tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51751351232977026782024-03-21T16:48:20.048-07:00Her-stead And His-stead: A Couple Perspectives On Homesteadingkpannabecker and jpannabeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18314108316558936642noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175135123297702678.post-23522728527109446792013-01-23T05:21:00.000-08:002013-01-23T05:23:12.261-08:00Personality Types (INFJ + ESFP)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span">Our answers to the question for today illustrate two very different personalities. One sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night and enjoys remembering. The other wakes up and can’t sleep, planning the next project. One likes to look back and play the game of what might have been -- for an exercise, not because of a wish for something different. The other doesn’t waste time on the past. One dives right in. The other mulls things over and over and over. Guess who's who.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none;">What do you wish you’d known before you started?</span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none;">James:</span></b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none;"> <i>I wish I’d known about heritage fruit trees, no-till gardening, and the many frogs that supposedly “safe” Roundup has killed. I wish I’d known how to farm with animals to supplement my brawn (though I still don’t own a tractor). I wish I’d known enough to build more pest-proof garden fences. I wish I’d had the skills of a mechanical engineer, cabinetmaker, fine carpenter, solar contractor, and automotive mechanic.</i></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none;">Karen:<i> </i></span></b><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-decoration: none;">There's not a lot I wish I had known because learning and starting from scratch is very rewarding. I guess the only thing I wish I knew was just how rewarding it is and maybe we would have done this sooner.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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kpannabecker and jpannabeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18314108316558936642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175135123297702678.post-78466102341179549272013-01-14T16:56:00.000-08:002013-01-14T16:57:12.672-08:00No imposters and no guilt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">If it’s
raining, you’ll probably find me (James) inside working on my non-homesteading
chores. On sunny days, you may find me inside, but I’ll probably be griping
about not being outside. This suggests another of those questions Karen and I
have answered.</span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">What’s the
hardest part about living this way?</span></b></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">James</span></b><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Feeling like an imposter. Many have told us
they envy our lifestyle. Sometimes it doesn’t feel so different, such as when we
drive our gas-eater to a big box store because it’s easy and convenient to buy
things at one place, even though our tax dollars subsidize that retailer by
paying “entitlements” to many of its poorly paid employees who can’t afford the
necessities of life, such as health care. My self-employment allows me to live
anywhere; does that count toward self-sufficiency?</i></span></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Okay, in a
way that’s probably avoiding the question. One of the hardest parts for me is
living too far from the kind of musical events I most enjoy. We’re lucky to live
where music is everywhere. Go to a party and folks are likely to pull out their
instruments and begin to play. Classical concerts, opera, plays, and musicals
take more effort. We don’t live that far from a vibrant town (Lexington,
Virginia), but after a day’s work it can be tough finding our way there.
Sometimes I wish I could walk just a few blocks to find a seat in a concert
hall.</span></i></div>
<br />
<strong>Karen</strong>: <em>I don't know what James will think of my answer to this question because I don't
think he feels this way. I'd have to say the hardest part of living this
lifestyle is giving up some creature comforts. I'm no different than anyone
else when it comes to wanting a little luxury. Don't get me wrong, not having
to work an office job 9 to 5 is a luxury to me. What I mean is sometimes I
think it would be nice to turn a furnace up to 70-some degrees so we could walk
around the house naked if we wanted to and not feel guilty about it. I also
feel guilty about using the dryer instead of hanging clothes on the line but
that guilt must not be bad enough because I still use the dryer more than the
clothesline. When I dream of building a barn in our field with a large kitchen
attached for cheese making or entertaining I have to ask myself, why do I think
I need more than I already have. I think I have a bigger case of the "I wants"
than James. <br /><br />So I guess my answer is Guilt. Feeling guilty for
not always being as "green" as I should be.</em> <br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></i></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">James
continues: </span></b><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Today,
after taking our son’s car to Lexington and running back in a light rain, I
plopped myself down to work on 1400 pages of new mortgage regulations. The only
other thing I did all day, besides eat, was look at “Café Music” by Paul
Schoenfield. In March, I’ll be going to “music camp” (as Karen calls it) to
study this piece with a trio (me on piano, with a violinist and cellist). That’s
about the time kidding season begins, so I’m hopeful Pessa will drop
her babies before I go and the others will wait until I get back. Not much is
more fun than watching goats being born and bouncing a few hours
later.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span">Does this sound like homesteading
to you? Look, it’s a system, centered on a piece of land. Everything has to go
together – the people, animals, plants, soil, air, water. We’ve got to try to
keep everything happy, perhaps especially the people.</span></div>
<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span">I used
to get frustrated at certain environmentalists who criticized other
