COLD EASTER WEEKEND.
Happy belated Easter! We hope your weekend was filled with family and friends and happiness (and maybe some chocolate). Our weekend brought some actual SPRING-like temperatures! After what has been about a month of smooth sailing in the garden, it was our first real “bump” in the road….a hard frost on Saturday morning. We were prepared, however, and covered all our delicate plants and the cold frames with a patchwork of sheets and comforters. We survived, but this week is full of more frost advisories. Another Goodwill-sheet-shopping-trip it is.This weekend was also the opening day of the Boyle County Farmer’s Market. We stopped by, thinking that this might be a good spot for us to set up our little stand and have our Danville CSA drop offs. It was the loveliest of markets, and we met so many people that I hope to someday call friends. Maybe because we don’t really know anyone in Danville yet and I am feeling deprived of any social contact, but I was overflowing with excitement to talk to everyone we met. Each farmer and vendor was nothing but kind, offering advice and tips and words of wisdom to some young whippersnappers. It was wonderful, and we brought Wendell along with us...so we were by far the most popular people there. Next to the market, we were happy to stumble upon an FFA farm equipment and small livestock auction. It was incredibly difficult not to buy every chick, duck, goat, and miniature pony that we saw. But as much as we lusted after every little creature, we knew we were not prepared to take care of them yet. We still live in the enormous Warrenwood, and have no hen house, duck yard, or goat pen ready.SO….we promptly got to work building our chicken coop! There is another auction in a few weeks, and we decided we want to be ready this time. Of course, we are completely throwing it together with random bits we find around the farm, but it is already filled with a lot of love, hopes, and excitement for our girls. In related news, the rennovation of our little house is nearing completion, so we hope to very soon be moving in, with one rather large puppy and perhaps a flock of backyard birds.- Hannah.
IN THE DETAILS.
Living in this giant house terrified me before, as I have said. But after spending some time here, especially during the daylight hours, I have found myself incredibly inspired. This house is wallpaper heaven, overflowing with beautiful patterns and textures that are endlessly fascinating. The more time I have spent focusing on these small details, the colors and prints, the intricate woodwork, and the little items we've brought along to make it feel like our home, the more I am discovering Warrenwood to be a very happy space. This may seem completely unrelated to farming...but I believe that creativity is an important aspect of our lives. Creativity for finding a quick way to throw together a dog house or designing the layout of our garden. And the inspiration for this creativity can be found in the unlikeliest of places, be it in a line of mason jars on the counter or a wall covered in pictures of little dogs.- Hannah.
CSA UPDATES.
We are thrilled to have signed up our first CSA members this week! Thank you to everyone who has joined!We still have some spaces left and we wanted to say that if you are interested in buying a share but find the price a bit prohibitive at the moment, please contact us and we would love to work something out. Be it a payment plan or a work/share, our goal is to feed people who want good food, so please don't be intimidated by the upfront price tag. We are flexible. Hannah and I got into this to engage the community, live simply, and offer great food. It obviously has to be a viable business, but the health of our friends, our family and our community is of the utmost importance to us. Heirloom tomatoes, fresh corn, beans, peas, potatoes, etc... Let's figure out how to make it work for you!Also, unrelated...but we survived our first night in the new house! No ghosts, no bumps in the night, no problems! We just enjoyed our first breakfast while sitting on the porch. Simple toast and eggs with some AMAZING hot pepper jelly made by our sweet friend Beth. I think we are going to be alright.- Jesse.
THE HAUNTED MANSION.
This weekend is our big move! Well, not technically. We are moving to Danville, but the little white house that we will eventually call home needs to have some work done first (bit of an understatement). So in the meantime, we have been offered an alternative space nearby to camp out while the renovations take place. And it is absolutely ridiculous.Our temporary home is called Warrenwood. That's right: IT HAS ITS OWN NAME. This colossal house is an historical, Civil-War-era MANSION. Seriously. Warrenwood was built some time during the 1850s and is listed in the National Registry of Historical Places. I kind of cannot believe that we are going to be living there...mostly because last year at this time we were calling the corner of a BARN our home. The offer is amazingly gracious and lovely and completely over the top...And I am terrified.I do not believe in ghosts, but I don't not believe in ghosts, either. I just don't know what to think about all that kind of stuff. But I do know that this house is OLD, and HUGE, and EMPTY...and me and my husband living all alone in this giant historical place with three stories and creaky floors and an ancient basement that used to have SHACKLES mounted on the wall...unbelievable. It is almost comical, really. I am (kind of) exaggerating how scared I actually am, and I know everything will turn out fine and wonderful. But I am pretty sure there are going to be a few sleepless nights next week, as well as some pretty entertaining blog updates!Basically, here is what Warrenwood looks like:
And this is what I see when I look at Warrenwood:
But in all seriousness...the house is truly beautiful. There are nearby barns, cattle, ponds, geese, turkeys, rows of cedar trees, an old weathervane - and all less than a mile from our actual farm! If I can simply stay out of my own head and not scare myself, I know I will love living there. That being said, ghostbusters and exorcists will not be turned away.
- Hannah.
