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 …
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 …
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 …
Our Dogs Are Living Their Best Lives
Let’s be completely honest – we definitely bought the farm for the dogs. Our Kansas City yard was something spectacular. While tiny, it packed a punch. Shortly after moving in, we installed artificial turf so that the doggers would have green “grass” to run and play on year-round. Even with walks though, we couldn’t begin to burn enough of their …
It’s Spring! The Farm is Coming to Life
Even though it was a very mild Winter, moving to the farm in December left us dreaming of what could eventually exist. We bought the farm knowing it was a beautiful piece of property that held a ton of potential. But, you know, brown grass, dormant trees and gray skies often made it hard to envision just what we’d see …
The Potatoes Are Finally Planted
Sunday was an insanely busy day on the farm. Among the chaos of finishing the chicken coop and staking off the North garden, we also planted potatoes. The potatoes went into the southwest 100 sq. ft. of the garden. Inside of the 5′ by 20′ area we created 3 horizontal (East-West) rows. Each was allowed ample spacing. The rows are …
Our First Big Mow
We knew the time was coming. The weather today was much too perfect to ignore. We had to attempt mowing our 7 acres of yard – and today was the today. Honestly – we didn’t think that the yard actually needed to be mowed yet. It just didn’t look that shaggy. But we borrowed my mom’s zero-turn mower for a test drive …
Planning the North Garden
The North garden is already proving to be quite the undertaking. We knew when we started plowing and tilling that the garden space next to our barn was massive. Despite warnings, we acknowledged how much work it would be, but continued ahead. So far – it’s amazing. We’re getting our first look at just how much we’re planting and what …
Planting the Three Sisters
In planning our garden, Aaron’s stepmom Debbie recommended the Three Sisters. Being on a big companion planting kick, I thought the bright idea sounded pretty solid. Naturally, I dove headfirst into some research to figure out how to make the most of our South garden. What I found was the Three Sisters plus a pair of flower sisters that really …
Whoa, We Have a Garden Map
We may have tilled a way-too-large garden. Aaron paused for a plow break while working on the chicken coop and enjoying the sunshine last weekend. He fired up the tractor, hooked up the old plow behind the pole barn and took the first stabs into the dirt where the farm’s garden has traditionally been planted. The grass and weeds that …