environmentalists for driving a car instead of walking or biking. We’re never
going to agree on everything. We shouldn’t pick on someone else for doing things
differently, especially when we’re striving in the same direction. It’s okay to
patronize farmers’ markets and local food groceries instead of hoeing. We need
each other. There are no imposters here.</span></div>
</div>
kpannabecker and jpannabeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18314108316558936642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175135123297702678.post-49496541206400111712013-01-12T17:35:00.000-08:002013-01-12T17:35:10.183-08:00In Memory of Banks, Stewey, Franklin and Otto<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Yesterday a friend asked me how many pounds of meat we get
from a goat. Today I had an answer. We picked up 125 pounds of Banks, Stewey,
Franklin and Otto. I realize this may sound harsh, but they did have a happy
new year, two days of it, and along with last year, much more happiness than
is experienced by the adulterated meat many people buy at WalMart, Food Lion, or other
grocery stores.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Let’s turn to another one of those homesteader questions
and our he-said and she-said answers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">What has been the most
painful or challenging part of learning how to be self-sufficient?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><strong>Karen</strong>: <i>Dealing with sick animals
and knowing when to get veterinary care or how much to invest in an animal is
always tough. Emotions get in the way and sometimes it's hard to be realistic
and remember that a goat or pig is not the same as my pet dog even though
sometimes they feel like pets.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">One of the most frustrating parts of raising animals for meat is dealing
with family and friends who don't understand the concept of eating animals
raised in a humane way vs. eating meat that comes from a grocery store and has
been raised packed tight in a barn with no exercise, fresh air or compassion.
If they loved animals the way they say they do they wouldn't continue to
promote that way of raising food. </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><strong>James</strong>: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The most
daunting part of homesteading is developing a comprehensive view and
understanding of the homestead – how everything can work together most
effectively, efficiently, economically and environmentally. This takes smarts
and concentration. We have barely begun to learn what Elk Cliff Farm has to
teach us.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">James adds: I guess I failed to address the “painful”
aspect of that question, so here’s a little more, picking up on the emotions
involved in parting with our livestock pets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Our goats are dairy goats, not bred for meat production,
so the per-goat processing fee is very high per-pound. In case you don’t know,
many dairy farms have no use for male goats. These poor unfortunate creatures
typically don’t even have one happy day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Another friend, when I expressed concern about the
possibility of global warming, said something like, “Heck, the human race is
going to end sooner or later anyway when a giant asteroid hits the planet or
our sun dies, so what’s it matter if it’s today or tomorrow?” My answer was,
“Well, it matters because until then, life is all we have; let’s be happy and
do what we can to make it last.” So it is with these male goats; let’s give
them some time to enjoy between birth and death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">I understand all of this may be rationalizing for our dietary
habits. You do it, we do it, too. Not only that, we do it with names because we
didn’t want to make it easy on ourselves. We can share fond memories of Banks,
Stewey, Franklin and Otto. When we started this Elk Cliff Farm venture, we had
qualms about this. We still do. We hope we always do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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kpannabecker and jpannabeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18314108316558936642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175135123297702678.post-28901975158816709082013-01-02T11:47:00.002-08:002013-01-02T11:47:21.182-08:002013 and real food<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A friend posted on Facebook an article about butter vs margarine. Of course, butter came out on top, with the article comparing margarine to plastic, and rightly so. The friend said she and her 20-something daughter have been talking about "real food" and how processed food is killing people. We see more and more posts about food on Facebook than ever. Maybe it's because we have lots of friends who are foodies. <br />
<br />
The new year often prompts us to review the past year and wonder what the future holds. This brings us to another question presented by <em>Mother Earth News.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>What has been the most rewarding part of self-sufficient living?</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<strong>Karen: </strong>Hands down, the most rewarding part is working and learning alongside James and being proud of how far we've come in raising our own food in a
healthy and humane manner. It wasn't until we moved to Virginia that I really gave much thought to what I put in my mouth, except maybe how many calories or grams of fat were in something. It was more about fitting into my clothes, not if what I was eating may improve my quality of life. <br />
<br />
I think more people are moving in this direction and if they can't raise their own food because of time, location or finances, they are at least recognizing that the stuff that comes wrapped in plastic and cardboard in which every package looks exactly the same, is making people sick. I haven't made any new year resolutions but I am going to make a prediction. I predict there will be more people at the farmers' markets in 2013 and fewer people eating at McDonalds.<br />
<br />
<strong>James:</strong> <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">When
I was about eight, our family of seven was invited to dine with, as
I recall, the even larger family of a biology student of my father.
