People said we were crazy when…
we said we were leaving Manhattan to move to a 16 acre farm in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
We knew absolutely nothing about living in the country, let alone anything about farming. Although my wife did have one year of experience working at an outdoor camp while in high school We knew it was time to move. As we allowed ourselves to daydream, we realized it was pulling us out of the city and towards a quieter home life on some acreage. We knew eventually we’d leave the big city, but we’re just waiting on the timing.
When our youngest daughter left for college, we left the city and moved to the rustic farm that we always dreamed of in a small-town community. A place where hospitality was still a thing. Maybe we wouldn’t get flipped off at the stoplight for not accelerating quickly enough?!
We felt it was important to know where our food came from and learned to appreciate very quickly the hard work that farming is. My wife and I both had small gardens growing up which was important to us. So now that we aren’t limited to space, our garden is MUCH bigger. The greenhouse is already up which will expand our food growing season. We are also raising this year four angus cattle, so now our freezer will be well stocked. There’s a sort of confidence that comes with knowing that you have food stored up to last you a year. We feel that sustainability is an important part of farming and we hope to incorporate it into the way we farm. So far we’ve started composting, are planning where to place animal pens to different areas of our land to help fertilize and burn wood on our property for the firepit which takes the chill out of the autumn air and somehow makes those summer nights last just a bit longer. And although this is a new learning experience for us, it has brought such joy to be able to provide good healthy home grown food for my family right from our farm.
