About Us
October 2009
Hi, I wanted to update our “about us” page, but I did not want to delete the history on how we ended up on a farm. Our first experience managing a horse facility was a great beginning. If you follow the blog you will know that we moved to an 80-acre farm down in a beautiful valley. Instead of managing 40 horses, we have four. But we also have a wonderful flock of chickens, three quacking ducks and a large garden. In the past year we have learned a lot and every day we continue to learn more.
I still commute to Madison four days a week and work at home one day a week. Chuck works out of the house, so he gets to enjoy the peace and quiet more than most. Maddy graduated from high school and moved on to college. I’m sure she enjoys better cell phone service, but I know she misses her horses and ducks.
I hope you enjoy the blog while we continue to grow as hobby farmers.
January 29th, 2008
There was a time when one of my goals for our move to the farm was to write about the experience. It wasn’t everyone’s goal. My daughter wanted to be closer to her horses. My husband wanted to get out of his office chair and do a couple hours of labor. I wanted to record how us city folks adapted to the daily routine of taking care of 30 oversized, four-legged animals. I imagined a learning curve filled with humor and doubt. Would we ever remember their names and what they ate? How could we tell them apart? I didn’t even know how little we knew.
I did not know how easily it would be to tell them apart based on personality nor did I know how much we would love them. We walked in a direction I wasn’t prepared for.
Our lives changed when the barn managers for my daughter’s stable quit and in jest I suggested we move in and take over the farm. I expected resistance, not agreement. Before we knew it, our city house was on the market and our belongings were unpacked into the country. I’m not going to take you back and relive our steps on how we got where we are today. I’m going to open the door and bring you into the moment. We’ll start with January 2008. I hope you enjoy the ride.
We have been here for a year and a half and I’m finally ready to put the words down. At least now I know a little more about the world of horses.
I made an interesting New Year’s Resolution this year — take at least one picture every day. I wanted to record one of the biggest things we learned since we moved here — seasons and their weather. Of course we all know about seasons and have experienced weather, but I never knew how important they were to a farmer. I did not understand the words winter, ice, frozen water tanks or mud, heat and flies. Nor do I think I realized the beauty of crystalized snow on horse’s whiskers and the surrounding tree branches, or that unbelievable relief from a small hint of spring blowing up the hillside. I didn’t really know how it would feel to slowly watch your mornings change from doing all your chores in the dark, to seeing a pink glow peek up over the horizion. I did not know I could tell time based on the degrees of dawn and dusk. These things we learned over time.
These photos were taken in the end of December a few days before Christmas. When I walked into this winter wonderland, I ran back inside to grab the camera. While shooting the photos, I thought of the idea to take a photo every day. There was suddenly so much to see, even in the dark.