Chicken Adventures

Sunrise with the Girls

Mornings always seem early when you're the parent of a 4-month old, but Tuesday morning seemed especially early. We all (baby and dogs included) awoke at 6am, dressing quickly in sweatshirts and headed over to Bell Garden. This was the first morning we were to let the chickens out their coop.

The Coming of Spring

One day recently I looked out among the trees, across the street from my balcony where I sat, and realized everything was green. The day before everything had been brown, decaying, and damp. Oh, but now! There were light greens and dark greens. Purples, whites, and reds popped up all around me.

Since we last spoke...

Two hours after I published my first post for this brand new blog, my husband, Alex, called to say he'd lost his job. The question of WHEN Alex should quit his job suddenly disappeared. Instead we asked ourselves, "Is it time to move to a farm?" With our lease up in June at our apartment, we wondered if it was time for a change.

Introduction

Me and my husband, 2 summers ago

I am Cagney. 
I am a Farmer. 
I have no land to care for. 
No animals to tend to. 
That is going to change.

It has been a long five years of wishing, hoping, and dreaming for a farm of my own. There used to be a time when I assumed all plants I owned would live a starving, bleak existence. When I didn't know what compost was. I didn't know that soil was really a tiny universe of insects, microbes, and plants working together to bring about life. I didn't know the truth of where my food-like substances came from and where food really should come from.

Here I am, ready to plunge into a world I have dreamed about for so long. I have hoped for, doubted, and hoped for again a farm of my own. By my side are my husband, my 4-month baby boy, and my two dogs. They are ready to dive in as well. We are striving for a simpler existence. One that's less traffic and more sunrises and sunsets.We will grow our own food, raise our own animals--working side by side with Nature to nourish our bodies, replenishing our souls.

We are here at a crossroads. It's familiar, as though we've been here before. There have been a couple times that we have tried to find a piece of land. We jumped through hoops, but, to no avail, it was not the time for us. Nor that other time. No matter, it is the TIME. We are hopeful and joyful for all we are given. We wait here at the crossroads, pausing to listen for the truth to speak out. We are discussing all the options, looking closely at our finances, asking all the questions. How much money do we need to live "happily"? What are our dream jobs? Where do we see our family in another five years? Will we remain farm-less for another year? Five years? Or is it NOW?

This blog will follow my family's journey from farm-less to farmful. I shall discuss of a manner of topics from growing vegetables to recipes, from budgets to babies. Sit back, relax with a cup of tea, and enjoy the ramblings of a Farmer in a Farm-less world.