Saturday, January 03, 2009

Okay, the gray was bringin' me down

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Danielle, I stumbled upon your blog tonight during my search re: lard rendering, of all things, and I feel like I'm home! Our family bought a nearly 3-acre dilapidated farm/ homestead (circa 1927) last winter and we've been experimenting and pipedreaming - and repairing - ever since. We hope to eventually buy the 20 surrounding acres,and for now are working to bring this place to life. Moving from the Phoenix metro area with a ridiculously busy career in PR/marketing, I didn't know until I came to this sleepy little northern Arizona town that I would feel my blood fairly hum through my veins as I drew closer and closer to the land. My husband and I and our 4 sweet kids are united in our love for this place and this life. We presently have two young hogs, a horse (darn it, he's sweet, but we'd definitely rethink that one if we had to do over again); and we had a beloved flock of chickens we unfortunately lost to coyotes in November while our little farm was empty during our son's recent lengthy hospital stay. With the economic downturn, my PR clients have dwindled and I've found that rather than drumming up new business, all I want is to keep at this wonderfully demanding farm life. It has been a warm educational experience. I've learned we have family green bean seeds that have been saved and passed down through generations of my family in Kentucky, of which I'm angling to secure a few; I've bonded with an aging aunt, mining her years of wisdom re: gardening and canning; I was able to give my dad a taste of his old country home with homemade apple butter I gave him as a Christmas gift this year, made from 2 boxes of apples given to us by the gruff owner of the local feed store, who wanted to do something for our young son who was just diagnosed with a serious kidney disease and whose diet now contains restrictions that frankly, are making us all healthier. I love this life and everything you've written resonates with me. I'm reading your blog by the light of the fireplace while my kiddos rest up for their first day back to school tomorrow. I look forward to drawing inspiration from your experiences and appreciate knowing that all of the exciting ideas and bursts of inspiration that keep me awake these dark winter nights have been successfully tried by another family wishing to live a little closer to the earth. While my hefty income is missed, I love the challenge of making do with what we've already stored and am gratified to learn there is resilience and strength and a pioneering spirit within me that I had no occasion before to test. This is a blessed lifestyle. Thanks for sharing your experiences - I can't wait to keep reading, and am glad I don't have high-powered clients to please tomorrow, so I can keep on reading into the wee hours! Warmest regards from the snowy Southwest, Teri

Danielle said...

Teri, thank you so much for your kind words. I'm really pleased to hear that my posts have resonated for you.

I agree that the more I move into this lifestyle, the more "at home" I feel. I left my career path in academia to homeschool my kids—I never would've dreamed that I'd end up as an organic farmer!

Good luck and good health on your journey.

Madeline Rains said...

I love the new look! How'd you do that? I'll be picking your brain when you visit. Nicolas' farm web site awaits me...

Danielle said...

Oh, I'm so not original. Both Tansy and Christy had new backgrounds from the Cutest Blog on the Block. I just tweaked my code a bit so the icon wasn't in my header. Oh, also, I needed to use the 3 column template so the decoration didn't get in the way of my text.