No matter how hard I try to push it aside, it keeps coming back.... I dream of being a farmer, a small-time farmer growing and raising food to feed our community. I tell myself that our family should make-do with our small holding, that farming is some crazy dream and that owning land will cost too much and we will have to go into more debt.
But, the dream won't go away.
So while I learn more both by reading and growing our own food, I am hopeful that we will figure out a way to buy a small farm. A place where we grow not only enough to feed our family but our neighbors too. A place with enough forest to heat our home year after year and maintain a small hand craft business from the trees growing on our own land. A place where we can plant an apple orchard and hundreds of blueberry bushes. Pasture enough to sustain a small dairy goat herd. A place where we can build a couple of guest cabins so that we can share our abundance with others.
Do you have a dream? Are you working on making that dream a reality?
Sounds a lot like our dream here...which we feel fortunate to be living. Although, we've had to tweak it to fit the place we're in. We wish we had more woods, more pasture to graze our animals, etc. We only have 13 acres. But we've learned to make it work. Your family would be so good at transitioning to farming b/c you are already self-employed with a business that could continue on a farm. Have you ever looked into the landlink program? Sometimes there are unique situations posted for working-to-own or caretaking. We found our place through it (sort of--we applied for the program and the owners of this place contacted the director to find caretakers...the same day!) Anyway--
ReplyDeleteYes, l have a dream and it is on my mind all the time. My dream is of owning more forest and enough pasture for 50 sheep, a particular race that almost went extinct a few years ago. A cabin to rent out to people seeking peace and quiet and share the pilosophy of a simpler life. A country cafe with a good range of homemade food for people with allergies aswell as everyone else. I dream on, and plan, can't let it go. Hold on to your dream, we only live once. My greatest fear is that l will get too old and never did anything about it. Pam
ReplyDeleteOh Tonya, do we have a dream! Here in the UK, we aren't able to even buy a house - not even a regular house and land is more expensive than diamonds. We're on rented land and in a rented house, with our goats on a separate bit of land again.... but you are so right! That dream won't ever go away ...
ReplyDeleteI wish you could come visit us down south in the Banana Belt of VT. We have similar questings and doings. We do have tons of great pasture, a small goat herd (11), room for blueberry bushes and orchards galore, and we are building a cabin very very slowly and thinking of renting out our house some day. We also have a yurt that we rented out last year. Living with others can be very challenging and we are coming to the conclusion that sporadic short-term use might be the better way to go. Who knows? Contact me if you ever head south and need a place to take a break. We have e-mailed before so I think you may know how to reach me. You are so very inspiring to me - I love seeing your knitting and reading.
ReplyDeleteWe have a dream of moving to a smaller house on a small lot so that we can do something other than work and maintain just to be here, Our children are grown and we do not have need of all of this house and these acres anymore. I wait on God. He has a way of accomplishing these things for us in better ways than we can ever imagine.
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