"It just feels right, to be closer to the food we eat, to the goods we consume at an absolutely frenzied pace and to utilize this beautiful setting we have to do so.  So things will change, finally, slowly, for us."

Directly quoted from my last post ladies and gentleman. A little idealistic don't you think? SLOWLY. Slowly was supposed to be the operative word. Dreaming of getting a little garden in, building a little chicken pen out of our unused barn, an hour here or there on the weekends. The plan was to  build a life that would eventually self-perpetuate; that would layer new experience on new experience as we gained knowledge, and SLOWLY tame an out of use farm back into a semblance of self-sufficient homestead. 

Fast forward two months (and I mean FAST forward) I have planted an orchard...no, not a few trees, sixteen. Sixteen trees and three grape vines. We have broken land, forged paths, and extensively hand worked a still bare 2000 ft garden. With shovels.  I am trying to nurse along about 100 totally overgrown tomato and pepper plants, through a few weeks until they can be planted outside, having lost about 1/2 of the original number. Thank you Kansas for snow in May.  Last night, we picked up all but the Cornish X meat chickens. I'm thrilled. 20 pullets and 2 cockerels, and somehow I was talked into 3 ducks. They are hilarious little things; sitting in the kitchen at the moment, in the spot where my oven should be (had we not decided to remodel in a week while evidently LEAPING into small farming.)  I'm not sure where they will live tomorrow, when my appliances take their space. Its still much too cold to move them into the coop. 

We spend nearly every hour we are not working professionally working on our little homestead, we are exhausted, muscles in our bodies hurt that haven't been used for years sitting in front of a television, and I'm not sure when we actually had some real down time last. But we love it (well, I love it, I cant speak for everyone.) Being together in an organic way. Enjoying each others company, learning together and creating a life for our family of 6 that is healthier, happier, and more natural is an exhausted sort of bliss. So, slowly didn't happen. Not even close. But I've never been much to move forward in a rational way with things I am passionate about. I just go for it, when something feels right, and this still does.