Faith, Fall Bulbs, and How We Bought A Farm

Our dream location?

Planting fall bulbs is 6 months of believing - faith that the work you do now in the chilly soil of fall will bring relief from the monotony of winter's darkness and rain. Faith that when the green of new garlic and the yellow of baby daffodils show up in early March, you'll find comfort that spring is coming and the work you did was worth it. Your faith will be rewarded. 

I've always loved the planting of winter wheat and fall bulbs. It satisfies the believer and the planner in me, and this being the first fall we've been able to plant in our own soil has been an amazing experience. The faith it requires to brave the wet and cold for spring rewards challenges us, and we welcome the challenge.

When we first saw the property that would become our farm, it was a wreck. The current owners, through no fault of their own, had let things decline. The outbuildings were falling down, and the land itself was littered with trash, old cars, and enough tires to kill someone. It didn't look like much and the banks wouldn't touch it. But from the moment I saw that land I knew it was mine, and I decided that if the banks kept telling me no, I'd simply keep asking until someone said yes. 

We asked for months until a lender agreed to help us, and we spent weekends traveling between Seattle and Winlock to pick up trash and improve the look of the place in the hopes we could increase the value enough to get the paperwork to go through. The owners hauled away old cars and gave us materials to improve the house so it would pass inspection. We did the work ourselves on a home we didn't even own with no idea of the outcome. Now that's faith. 

After months of work and red tape, a roller coaster of emotions and mountains of paperwork, our closing date approached. But with its arrival came a call from the lender that they were backing out. The property simply had no value except for its land, and the bank couldn't loan on land alone. I cried. Quite often, and quite a lot. 

Our realtor immediately promised to find us another property, and she was true to her word. We went to see it and it was beautiful. A rolling 32 acres with a cute yellow house. But it wasn't mine and I knew it. My heart was set on the 20 acres that no one believed had value. 

I confessed to our realtor that only one piece of property would do. The one we'd spent months working on. The one that everyone called a dump. The one that the neighbors called an eyesore with its trash and rusting cars and falling down old house. She vowed to help us try again. 

This time a lender said yes almost immediately. They understood all that we'd been through. The work we'd put into this property we did not own. The way the other bank had let is down, and how badly the sellers wanted us to have their property. And they went to work for us. It's hard to ask anyone else to get behind your dream, especially corporate entities like banks, but they embraced our dream without being asked. They pushed through mountains of issues and on the day of closing we all had a good group cry together. 

So, yeah ... faith. Faith in the small seed you plant in the earth. Faith that failing is merely a stepping stone to success. The work you do now may not show results for months or years, but you'll certainly see nothing if you let that stop you. 

Pasture Expectations is a dream come true for us, but it did not come easily and we don't expect it to get easier at any point. But we have faith, and we have you to support us. And spring always comes.

Falling In love With Farming

So how do I start sharing about the farm? Part of me feels lucky that I finally figured out my passion despite the fact that it was nothing that I ever imagined it would be.

I know some people live their whole lives never really finding "that thing" that gets them out of bed in the morning ahead of the alarm, and even though it doesn't fit with the generic plan I'd made for my life when I was in my 20's, I'm embracing it. I thought I'd find a career that I enjoyed and would devote my life to in a big city working 9 to 5. Instead, I've fallen in love with farming.

Though my mom was raised on a farm, I don't come from a farming background. I've never driven a tractor. But I feel so strongly that this is my calling that I'm certain I'll do whatever it takes to achieve it. I'm a quick learner. I do whatever needs doing, but first, I'll need some land.

I hope you'll stick around to watch the journey.

Pasture Expectations Farm . . . here we come. 

The Bird’s The Word

Some dear friends gifted us with these glorious chickens for our farmhouse!

Now we'll have you know, all of our chickens are much better behaved than these ... depending on what time of the day it is, and whether it's dinnertime or not.

A Little More to the Left

So having a farm comes with a learning curve - and sometimes that curve is a little steeper than others.

We might have yanked the wheel a little too far to the right on this one. No worries, picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and snapped a pic for posterity.

These are the things we'll look back on and laugh about. Hopefully.