We took a drive to the far edge of town, past cows and sheep, and turned into the driveway of an old farmhouse with an even older barn, and fell in love. All seven of us left there that day ready to take our life in a different direction: We bought the farm.
I mention bits and pieces of our life here, but there are so many stories, so many experiences that we have had that just can't be told without having lived them. If I ever do decide to write a book, I think I could do a whole children's series on the little things that have happened here.
"Bunny Beginnings"
Our bunny, Smokey, was our gateway to all of the animals who have been a part of our farm.
"Mice in the Mailbox"
Of course you've heard this story, but just in case you need a refresher, Click HERE.
"Here a Chick, There a Chick"
We started out with five little chicks and not a clue on how to raise them. We've learned as they've grown and enjoy our daily hunt for eggs, along with new hatchings!
"A Rooster Named Rosie"
Nash didn't know his little baby chick would turn out to be a boy, but our protective rooster is definitely a Rosie.
"Duck Dinosaurs"
After trying our hand at Blue and Black Swedish and a Khaki Campbell, we have settled on Muscovies. They have crazy red heads and walk around slowly and resemble very old dinosaurs. Their hissing noises and strange neck movements add to their mystery.
"Pigs in the Pen"
I'll never forget the day we showed up at a farm to pick up our two pigs. There stood Jason holding a squirming pink pig. I think I laughed for an hour straight. Those pigs grew large all winter and we, along with three other families, now have freezers full of pork of varying cuts.
"Cat Crazy"
It all started when we found a stray kitten who followed us for a mile all the way home. Gypsy worked her way into our hearts and our home and then had not one, but two litters of kittens. We kept one of her babies and got them both fixed. Today we may or may not have a stray mama and four babies camping out in one of our barns. (We've named her Phoebe.)
"Koda, the Chocolate Dog"
I grew up with first a black lab and then a yellow lab and it was just the perfect fit for our family when we were given the opportunity to adopt this beautiful chocolate lab. He is the sweetest boy ever!
"Snake Surprise"
Here and there, we come across a random snake and the kids aren't afraid to scoop them up and play with them for a while!
"Turkey Toms"
Boy, were those turkeys cute when they were little. But they grew. Quickly. By the time they were just 16 weeks old they were nearly too big to hold and really wanted to peck our eyes out. They went to live on a another farm and eventually became another family's Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
"Buzzy Bees"
So the kids had a bee in their room. And then there were two. And then there were regularly six or eight buzzing around the bedroom lights at night. And then we just about FREAKED out. Yes, we had a very active beehive between the interior and exterior walls of an upstairs bedroom. It took an exterminator two tries, but eventually they all died off. Today, when I opened up a wall in the living room for the current remodeling project, I was reminded of those bees when several of them fell out from behind the old paneling.
"Turtle Trails"
In the spring, the big snapping turtles make their trek from pond to ditch to pond around here and we do find an occasional one in our yard!
"Flies Forever"
This one is still a mystery to me. Even in the dead of winter, these things aren't dead. Live flies can be found in random windows in our home all year round. I don't know where they come from, but I end up killing several every day of my life. Regretfully, I have no pictures of this, but trust me-they're REAL.
and our latest occurrence: "Bats in the Attic"
Yes, you read that correctly. After Owen mentioned that he had been hearing a rustling noise coming from the attic next to his bedroom, we investigated. We could her tiny squeaks coming from somewhere in there, but the source could not be found. We assumed a bird had made a nest and that when they hatched and grew they'd evacuate and that would be the end of it. You can imagine our surprise when one night, about a month ago, we were sitting outside watching the sunset and we counted nearly TWENTY bats come out from a little peak in our roof and fly around the yard. Even with the fancy bat house Jason has since made, they reside in our attic. I guess we have our very own spooky Halloween spot now!
