Hello world!

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Well hello there. Today is the first blog post for our little slice of the world. We moved to Tennessee in June and have been trying and trying to settle in. It has been an exercise of patience and humility to say the least. I may be in a little over my head, but I am have some really good teachers (4 retired teachers and one retired army colonial on this farm to be exact) and some fun fellow pupils. My husband and I have two little boys (at the time 3 and 5 mos) and I must say they have adjusted beautifully. Our little boy started preschool and turned four a week later just two months after arriving. He loves it here. He loves the freedom he has on the farm and he LOVES the responsibility. He takes total ownership of so many projects they’ve started. It’s adorable and makes me a proud mama. It makes my husband and father-in-law happy to have a helping hand and proud of the work and skills they get to teach him.

For twelve years I showed up to visit this farm twice a year and it was a true vacation. I didn’t lift a finger to do anything, but the grass was always mowed, the plants were in bloom, the vegetable garden was full and provided delicious fresh meals, it was a true vacation on a beautiful farm. I so easily took for granted that someone had to do all that to make it so.

My husband first moved to this farm in fourth grade and together with his sister, parents and grandparents they built a farm on what once was uninhabited land in East Tennessee. For more than a decade their blood, sweat and tears were poured into this farm. They built up the ground, built two homes, raised black Angus cattle, raised Hereford cattle, raised chickens, goats, tobacco, fruit, so much more. I wasn’t here so I can’t even imagine all the hard work and time it took to make all this what it is today. I have heard the stories of how it happened and I am completely astounded at all that went into this farm.

As a girl raised in a city in Louisiana I have no experience with mountain life, changing seasons (we only have one in Louisiana – HOT), what it means to grow cash crops, raising and caring for livestock, I could go on and on. I am so massively out of my element. Trying to understand all the sacrifices that have to be made to make a farm or a homestead livable, much less successful is so beyond my realm of knowledge.  To try and pretend like I know or understand would probably be insulting to them and to all farmers. Let me just say it now for the record. Farming ain’t for the faint of heart!

I am quickly learning. I guess I should say I am slowly learning a few things here and there, but I see everyday just how much I have yet to learn. I may be in a little over my head. I am lucky that there is a whole family of people here to help me learn. I hope my adventures in learning as well as their lessons in farm living will be useful to someone else.