Most days I feel grateful to live on Green Hill Farm, surrounded by the natural beauty of the mountains and pastures as well as my farm animals and pets. It’s not always easy, but I do feel enriched by the work that I do here and the special interactions I have with my animals. **In memory of Clover, Hamish, and Ivy…my beloved sheep who passed away this year.
Clementine by Tonya R. Hengerer Calico kitty with a Lovely ability to Emote and communicate with Me daily— Especially mornings, when she requests Not one, but Two breakfasts. This second meal Is due to her increased Number of meows and Engaging, sweet personality.
“Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; Forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on.” ~Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” ~Pericles
I received a wonderful surprise today when I was notified that I’d been nominated for The Happiness Tag by my creative and inspiring friend and fellow blogger, Judy from Edwina’s Episodes. Judy expressed in her nomination that my blog “always cheers her up.” I was touched by her lovely gesture and compliment. I was also happy to hear that my […]
Here’s the thing: As we get older, we come to realize that our parents are people, too. They’re not perfect, because no one is. They’re human beings just trying to help their children make sense of the world and learn to contribute in a positive way. I’m fortunate to have a father who taught me the value of self-respect […]
I recently completed this painting of our beloved Maud. “Sweet Maud” is an 11 x 14 acrylic on canvas. It was just an ordinary summer day on Green Hill Farm. I’d been busy all morning with housework and farm chores when I decided to take a little break to relax. After a cup of tea, it was time to […]
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 […]
Originally posted on fourth generation farmgirl:
Ten years ago this year, my husband, Scott and I moved to the place where I grew-up. Although Green Hill Farm in rural Virginia is a 100-year-old family farm, the main house was built around 1790, the brick cottage between 1750-1775, and the farm was referred to as Green Hill as early as the mid-1800s.…
Sonnet 116 “…Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove; O no! it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;…” ~William Shakespeare Happy Mother’s Day!
Of course, he wasn’t always called Winston. When this black and white feral kitten first appeared on Green Hill Farm in the early 1990s, he was just another no-name, country kitty looking for food and shelter. You see, in the country, we don’t buy or go get a cat; it just shows up. First, it takes up residence in one […]
My name is Tonya, and I grew up on a 300-acre farm in rural Virginia that has been in my family for over 100 years. After graduating from college, receiving my master’s degree in speech and language pathology, and living and working in a small city for six years, I decided to return to the place of my childhood. Here, in this rural area, on this patch of green, where for four generations my family has farmed, gardened, and lived, I, too wanted to be a part of this continuity. As a fourth generation farmgirl, I have many interests that not only include, but also go beyond the basics of farming, gardening, sheep and chicken-keeping. It is all of this and more that I plan on sharing in this blog.
fourth generation farmgirl 