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Farmer Judy

We’re not there yet but today we took the first step.  Oh, we have a great life now but forever I’ve been wanting a farm.  I wanted a lamb when I was a little girl and my dad always promised that he’d get me one when I got my own place.  Any time they come to visit, I hold my breath til they get here and I see that they don’t have a lamb.  My dad would do that!

I want a big garden; I want to be able to put up an electric fence to keep the deer out; I want chickens . . I don’t want neighbors!  I can have a garden here but how on earth I’d keep the deer out is a mystery.  There are all kinds of methods that are supposed to work but nothing seems to work for these hungry pests.  I can have chickens but I’d rather have them out in the country.

As of today, our house is for sale! We didn’t officially list it but talked to the realtor and they don’t have a problem showing houses on a “one time” showing.  This isn’t a great time to sell a house and we’re not holding our breath waiting for it to sell but you never know til you ask . . so we asked her to sell it and find us some land.

Vince hasn’t always been too keen on farm living.  He will probably be more of an enabler than an active participant. But, he made the call to the realtor, without any threats or unreasonable promises on my part.  Now I’ll just sit here and wait for the realtor to call.  Don’t worry . . I’ll be sewing or knitting while I’m waiting.

My hope is that we can find some land with a spring fed pond and a little farmhouse — something that is small, not fancy but something we could live in while we build.  We’ll build our house, then renovate the little farmhouse for either my quilting studio or a guest house.

We know what we want in a house – definitely smaller than we have now, especially if the sewing area is not part of the house; a bigger kitchen with a nice stove . . I have it all planned out.

My luck, we’ll sell this house and not find a farm and then we’ll be up a creek!  Oh, well . . we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.  Wish us luck!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Oh Judy, how wonderful for you. I love my little farm life and hope to never trade it. I love my garden and have been thinking of chickens but need to build a house for them. We haven’t had any farm animals for a long time. Just dogs.
    Good luck with selling and finding the perfect property.

  2. Judy, hoping you can sell, find the right piece of land, and fulfill your dream!

    Marilyn
    IQuiltToo

  3. Good luck with the sale! I have wanted to downsize for several years but can’t talk hubby into it. I have no desire to live on a farm. I am a afraid of the dark! I like having close neighbors. That probably sounds weird to most, but that is me. I do like the idea of living on a farm, just not actually living there. Hope you find exactly what you want. Sue

  4. Good Luck, Judy! I love my country/farm life. Right now my BIL does all of the farm type stuff on our land. He uses our pastures for his horses. But, we have a nice garden and in fact, we are going to be increasing the size of it this year. I am going to do a lot more canning and preserving than I have in the past.

  5. How exciting to be pursuing your dream! I’m just a city girl at heart, living in a third-tier suburb where we still have a farm a half mile north of us, and a Target and all that goes with it a half mile to the west! But the city is squeezing the farm life out of our ‘burb. Good luck with selling your house and finding the perfect spot for Judy the Farm Girl, chickens, lamb and all!

  6. Here’s to a quick sale for you!! Just tell Vince that he will be able to buy new kinds of gadgets for the farm and he should be rarin’ to go

  7. !!!!!! Whoa! Okay Judy, what’s the scoop? I am VERY excited for you, there’s nothing better in the world than a hobby farm! Are you looking to stay in the same town?

  10. I’m not in the country, but in the mountains where I love the peace and quiet and the dark… I can see stars and the satellites in the night sky. Go for your dream! I have my little corner of paradise and wouldn’t trade it for all the fabric in the world! Hmmm… guest house… how about a retreat center where we can come and visit you?

  11. I can’t help but think about all your blog readers who would love to have the life you have now. Aren’t we humans strange creatures – always wanting something different than what we have?

    Thanks for reminding me how lucky I am. I have my dream home, on 10 acres. I have been a goat wrangler, a poultry farmer, and the best black eyed pea grower in Florida. (or maybe not the best, but the most prolific) A couple years ago I wanted to sell it all and move to NC for a cooler climate. The problem is, I still want MY house, and land. Just a different climate. sigh. That didn’t work out and I’m still here in FL.

    I think I will pull out my chicken catalog and think about placing an order. 🙂

  12. Be careful what you wish for!!! Wouldn’t you be surprised to find a farmer who wants to move to town and you could make a trade……..:-)! that is what my dad did when we left the big city to a smaller town, an older couple sold him their store and house (they were attached) for our house!!!! So, you just never know Judy what is out there for you….. Dreams do come true!!!

  13. I really hope it works out for you ! Nothing like living in the country. Meanwhile, if you want a change of scenery, you can come to Fl. We can herd cows, collect eggs, and look at the stars at night ! No light pollution here. Also, no garden. I’m too old and broken to hoe ! LOL Glenda

  16. I’m thinking you’ll need to build a big barn for Vince… he’s gonna need someplace to put all the stuff he buys if you are building a smaller house… LOL

  17. Wow, that’s exciting! I live on a couple of acres in rural Pennsylvania and have 6 laying hens and a rooster. They are a scream! (pictures on my blog)

    We love having some privacy although we have a lot of grass to mow in the summer.

