Thanks for visiting this website where every few days I will document the goings on, on this farm. 20 years ago I moved my family in an old pick-up truck to he hills of Holmes county, Ohio to live a more sustainable life. What an adventure it has been. 20 years later and the kids are grown, the house is empty and the next steps remain.
I' ve been absent from the blog as of late.... maple season here and that takes all of my time. Today is cold so I'm taking this opportunity to reminisce about the past, long past? , no my past.
A couple of weeks ago Zak and I were working to complete the shop project which was started several years ago in the barn. As we were organizing "stuff" he came upon the side mirror from my '86 Chevy diesel flat-bed truck that I procured in 1993 for the reasonable sum of $2,500.00. It brought back memories of how this whole farm life thing started and why; Georgia and I were living in Boston, MA when our daughter, Anastasia Michael Jaeb was born in Salem . I was a designer working at the worlds largest consulting firm, spending long days at the office, stressing about the next great tea kettle or ping pong paddle or whatever. In those days, actually since 1988 I had been an ardent subscriber to Mother Earth News, the back to the land magazine that started during the first back to land movement in the 70's. I kept them under my bed and when no one was around I would pull them out and read the articles, I didn't look at the pictures! "How to raise chickens"... "Homemade bread" ..... "fixing a tractor"....smoking a ham.....etc. I wanted my kids to grow up knowing where their food came from and that chicken didn't originate on a piece of styrofoam wrapped in plastic. I wanted to be self-sufficient, able to take care of my family should things get rocky.
We first bought a 100 year-old farm on 4 acres in Geauga County, Ohio, I completely gutted and rebuilt the house with the help of my father and brother. Then I got the "itch" again. "We need more land Georgia" I quipped
We started going to auctions and found our current farm, 55 acres of the most beautiful land and woods one could imagine, we raised our kids and lived my dream.
I was anxious back then, I continue to this day. Things don't "feel right" in society and our world. The list is too long to put in this post, but we all know the issues, most ignore, others assume that "someone" is on it and will fix it, I'm not so sure. See you next week, pending a sapfest that you're all invited to attend!
M
March 4, 2016
Georgia and myself with our baby Annie in front of my flat-bed diesel truck shortly after we purchased our first "homestead" in Geauga County, Ohio.
Mirror from that truck now a shaving mirror in our bathroom!.
Our boy Zak, now 18 helping me this past winter get my farm shop up and running.
March 12, 2016
This beautiful morning with the sun out and warmth in the air I planted the first of this years garden. Some peas, lettuce, spinach and of course those harbingers of spring.....the radish. The soil was perfect and easy to work, I look forward to the fist salad from the effort.
I then went to the woods to check my sap bags and lines, a run is once again upon us but the trees are budding due to the warmth of the last few days. Grade B maple will be the outcome of any sap from here on out. I sat in the woods today, it is my peaceful place so sad that so few people today ever get the opportunity to be alone in the woods. Later today Georgia and I are heading to Canton for a visit with my parents and a little shopping.....very little as it is one of our least favorite activities. I thought about the contrast this afternoon will be to my morning; city noise, traffic and people ...too many people. Life is all about contrast, without cold we wouldn't appreciate warmth, without nights we might squander our days and without sadness we may never experience true joy. I was content in the woods this morning, we'll see about later that same day!
I am baking a couple of potatoes for our lunch, dug by Brett 2 days ago, I leave my potatoes in the ground all winter they keep perfectly that way. I picked a bunch of chives from the herb garden with a touch of sour cream and a sprinkle of our Chipolte Dry Rub, lunch is on the table.