Aside from our many animal adventures, we have learned so much from this house itself. When we first moved in, we made plans to turn this four bedroom, one bath house into a five bedroom, two bath house, by adding an addition where a small mudroom/laundry room had been. What we didn't know was that the existing house was not built on a solid foundation with modern footings, but rather on piles of stones around the outer edge, and over a small, damp Michigan basement under the kitchen. No wonder the house had that adorable lean to the left! Over a period of time, so as not to create severe structural problems, steel beams were installed under the house and slowly jacked into place. Even with all the care that was taken, our now-level house was left with cracks in the old plaster that would need to be repaired. We have spent the last three years repairing the plaster that was salvageable and replacing what wasn't, along with adding accent walls, using everything from old tongue-in-groove flooring to pennies to shiplap.
We have also pulled up many layers of flooring, excited to find the original wood that just needed a little love.
The exterior of the house received improvements, too. Siding, insulation, a roof, shutters, windows and paint all gave this place a new look, and warmed it up on those cold winter nights, too!
Even with all that has been done to the house, the real living has happened in the small moments, outside. We didn't fall in love with this property just because of the house, but for all that surrounds it, as well.
We have tried our hand at growing pumpkins, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, potatoes, corn, zucchini, raspberries, peas, beans, and pickles. Our garden is a work in progress, but we learn a little more every year about what works best for us and what doesn't.
But we make our rounds around the outside edge while things are growing, and when the harvest is done, another little boy is anxiously awaiting riding his dirt bike out there, even if he needs to call his mama from time to time to help him get it out of the mud.
While I love the remodeling and the planting and the livestock, my favorite times here are when we're just hanging out. It would be easy in these fast-paced times to be busy every minute of every day, but we chose to live here and we want to do just that. LIVE. There is no greater joy than seeing your kids laugh and play together. They might think I'm a little annoying the way I'm always taking pictures, but these are the days, aren't they? I want to remember everything.
The big rock by the road where the kids stand to wait for visitors to arrive...
The little bench out by the barn where funny little jokes are told...
The trail we dig through the snow to reach the chickens in the winter...
The bright yellow flowers we plant in the springtime when we are so ready for some color after the long, gray, meltdown...
The porch glider where the kids hang out before we head off to this place or that...
The fire pit that gets just as much use in winter as it does in the warmer months...
The apples that are juicy and sour that fall from our tree...
The leaves in the fall that we rake into big piles to jump in over and over...
The simple swing where the kids are pushed "to the moon, Dad!"...
I always say that people plan to stop for a five minute visit and then end up staying for hours, but it's true. There is so much life here. This is a place where you can hide among stalks of corn,
and make wishes to ride deer out in the field,
and take a seat on a 120 year old hand-hewned barn beam,
and get lost in a sea of beans,
and feel like the Pied Piper among a flock of chickens,
and watch glorious sunsets,
and join the neighborhood kids on a bike ride,
and watch a chicken eat the cat's food while a bunny watches,
and celebrate a country Christmas amidst white, twinkling lights,
and play egg toss with a fresh farm egg with friends and family,
and blow bubbles in the bath after a long day of play.
It's hard to believe that so much has happened in just three years, isn't it? I would love to tell you that the time has passed with only happiness, but that's not true. Farm life is not always an easy life. We have spent so much more money than we had planned, and lost so much sleep over stresses that have occurred and our little pet cemetery gets a new painted rock from time to time. Some days are just hard. Heck, some weeks are hard. But that's okay. That's life, no matter where you are or what you're doing. The most important thing is that the good outweighs the bad. And here, where we are, there is a LOT of good. This is our place. This is where we choose to be and this is where we choose to grow. The kids are not so tiny now, but they're still kids. And when they're not kids anymore, they'll still be our children. Forever. Together we are building this life. Together we are growing.
Someday, hopefully a long time from now, a new family will live here. They will take this house and this land where so many families have raised children and had livestock and grown fruits and vegetables, and made additions and taken down old barns and added paint to the walls, and they will make their own changes. Maybe they'll tear down a wall or two and find a little piece of us we have left behind for them to find. I hope this place opens their eyes and gives them the peace we have found here. I hope this will always be a place where things and people grow.