    Best wishes for a speedy sale!

  19. I live on 40 acres and there is nothing more beautiful than to come home at night look up at the sky and see all the beautiful stars. This is a view you just can’t get in the city. We don’t have animals yet but are working on a fence so my youngest granddaughter can have a horse. Good luck in the sale

  20. Judy I do wish you the best with a sale and a location of a suitable farm. One thing you might need to consider is if you are used to DSL computer connection some areas do not offer DSL connections. I know if I had to go back to dial up I could not load pictures or send out patterns etc.

    I also want to move, but out of Kentucky to a small town in SW Wisconsin. Downsize the house and land, but I still want to have a garden. You can keep the chickens, I can’t handle the smell of the coop. I would get too attached to any other animals and they would live with us forever. The pond does sound nice!

  21. Oh, but you could always find something divine and old out in the country, especially where you are. How about that almost-abandoned apple orchard you mentioned a while back?

  22. Do I need to remind you that you said that you would never build another house?

    BTW I got a new cookbook the other day – Kosher Cajun.

  24. Good for you guys–we live on 38 acres in Montana and this year I too want to plant a garden. Good luck and hope it happens just as you want!

  25. You’ll love living in the country! We live 15 miles from the nearest town and about 50 miles from Tulsa. A satellite dish provides high speed internet that works great. Same for television. Yes, the quilt shop is farther away now. However, yesterday I went to two quilt shops, couldn’t find what I wanted, came home and ordered the items from the internet in a flash! Go for it!

  26. Congrats!

    That is really exciting – the idea of remodeling a old, small farmhouse for a quilting studio. Seems like a quilt named “Bears in the Farmhouse” will have an appropiately named new home….

    You didn’t mention where the future farm will be? Are you staying in MO, or looking in other states? The way you guys travel to go shopping, I would think that KS, OK, AR might be in the mix!

  27. How exciting! We would love to have some land and build a house, have a few animals and a garden. I hope you find just what you want.

  28. Hurrah! What a treat for you. I hope it all works out for the best for you, and I look forward to reading about your farming antics!

  29. You can always make the sale of your house contingent on finding a home of choice, then you won’t be homeless!! But, there are some great properties for sale right now and I’m sure you’ll find something great that is perfect for you. As for selling your house – just be realistic with your sale price and you won’t have anything to worry about.

  31. Didn’t get on here yesterday, just reading this. Do you have to stay in MO or can you make a move to Colo.? You can have the best of two climates here–good old winters with beautiful snow and nice warm-not scalding hot weater in summer. Wildflowers, perfect garden growing land and lots more. We live on only 5 acres in a house that was built in 1904-have a big red old barn-did have a hen house, but it was kinda falling apart–I want chickens-there is another small milking barn that I know could be made for my hens and I keep after him to fix it up. I only want about 6 hens–I cannot for the life of me buy the eggs in the grocery store unless they are” free roaming” eggs. We had a milk cow, but she tyed us up more than a new baby-No one could milk her except my husband. We have 4 horses and until recentally 4 cows. Life is good here, so come take a look!! Hugs, Bobbie

  32. Hope your dream comes true. I was raised on a half-section farm in a very rural area & now live on the very edge of a very small town. If I was to come into a couple million or so I’d like to live in the middle of a section of land, quite wooded on the outside edges, some pasture, hayland, some tillable with about a 1/2 mile driveway. A spring-fed pond too, like you want. Some animals but not an over abundance, chores never were my thing. With satellite I wouldn’t even have to give up high-speed Internet. Ah well……………………………….a dream is a good thing to have.

  33. That is very exciting. Fingers crossed that you can find a buyer. We absolutely love our 25 acres. Building the house, wasn’t too much fun, but we survived. No neighbors right next to you. We see all kinds of wildlife. Just make sure if you get ducks, geese, or guinea hens that you put them in a shed at night or they may be a midnight snack for some other animal. Don’t ask me how I know. Good luck!

  35. Oh, girlfriend, what are you DOING??? What about when Vince goes out of town? What about when you come in late from a meeting

    What if Speck has to go PEE?? At night? In the pitch dark?

    Oh well, I guess you’ve already thought of these things.

    At least this means you all are planning on sticking around for awhile.

    How’s Chad doing?

  37. Lordy have mercy Judy. Lol. If I had known you wanted chickens I would have sent the ones I made Don get rid of years ago. VBG. I thought they were kind of fun until they started getting loose and pooping on my back steps. That’s when they had to go! Lol. Hope it all works out for you.

  38. Hey Judy, make the farmhouse into a quilt retreat. Then all of your blog land followers and friends can come and visit!!!!

    Good idea, Right Vince????

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