HOME AGAIN.
On Tuesday morning we got up early, took care of the animals and hit the road––off to look at another piece of property. Our destination was a few hours away, and admittedly a little further away than we were typically looking, but among the many wonderful responses we'd received after being asked to leave, it was an opportunity we couldn't ignore.If you ask us what we want for ourselves––where we see ourselves in ten years––we're likely to just say Bugtussle: we want our own Bugtussle. It's where we interned and fell in love, but it's more than that; Bugtussle is our dream farm.We want the off-the-grid cabin, and we want the creek. We want the barefoot children and we want the woods. We want gardens and animals and pastures, but most of all, we just want a homestead among a friendly community of family, patrons and neighbors. After we were asked to leave our farm in August, however, we'd never felt further from our dream––further from Bugtussle. It was sad to lose our farm, but worse to know we were a full year further away from our goal than when we started. But...in case you haven't guessed, Bugtussle was where we were headed last Tuesday.The farmers, Eric and Cher, met us with big smiles and even bigger hugs when we got to their cabin. They took us just up the road to an old homestead site and a small plot of five acres they were offering to sell us. The land was heavily overgrown, but potential was everywhere. With enough work, there were places for gardens, ponds, pastures and more than enough space for Wendell to lord over. We walked around the three barns, two of which would likely have to come down soon (or would just come down on their own), but one barn was restorable and charming. In the large high tunnel––an unheated greenhouse we'd also be taking over––we saw a place we could put veggies as early as, well, now. Most dauntingly, but most thrillingly for us, we studied a weedy plot where there used to be a house, and where we'd likely build a house for ourselves––our cabin––just a few minutes from our mentors and adopted family, the Smith's.So with that, and with overflowing excitement, we're proud to say it's official: the search is over! Starting this winter we're going to be building a cabin and a garden; we'll be restoring a barn and clearing woods, chipping away at our slab, hoping to sculpt something beautiful, or at least something we can call home. It seems we do get to have our own little Bugtussle, and it will just so happen to actually be...in Bugtussle!- Jesse and Hannah