I remember three things about the visit. Their mule kicked me, everything they
served came from their farm, and there were many leftovers.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">One
of the greatest rewards of self-sufficient living comes when we sit down at the
table with extended family and friends, knowing that most of what goes into our mouths
comes from Elk Cliff Farm and that my
great-grandparents would be able to identify everything on that table and could
have prepared it. It's wonderful to know that this meal is not the product of a
broken food supply.</span></div>
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">We
generally haven’t been a trendy couple, as a visit to our closets would confirm. Ironically, our retro-perspective landed us near the front of a movement. Although I don’t
much care for faddish terms like “foodie,” I guess we’re foodies because we care
what we eat and we devote a lot of time and attention to growing it and
preparing it. </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">It’s
strange that many folks who insist on washing their hands with anti-bacterial
soap don’t give a thought to where the stuff they put in their mouths has been.
Recent reading suggests that this is changing and more and more folks care where
their food comes from. I have a feeling we’ll see huge changes in
2013.</span></div>
</div>
kpannabecker and jpannabeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18314108316558936642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175135123297702678.post-62187509888988232372012-12-30T16:38:00.001-08:002012-12-31T04:37:43.206-08:00Our new mobile home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
,<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0Lyo_o2Hk1Vu6YePApr3SC8ckFuQLYpqLas66ibpFP3Ex3EUA8VBlIg-lxIF1RuiaZXizY92vaIbwiLcr0HogpItm4uYlu8DzSre5KY-39Eidk2nCjTqtwCLmuoCuNRRh1zoW7idU0E/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0Lyo_o2Hk1Vu6YePApr3SC8ckFuQLYpqLas66ibpFP3Ex3EUA8VBlIg-lxIF1RuiaZXizY92vaIbwiLcr0HogpItm4uYlu8DzSre5KY-39Eidk2nCjTqtwCLmuoCuNRRh1zoW7idU0E/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
[Please keep in mind. We pick a topic and then write independently so we don't know what the other is writing.]<br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Karen</strong>: She's a beauty, isn't she? I mean the trailer, not the truck. I'm sure that's what you thought I was talking about. They're very similar, rust and all. <br />
<br />
Oh the possibilities this stock trailer offers. We don't have a tractor (yet) or a log splitter or mulcher or......., but this trailer is something a "farmer" would have, isn't it? Last year we had to borrow an inadequate horse trailer to take our hog to the butcher and breeder, AND we had to rely on a friend to arrange this loaner. <br />
<br />
Not only will we haul pigs, we'll haul donkeys to trails and use it as a moveable shelter for the goats so we can rotate pastures or use it as a portable milking room sometime. The possibilities are endless. <br />
<br />
I'm super excited about this purchase (actually, it's a Christmas gift to me from James). Rust and all, it's ours. Maybe we should paint it and put our farm logo on it. Oh, yeah, we don't have a farm logo. Anyone have any ideas? <br />
<br />
<strong>James</strong>: <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">All farmers
have tractors, except for those who don’t. We don’t. Well, maybe we aren’t real
farmers. I’m not going to argue that one, but I aspire to the title. A fine
farmer is a Renaissance person, knowledgeable about meteorology, mechanical
engineering, automotive mechanics, geology, chemistry, biology, botany, anatomy,
veterinary medicine – the list is endless. Some day I’d like to feel comfortable
posting this sign: “Elk Cliff Farm/Karen and James Pannabecker, Farmers.”</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span">In the
meantime, we and our homestead will gradually grow. Today we added a livestock
trailer, bought from friends who, like us, are “moving up.” Why do we need a
trailer?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span">“Need” is a loaded word. “Want”
might be more accurate, at least until we hang that sign.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">We wanted
the trailer for two main reasons. First, we’d like a dependable vehicle of our
own. A year ago we borrowed a trailer to deliver Velma the pig to an abattoir.
