I was raised in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah, and though we were surrounded by city slickers, my childhood was filled with as much country as we could get!

We had:

Chickens, and therefore our own eggs, as long as the neighbors didn’t complain; ducks, I remember how excited we all were when the momma hatched a whole brood of ducklings; guinea pigs, a city slickers’ best pet (besides a dog), we each had our own, mine was named whiskers; dogs, my mom bred and rescued collies, so we always had canine companionship. It was an ideal childhood!

In 1992, I married and set up my own household, yes, in the city. I began to have children. We moved clear across the country to CT. Throughout those years we had a couple of cats. I dreamed of more, but figured it was something only a few people could have. I wasn’t one of those “few”. Then, one day, I came across a book in my father-in-law’s library. It was a Reader’s Digest book called “Back to Basics”. I poured over that book, dog-eared all the pages and moved past dreaming to planning a life I never thought that I could have. I envisioned my future:

A cute, country-style home with a wrap-around porch, complete with rockers, would be nestled in a neatly manicured lawn filled with cottage gardens, bees, and butterflies. Out in the back, a mini orchard with peaches, pears, apples, plums, and cherries, flanked on all sides by raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and grapes would stand next to an immaculate garden with rows of vegetables- to rival even Mr. McGregor’s fabled garden. A row of brightly painted beehives, placed strategically near the orchard, would be busily buzzing as bees gathered nectar to make honey for my family. Beyond that would be an old-fashioned red barn next to paddocks filled with cows, goats, horses, and pigs. Chickens would dot the landscape, scratching to find a worm or dust bathing in the sun. It was an idyllic dream that I was determined to realize!

It took a few years to gather my family back home where housing and land were more affordable. By now we had 7 children, so I knew that I would need a large house, not fancy, just practical, with a bit of land and animal rights. We lucked out when we found our home in Lake Point Utah, with 2 wonderful acres, just waiting for us to turn it into anything we could dream of!

Over the next 15 years, we continued to raise our children, have 2 more, and adopt 5 through the Utah foster care program! Needless to say, we were very busy just keeping our heads above water! During that time I studied many aspects of gardening and animal husbandry. We began building our dream, first with a chicken coop, then expanded to a barn and other buildings. We got goats and learned to milk them. We got horses and learned to ride. And all the while gardens went in everywhere!

After Covid, when prices for everything sky-rocketed, we started to look for ways to cut our farm expenses. We decided it was time to grow our own hay or pasture feed our livestock. This meant that we needed to buy more land with a more readily available source of water. After searching all across the country for the perfect place to relocate our farm, we felt drawn to southern Missouri, and found our dream spot in Seymour. Ninety-one heavenly acres complete with a 100-year-old barn in great condition, a creek, forest trails through the Ozark hills, and plenty of open pasture for grazing.

We invite you to follow along with us as we build up this little slice of heaven!