ATV, check.

So what good is land without an ATV to go with it? Yes, yes, I know. I'm a mom now. I'm supposed to talk about how dangerous they are. (And they really are, as we know first-hand from this weekend when Jeff fell flat on the concrete after the ramps split apart while loading it into the truck. Luckily the ATV fell to the side rather than on top of him.) But between you and me, I've always wanted an ATV. Now, mind you, I haven't even ridden it yet (I am that much of a mom -- I do avoid dangerous things whilst pregnant at least), but I'm very much looking forward to the day I can. Heh, heh, heh.

This weekend, after Jeff recovered from his fall (read: about an hour later), we went out & he cleared a nice path all the way from our existing cleared spot to our cash cow fallen walnut tree over our creekbed. It is so nice to have a big wide trail all the way down to the creekbed. And Jeff had a great time machete-ing and chainsaw-ing and ATV-ing through the thicket.

The Trailhead



Station One, for lack of a better spur-of-the-moment name



Down the hill



Walnut tree over creekbed



Man conquers Land with Machine



"Why you so slow, SLOWFIE?!?!"



The Westerly Direction



The Easterly Direction



"Goodbye north, hello south," say the birds



Footnote: Please ignore Sassy's lack of helmet on this ATV ride. Her helmet is a piece of cr*p that clearly exists only to line the pockets of those who own the rights to Dora the Explorer and certainly not to protect the heads of children. Until we get a helmet that stays on her head and that doesn't fall apart already, she is allowed to ride only on flat land a few minutes each time.

friends visit the homestead!

I'm quite late in posting these -- sorry! I've been trying to solve my own conundrum with this site. I knew I needed to change the title & address from that which it was before I'd feel comfy posting personal info & pics within. Yet, the whole purpose of this blog was to be able to post more personal info & pics. So, rather than try to password-protect again, I decided to go through the name changing process, which ended up to not be nearly as cumbersome as I feared.

So, that said, you'll see the new title up above. Jeff and I are both rather attached to this name, which I threw out on a whim a few months ago in some random rant about Monsanto. I didn't know it would stick! We're already planning some sort of sign for the front of our property to christen it with its name (and announce our GMO-hating selves).

And with no further ado, here are some of my favorites from Caroline & family's recent visit:

Caid and Sassy tell it like it is



Slowfie, as in, when Jeff and Sassy ride the ATV, "What's wrong Sofie, why you so slow? Slowfie! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!"



Caid is a gorgeous farm boy



One of the men



Heirloom sunset

home sweet home

Well, we chucked the whole log cabin idea & decided to spend the winter in this adorable, cozy little shack abode instead.



As you can see, Jeff is very happy about our decision.

OK, not really. Really, we're going with a log cabin from Landmark Log Homes instead. In fact, here is our floor plan. Just nix the top floor & put it in a finished basement instead & that's pretty much it.

We're going out to the land this weekend, weather permitting (and it better be, dang it). Look for more pics when we get back! Especially the fallen walnut tree....

the long and winding road

And we now have....drumroll....a driveway!!! Why is this so exciting? Accessibility, plain and simple. Especially useful for pregnant ladies. Isn't it beautiful?

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time there was a family of three, hoping for four. And that family was like most other American families. They filled their days with friends, work, shopping, and television. They had credit cards. They had a mortgage. They had a nice little brick house with a nice little fenced yard in a nice little neighborhood in the suburbs.

Then something happened. They watched a documentary here, received an email there, and learned more than they ever knew before about the reality of life in America. And they were no longer content in their nice little house with their nice little yard in their nice little neighborhood. They wanted land, and animals, and most of all, to be free.

So the family of three, hoping for four, bought themselves 15 acres & started the project of a lifetime in the heart of corn country. (Someone has to stay and fight the good fight, after all.) They wanted a home built from natural materials that was as off-grid as possible with as low a mortgage as possible.

The project is underway. One day they will move to their land, hike in their woods, keep their animals, hang their laundry, cut their wood for heat, grow their garden, can their food, and love every minute of it. They are absolutely certain of this.

Back home, they have many other friends who are watching this journey, friends that will be very hard to leave behind. But no matter what, no matter where, the little family of three, hoping for four, will always be near friendship.