
Derrick and I first shared our love for sustainable living a decade ago when we met in college studying art. We would talk and dream about how great it would be to one day have land that could provide for our family. Then when I met Derrick's family's goats, I completely feel in love with the idea. It wasn't long after those initial conversations that Derrick's grandfather passed away. Earlier in the Spring of that year his grandfather had planted the largest garden the family had ever seen him work. It was the summer of 2006. That summer we dug potatoes and helped his grandmother eat lots of wonderful veggies from the garden. Derrick and I looked at each other and thought this is a lot of hard work, but this is the life. How can we make this happen?
Our work-life took us on a round-about path, but our desire for this lifestyle continued to grow stronger, especially when we had our daughter Olive. We saw how much she enjoyed the outdoors, helping plant our veggie gardens, pick apples and grapes, as well as tending to the chickens, turkeys and ducks at her Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's house. We thought, "What better way to teach her where food comes from and the value of hard work than to raise and grow some of our family's food?" This year, with his grandmother's blessing, we are beginning to plant a garden on the same land Derrick's granddad farmed (and his great-granddad farmed). With this small start we're excited to be keeping the tradition alive so that we may one day be able to pass it down to our grandkids.
Our work-life took us on a round-about path, but our desire for this lifestyle continued to grow stronger, especially when we had our daughter Olive. We saw how much she enjoyed the outdoors, helping plant our veggie gardens, pick apples and grapes, as well as tending to the chickens, turkeys and ducks at her Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's house. We thought, "What better way to teach her where food comes from and the value of hard work than to raise and grow some of our family's food?" This year, with his grandmother's blessing, we are beginning to plant a garden on the same land Derrick's granddad farmed (and his great-granddad farmed). With this small start we're excited to be keeping the tradition alive so that we may one day be able to pass it down to our grandkids.