This farm gives me Goose Bumps
I've been asked by many to share a bit more on our beginnings....
So, as it began 5 years ago, I bought a farm because I had a dream to commune with mother nature. 25 years in one career had me a bit restless..."there must be more meaning in my day/life?" Everything was comfortable; friends, job, home... but empty. Against all advice and odds, I did it.
I became the proud owner of 60 beautiful acres in rural Alamance county, NC. What gave me faith in my decision? The
goose bumps
I got when I looked out over the unobstructed pastures. Crazy, right? I moved from city life, a single gal that enjoyed all the comforts of a thriving populated area. The ease of grabbing a fabulous bite of food with a friend or a place to shop that might carry any strange ingredient/gift I wanted. I moved from a home that I'd created, "just so". Now, here I was in the most secluded of places, alone. What had I done? The house needed ALOT of work and I knew not how to drive a tractor. If I needed anything from any store...20 minutes thru the country! OMG! Well, as I was raised, "pick your self up by your boot straps Missy and DEAL." I knew I just had to move forward, one step in front of the other. Never a day past that I couldn't find those
goose bumps
in something. I bought a pick up (every farm needs one) and named her Bessie, then realizing my need for more male energy around the farm, I changed her name to, Floyd
(now a he) and together we rode the terrain, often spending nights in the middle of a field with a glass of wine and the stars above...jealous yet? Well let me tell you I'd bitten off ALOT. There is something freeing and youthful about putting yourself in a place that you know absolutely nothing, so I felt good in that...but there was so much I'd taken lightly. I threw myself into everything educational I could find, like a sponge I soaked up every tid bit that came my way. Then I came across an organization called
, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. I was so interested in the organization and their mission to preserve breeds of livestock near extinction, all because the animals can't keep up to the demands of large farm operations...for one reason or another (they don't grow fast enough or large enough for example). I focused on the
Remember, I still wasn't sure how this was going to take shape. After I chose the breed of sheep Slow Food named the Navajo Churro on their Ark of Taste, "a cherished food worth saving"...I knew my mission was forming. My goodness, I had fences to build, sheep to get from the west to the east...and somehow pay the mortgage? I was lucky enough to come from a career that allowed me some transition.
While I was managing one new adventure to the next I didn't notice a very handsome fella came into the picture. In all my years of trying so hard to meet the right person, here I was in my flannel PJ's talking about my dreams and showing him 100 year old hand dug wells on the farm...when it hit, LOVE like I never could have imagined.
I'm sharing this bit of the story because I believe when I followed my heart, love found me!
No matter what has happened or what I (we) face on this farm today, I can find those
goose bumps.
I'm not really surprised by them anymore but they can, do, and always will take my breath away... I believe more then ever, we must have faith in our feelings...no matter how crazy they might feel.
Soon, we had sheep, llama's, guinea hens, chickens, a rooster named Richard (great story)
and a whole lota wool! A barn full to be exact. I knew nothing to do with wool, neither did John. John had commented we had to do something with it, give it away or something. It felt so disrespectful, to raise a breed of sheep that needs to survive...not just live...to take their wool and dispose of it! I had to figure out something. One day at the farmers market a customer came to me and asked if I'd ever heard of such a thing as wool dryer balls, not! Well I had to do some research and I figured it was a way to help use some of this wool. Not knowing much we started selling our Eco-Friendly Wool Dryer Balls at the Durham Farmers market. I had NO idea how these would be received.
There is so much about this product, how it's made, what it's made with (and how that's grown), what it does for the end user (saves $, saves clothing, helps save the enviornment) and finally that it is compostable and/or renewable. Synchronicity exists all through this story and I believe these wool dryer balls chose their time to bring such a product front and center at a time when folks want to be sustainable, responsible, all the while protecting the health of their loved ones. These crazy wool balls are meant to be on this planet, NOW. I'm just one of the lucky ones that get to help them on their way....(again, I get
GOOSE BUMPS)