Tag: family farm

*This post originally appeared in September 2014. Farmguy and I were celebrating ten years of living on Green Hill Farm after the restoration of my family’s homeplace, and it seemed like a good way to start my blog, Fourth Generation Farmgirl. Every May, I like to re-publish this post for new readers. It’s an introduction to this blog, but even more, it’s a nice reminder for me of the importance of continuity. For those of you who may have already read this post, I apologize for its repetition; however, if you choose to read it again, you have my thanks. 🙂 There’s a sign that hangs in our vestibule or small covered porch that reads “PERSEVERANCE,” and it’s been our mantra since moving to Green Hill Farm. My husband and I were in our early 30s when we decided to take on this project. Sometimes when we look back at pictures we say, “WHAT in the world were we thinking? Were we INSANE?!!” Whatever the answer, it was the path taken. This path has lead us on a journey that has been difficult and challenging at times but rewarding and enriching, too. Anyway, we all know that anything worthwhile isn’t easy. Which brings me to the next piece of our story. The first day we visited the house after construction had started was surreal. It was a hot, humid day in June, and the grass was starting to need cutting. […]

Friday Farm Favorites

Friday Farm Favorites: There’s No Place Like Home

July 28, 2017 49 Comments

I’m truly grateful for this place…Green Hill Farm. And, what I’ve come to realize is that no matter the challenges of living here, my love for this farm is constant and irreplaceable. I love it for its enduring ability to lift my spirits, fill my heart, and give my life direction. The very thought of it…is joyful. I hope these photos of Green Hill Farm bring a bit of joy to your day. Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

Green Hill Farm

Green Hill Farm: A Retrospective #2 — Perseverance

June 26, 2017 21 Comments

I’ve shared the Green Hill Farm Retrospective Posts a number of times: A Retrospective, Retrospective #2, and Retrospective #3. So, if you’ve followed Fourth Generation Farmgirl for a while, you may have already read them. But, for my newer readers, this may be your first time seeing them. I like to re-visit these posts every year, because they give me an opportunity to remember and feel grateful. These posts are beloved to me for a number of reasons. They’re an expression of my thoughts and feelings about something important to me as well as my first attempts at creative writing since I was an undergraduate. Most of my writing in recent years consisted of speech and language evaluation reports and IEPs (Individual Education Plans). These Green Hill Farm Retrospectives reminded me of how much I enjoyed writing and were the catalyst for starting this blog. Finally, these posts define my priorities and my path. But, mainly, they sum up who I am as a person. Whether you’ve already read the Green Hill Farm Retrospectives or if they’re new to you, I hope you’ll take the time to read them and enjoy the lessons in love, patience, perseverance, faith, hope….and a whole lot of tenacity. Thank you. 🙂 There’s a sign that hangs in our vestibule or small covered porch that says “PERSEVERANCE,” and it’s been our mantra since moving to Green Hill Farm. My husband and I […]

Chicken Keeping

Eggs, Eggs Everywhere!

March 27, 2017 26 Comments

Growing up on a farm as a child afforded many wonderful experiences. Meaningful experiences that shaped my values and inspired me. I remember when I was about 6 or 7 years old, Dad decided that it would be nice to have fresh milk and eggs. So, he bought a Holstein cow named Bessie and ordered chicks. I remember sitting in our living room early in the morning before school with an old towel on my lap, carefully cradling a warm, fuzzy chick in my hands–marveling at its tiny body and feet as well as the soft, little sounds it made. Every morning over the next 2-3 weeks, I would hurriedly get dressed and eat breakfast so I could hold one for a few minutes before the school bus came. I loved those little chicks! As the chicks grew into hens, they free-ranged all through the pastures and even around the house; but, for some reason, though, they didn’t like to lay their eggs in the coop. Much to my surprise and joy, while walking along outdoors, I would just FIND an egg laying in the yard or under a bush. It was like an Easter egg hunt! After making the discovery that the hens were laying eggs all over the place, I remember enthusiastically running into the house and searching for my Easter basket. “This is going to be fun!” I thought. And it was. The hens free-ranged and laid their […]

Friday Farm Favorites

Friday Farm Favorites: The Beginning of a Journey

May 13, 2016 16 Comments

Green Hill Farm: A Retrospective #2 — Perseverance “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ~Lao Tzu (c 604 bc–c 531 bc) Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64 There’s a sign that hangs in our vestibule or small covered porch that reads “PERSEVERANCE,” and it’s been our mantra since moving to Green Hill Farm. Farmguy and I were in our early 30s when we decided to take on this project. Sometimes when we look back at pictures we say, “WHAT in the world were we thinking? Were we INSANE?!!” Whatever the answer, it was the path taken. This path has lead us on a journey that has been difficult and challenging at times but rewarding and enriching, too. Anyway, we all know that anything worthwhile isn’t easy. Which brings me to the next piece of our story. The first day we visited the house after construction started was surreal. It was a hot, humid day in June, and the grass was starting to need cutting. I could smell the fragrance of something blooming that I didn’t recognize, and the wrens were singing away–weedeater, weedeater, weedeater, tweet! As I walked toward the house and started to process what I was seeing, I felt sick to my stomach. The large, white columns that had stoically stood sentinel in front of the house had been removed from the front porch; and where they’d majestically once stood, skinny, dark, wooden […]

Friday Farm Favorites

April 1, 2016 60 Comments

Chicken Keeping

Eggs, Eggs Everywhere!

March 16, 2015 25 Comments

Growing up on a farm as a child afforded many wonderful experiences. Meaningful experiences that shaped my values and inspired me. I remember when I was about 6 or 7 years old, my dad decided that it would be nice to have fresh milk and eggs. So, he bought a Holstein cow named Bessie and ordered chicks. I remember sitting in our living room early in the morning before school with an old towel on my lap, carefully cradling a warm, fuzzy chick in my hands–marveling at its tiny body and feet as well as the soft, little sounds it made. Every morning over the next 2-3 weeks, I would hurriedly get dressed and eat breakfast so that I could hold one for a few minutes before the school bus came. I loved those little chicks! As the chicks grew into hens, they would free range all through the pastures and even around the house; but, for some reason, though, they didn’t like to lay their eggs in the coop. Much to my surprise and joy, I would walk along outdoors, and just FIND an egg laying out in the yard or under a bush. It was like an Easter egg hunt! After making the discovery that the hens were laying eggs ALL OVER the place, I remember enthusiastically running into the house and searching for my Easter basket. “This is going to be fun!,” I thought. And it was. […]

Family

Friday Farm Favorites

January 16, 2015 5 Comments

“The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer, restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” ~Wendall Berry, The Unsettling of America: […]

Chicken Keeping

Eggs, Eggs Everywhere!

October 2, 2014 23 Comments

Reflections on Farm Life

Green Hill Farm: A Retrospective #3 — Faith

September 24, 2014 31 Comments

In looking back on the experience of saving my family’s homeplace, I’ve realized that not only was it a gesture of love, but more importantly, it was an act of faith. Faith, or wearing my rose-colored glasses as I like to say, sustained us through difficult times and propelled us forward. I don’t know where we would have been without […]