Our First Month of Life on a Farm

We made it!  And, as promised...we're blogging!  We've been on the farm for almost a month now, feeling quite settled in, and starting our homesteading adventure.  I am finding it's pretty hard not to dive right into our new lifestyle. Time seems almost irrevelvant and the activities of a homestead become quite obvious when growth is present all around. The demands of keeping up a country home seem to almost tap you on the shoulder when they are ready to be done (or buzz in your ear as you set the dinner table). 

I have felt like I moved at a million miles per hour for the past 8 1/2 years.  Something about living in the city seems to make us feel the need to always "keep up".  We see people moving all the time.  The city is constantly in motion.  We start moving fast to try and keep up, and they move faster to stay ahead...financially, socially, and mentally.  Though exhilerating and exciting in many ways, it can also be exhausting in others.  Working, trying to grow my businesses, have a social life, own a home and raise a family had left me unfulfilled those last days, and took a toll on us all.

Much of that has changed since quitting my job to stay home with the kids and moving to a place where things happen much slower.  We are more concerned with how fast vegetables grow and how long it takes a neighboring farmer to cut down a thousand acres of corn.  Driving 30 minutes in the city got me to work...after fighting freeway traffic, slowing down for (and cursing) jaywalkers, and waiting on trains to pass.  Now driving 30 minutes gets me through several small towns, with shops owned by the people working behind the counter, and offering services like taxidermy...I don't think too many animals were stuffed for trophy in Las Vegas.  Instead of grumbling, I smile and take interest in everything that makes those small towns tick.  I had stopped paying attention to when a new fast food restaurant opened on a corner where a different one had stood a year earlier (they all look the same anyways).  Now I pay attention to everything, wondering how one day it will fit into my life to stop and enjoy what's inside each building I pass.

So there I was, pushing paperwork, attending meetings, and offering my creative thought processes in many directions.  And here I am now, picking apples for applesauce and apple crisp, canning tomatoes, cooking for my family, and using my creativity for me through my art, clothing, and children.  I think it is safe to say we are in a happy place...still wearing my rad dreads, keeping up with the latest on Facebook, and running my online Etsy shop with the most uber hip kids clothing ever seen.  Although much about homesteading and country life easily takes us back to simpler times, we are still of a modern breed...and that's what the Hip Homestead is all about!

P.S.  The photos I am posting now are taken on my Iphone and I apologize in advance for the quality.  We are hoping to get a kick-ass camera soon so all the photos will be amazing and really illustrate the beauty of the place we live.  Help us get there by shopping at www.breedbaby.etsy.com for all your baby shower and baby gifting needs ;)!

If this first post has got you a little confused and asking yourself "How are you growing tomatoes already?  You've only been there a month!" stay tuned for the next one where I'll give you all the details of where we are living and even a video tour of the property!