No doubt about it – the farm’s previous family took exceptional care of the property. The house, the out-buildings, the lawn, the pastures – every literal thing is in amazing shape. That being said, part of why we decided to buy the farm was the appeal of this “diamond in the rough.” While this place is stunning – there are a …
Home to Roost – Our Cozy Chicken Coop
Exactly a month ago, I bought the build plans for a chicken coop. Since then, Aaron has been building like a madman to create the most epic chicken cottage of all time. This week, we’re over the moon (and a bit relieved) to finally welcome the flock into their cozy new home. From start to finish, this coop has been …
The New Mower and the Pond
Last week, we added a much-needed Ferris zero-turn mower to the farm’s equipment line up. It was really a stunner. Shiny. Red. Keyword here: was. I mowed for about an hour with it on Sunday. Trimmed up the backyard with a swift jaunt across the lawn. So when Aaron jumped on to mow the orchard today, the mower had a …
Sitting Pretty in the Garden
One of my favorite things about moving to a new place is uncovering bits and pieces left behind by previous owners. Inside the barn, there are multiple signs with the family names of the farm’s owners before us. It’s pretty awesome to imagine the stories of how this place came to be and the people that once loved it like …
This Week on the Farm: April 13-19, 2020
What seemed like an uneventful week really got us there at the end. The projects have continued. And continued. And continued. I was lucky, on Tuesday, to finally finish the greenhouse floor. I’ve been slowly progressing one square foot tile at a time to stencil a pattern onto the concrete. With an infant to watch out for – this has meant …
Isai’s Calf Goes to the Vet
We’ve had a wild 24 hours at Crossley Farms. While I grew up on family farms in rural Kansas – I still have a lot to learn about being a farmer. Especially, when cattle are involved. Yesterday, Aaron went to visit a friend and help to get his garden up and running. That left me flying solo to keep the …
Day 34: Coronavirus Quarantine
The sunny warmth of last week has given way to cold, dreary gloom. Today, specifically, the window from our basement has nothing much to show beyond the bright green grass dulled by the dark gray skies. Hard winds pound at the doors all around the house. The rain falls heavy to the puddles outside the door. Generally – the entirely scene …
Master Bedroom Renovation Begins (Finally!)
Aaron and I have been working on plans for the farmhouse renovation since mid-December. Here we are, 4 months later, finally having the opportunity to get started. We’ve gone several circles with an architect to figure out how to remove walls and open the 1970s layout. Aaron sold our city house in a flash in January which finally gave us …
Our First Easter
Aaron and I are not over-the-top holiday celebrators. This is very strange considering I come from a family of top-of-the-line decorators, over-gifters and holiday extremists. In our time dating, married and now with a little one – our celebration style has gone relatively undefined. On our own birthdays, we do ridiculous things. On holidays, we swing through the family gatherings …
This Week on the Farm: April 6-12, 2020
Each week, I’m more and more amazed by the insanity of all of things happening. What’s more impressive: the progress. We have so many projects going on the farm right now. It’s invigorating, exhausting and extremely cool to see our ideas starting to take shape. The Greenhouse Floor is Gorgeous I’ve avoided sharing too many peeks at the greenhouse renovation. …