One of the reasons that we bought a house in rural Ohio was to finally start our farm. Our 1.3 acres is just big enough to house us, some animals, and our plant food, with room left over to play. So, here are some of the reasons that I love our farm:
- Fresh milk! The best product, in my eyes, that we have harvested from our farm is goat milk. I never thought I would drink it, but I like it, and we get half a gallon on a bad day (a gallon on a good day). Beyond milk, we've made cheese and plan to make soap and other products. Major score!
- Our farm animals are fun to watch and take care of. So entertaining and full of personality, our alpacas, sheep, dairy goats, and angora goats are our pets that give us company along with the fiber and milk for our home.
- Fiber. I haven't found the time or patience to knit or crochet yet, and I probably won't be a great spinner, but I do love the different textures and colors of our fiber animals. Alpaca fiber is so soft, as is angora, and the sheep fiber is coarser and spongy. We have creme (alpaca and sheep), blue grey (angora), tan (angora), reddish-tan (alpaca), and chocolate brown (sheep). Beautiful and cozy!
- Perhaps one of the greater reliefs in getting our home and land was the opportunity to plant our buckets-o-trees. We have paw-paw, pear, peach, apricot, plum, and apple. We are also working on our blackcap hedges and blueberries, and our property came with the bonus of grape vines. Not too shabby :) This year we started a small portion of the garden we hope to have, eventually. So much more to do, but enough to have the satisfaction of harvest!
- Our house is amazing! A nineteenth century farm house, fairly original condition except for the new (full-size) windows and kitchen. Our home has the rooms, space, and character that we've always dreamed of...like I said, amazing :)
- The cellar...it's cool and creepy and mysterious. We haven't done much to it and it still needs cleaned out, but the potential is there. I'm sure we'll find some awesome history down there someday :o
- Our porch, while technically part of our house, is our retreat. Part of our porch is off of our bedroom, and it wraps around in front of the living room. perfect for hanging out in the morning with coffee or in the evening with a drink...or two. Also great for family harvest sessions, playing, and family chill time.
- Our yard is amazing and has as much character as our house. The driveway curves to the road, with our barn and pasture to the east and our yard to the west. Trees block most of the view of the road from our house, and vice versa, maintaining privacy for us. The back yard slopes down and gives us space for our garden and, eventually, our deck. The back patio is big enough for our grill and a table for cookouts. Having a farmer's field next to us also gives us more privacy and wildlife to enjoy.
- Seclusion. We are 20 minutes from anything except Fairhaven, which is a small town with no business. This means the stars are ours at night and the wildlife lives in our back yard.
This place has been our home for just over a year and the to-do list is lengthy...there's so much we want to do, and we're excited to do it. It is the house of our dreams and the home we've wanted all our lives. We knew at first sight that it was what we wanted, just as we did with each other. I can't wait to see what it all looks like in ten years!