Velma was too much for that trailer until we stopped en route to retrofit it.
See</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://whoisvirginia.blogspot.com/search/label/Abattoir" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">http://whoisvirginia.blogspot.com/search/label/Abattoir</span></a><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span">Second,
we’d like to implement the rotational grazing promoted by the likes of Joel
Salatin (Polyface Farms). To do this, we need a movable animal shelter. Our new
trailer will protect our goats from wind, wet and sun as we rotate them through
our 25-acre pasture.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span">Someday
maybe we’ll add a tractor. Or not – perhaps our mammoth donkeys will train us to
pull a plow instead.</span></div>
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kpannabecker and jpannabeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18314108316558936642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175135123297702678.post-9765490209722607392012-12-29T17:52:00.000-08:002013-01-13T14:31:06.181-08:00Welcome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<strong>Karen</strong>: James and I decided to keep a blog together about our journey to a self-sustainable lifestyle. Instead of having to agree on what we'll write, we thought it would be fun for each of us to give our own perspective on whatever the topic at hand may be. As you'll figure out quite quickly, I focus more on the animals at Elk Cliff Farm and James is the gardener.<br />
<br />
<strong>James</strong>: <span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">We hope to share with you our joys
and disappointments developing Elk Cliff Farm into a sustainable homestead,
where we provide as much as we can for our table and maybe eventually for other
tables as well. Karen is the livestock manager, I focus on plants, and we both
help each other. Some people think our roles are reversed from the usual, that
Karen is the handyman and I’m the lady of the manor, but we don’t buy into
stereotypes. We get things done as a team, trying to leverage what each of us
does best. </span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Note: A recent article in <em>Mother Earth News </em>asked several homesteaders a few questions about their lifestyles. We're going to begin this blog by answering one of those questions. We prepared our answers independently, as we did the welcomes above. Here's today's question.</span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">1. What motivated you to choose a self-sufficient, homesteading lifestyle? How
did you get started?<br /> <br /><strong>Karen</strong>: <em>It happened little-by-little, really. I'm not
sure I chose it. I love raising animals and James loves gardening so one
thing led to another. We got chickens for eggs but then of course we
couldn't keep all the roosters so we began using some of them for
meat. The dairy goats came next, then turkeys, pigs and rabbits, etc. The
gardens continue to grow larger every year also.</em></span><br />
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><em>
</em><br />
</span><br />
<strong>James</strong><em>: <span class="Apple-style-span">Two
signs pointed me toward self-sufficiency, a class in simpler living and two
towers falling. Then I began to notice strange things, like rain gutters rushing
water away from where it falls, and a four hundred dollar electric bill to warm
or cool nearly five thousand square feet, much of which three people did not
use. I noticed that we spent weekends in a rustic log cabin, away from our
swimming pool and hot tub. I had to ask what was wrong with this
picture.</span></em><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><em>
</em></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><em>We
started by shedding the big house in the “country club” and moving to the rustic
cabin. We fixed up a small neighboring cottage, which made more sense for winter
living, and I began gardening again after fits and spurts over many years. The
shaded garden in the woods left a lot to be desired. Two years later we bought a
small homestead, Elk Cliff Farm, four miles down the road, which we drove past
whenever we went anywhere. The farmhouse needed a lot of work (Karen’s job). I
built a compost heap and started digging in bright sunshine.</em></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><em></em><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">
</span></div>
kpannabecker and jpannabeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18314108316558936642noreply@blogger.com5