Category Archives: Uncategorized

The simplest solution is the best solution

There are numerous ways to solve almost any challenge, but the simplest approach involving the fewest steps and the least energy, materials, and time is always the most effective, long-term, viable solution. -Ben Falk, The Resilient Farm and Homestead Our neighbors invited us over for dinner last weekend, where we enjoyed a feast of theContinue reading “The simplest solution is the best solution”

Food for thought: antibiotics vs. organic meat

We had a pig scare today. Big Boy stopped eating last night, and he laid down to sleep while the other 3 (Tugboat, The Corporal, and Number Two) fought over dinner. He’s a pig, so dinner should be the absolute best part of every day. Something was wrong. I went to bed feeling anxious, butContinue reading “Food for thought: antibiotics vs. organic meat”

The other side of the coin: celebrating 10 years

The day after we got the keys to the farmhouse, we bought a riding lawnmower with a 48″ deck. Buying that lawnmower somehow made me feel equipped, capable, and prepared for anything. Of the tedious and repetitive tasks on the homestead, mowing the grass is probably my favorite. One evening after work I was finishingContinue reading “The other side of the coin: celebrating 10 years”

Farm Dogs and the Learning Curve

When I was a teaching assistant in grad school, I found that success was made up of a series of small failures.  The program director liked to encourage these missteps as just part of the learning curve. Couldn’t understand a word of Roland Barthes? Congratulations, you’re in the learning curve. Spent all night grading studentContinue reading “Farm Dogs and the Learning Curve”

When homesteading sucks

There’s no way to ease into this, so I’ll just dive right in. On Saturday, I noticed that one of our new piglets was pooping spaghetti. Now I’ll back up. We got our first two American Guinea Hogs via Craigslist, because of course we did. When I emailed the seller, she responded quickly and saidContinue reading “When homesteading sucks”

Because I like bacon more

When we made an offer on the farm, we had the option of “babysitting” two beef cows and a geriatric haired dairy sheep until the beef are ready to slaughter in June (fate of sheep unknown). The former owner of our property broached this subject with me when I was at the house for the septic inspection,Continue reading “Because I like bacon more”

Blackberries of Wrath

I came home last night at the tail end of a work week to find Gwen knee-deep in a thicket of Himalayan Blackberry. Armed only with loppers and too thin gloves, she was uncovering a trellis of half-buried grapes in a part of the property I had turned a blind eye. (Plus, my neck is stillContinue reading “Blackberries of Wrath”

Settling in: Zone 1

When we decided to buy the farm, we vowed that we’d jointly blog about the adventure and the property’s transformation. We’ve now been here for 2 weeks, and it’s been a flurry of nonstop action. When we moved in, the grass hadn’t been mowed in weeks, and the formerly loved landscaping surrounding the house andContinue reading “Settling in: Zone 1”

We bought the farm.

It seems that we have bought a farm on 7 acres of pasture, with a slightly ramshackle craftsman house, two barns in questionable repair, a creek, a flock of chickens, two temporary cows, and a sheep. But I don’t even want to go there yet, first of all because it’s only 97% certain that this farmContinue reading “We bought the farm.”