In October 2013, my husband, Robb, and I were dreaming of bigger things. As much as we had loved living in his family home the last 8 years, I had fallen in love with gardening (or, back in love with it, considering all the flowers I helped my mom tend when I was young), and had found I loved growing our own veggies too.
We dreamed of a farm with a big garden, a place for even more chickens, and possibly, a few goats. My husband wanted more dogs, more cats, and rabbits. We had a good friend mention his grandparents' place might be available soon.
Fast forward a few weeks, and it's early November. Our friend was attending the same family dance at our local elementary, and he was talking with my husband. Suddenly, they looked over at me and said the magic words "There's two greenhouses there", and my heart grew like the Grinch's, with the thought that I could grow as many flowers and veggies as I wanted. The next weekend, we made the six mile drive. We turned up the tenth-mile drive and I saw the barns, a space for a garden that was as big as our entire property, and the inside of the house had been completely updated and seemed so much bigger than the house we lived in. Even though the greenhouses had been neglected for years, and the barn that would house the chickens needed cleaned out of clutter, we couldn't help but fall in love with possibility.
We were blessed with good friends and family that came in the middle of the Polar Vortex and a ton of snow, to help complete the chicken barn. We brought boxes of items over slowly, so moving day wouldn't be so hard. And, on 2/1/14, our dream was a reality.
We added more chickens. We got three adorable baby bunnies. We ordered turkeys. Our friends helped us clear debris from the garden area and we ordered seeds. We created a home here. In the summers, there's a million lightning bugs and maybe you'll hear a frog or two in the distance. You'll hear the cows sometimes, and on some occasions, a pack of coyotes far out in the woods, beyond the pastures.
We have a learned a lot, cleared lots of space, battled lots of cicadas and horseflies (seriously, how do they know when I'm outside?!), and created a ton of memories. We trialed cosmos, and zinnias, held sunshine in our hands with our florist quality sunflowers, relished in the beautiful goldenrod the fall gave us, and found that gladiolus and lavender love it here. And this January, we brought our first pygmy goats home. Our buck, Clyde, and doe, Eriu, had just kidded that weekend. Triplets. Two didn't make it, but the little buckling that did has been named Bres. Yes, he's slept in the house when he was sick with pneumonia, and he's come in to play and do his sweet little goat dance.
We are now planning to realize our dream as flower farmers. Last year was just the beginning. 2015 promises to be huge for us. There is nothing more satisfying than dropping a teeny tiny seed in some soil, and watch it become a beautiful flower, that you can cut to add to a beautiful bouquet for someone special, or have your work held lovingly as a bride walks down an aisle to her groom. This year, the last piece of the puzzle will fit in to place, and we are so thrilled you're joining us for the journey. We can't wait to share our knowledge from the first year at Olde Glory, as we move full steam ahead in to a promising second year!
Til Next Time,
Katie
We dreamed of a farm with a big garden, a place for even more chickens, and possibly, a few goats. My husband wanted more dogs, more cats, and rabbits. We had a good friend mention his grandparents' place might be available soon.
Fast forward a few weeks, and it's early November. Our friend was attending the same family dance at our local elementary, and he was talking with my husband. Suddenly, they looked over at me and said the magic words "There's two greenhouses there", and my heart grew like the Grinch's, with the thought that I could grow as many flowers and veggies as I wanted. The next weekend, we made the six mile drive. We turned up the tenth-mile drive and I saw the barns, a space for a garden that was as big as our entire property, and the inside of the house had been completely updated and seemed so much bigger than the house we lived in. Even though the greenhouses had been neglected for years, and the barn that would house the chickens needed cleaned out of clutter, we couldn't help but fall in love with possibility.
We were blessed with good friends and family that came in the middle of the Polar Vortex and a ton of snow, to help complete the chicken barn. We brought boxes of items over slowly, so moving day wouldn't be so hard. And, on 2/1/14, our dream was a reality.
We added more chickens. We got three adorable baby bunnies. We ordered turkeys. Our friends helped us clear debris from the garden area and we ordered seeds. We created a home here. In the summers, there's a million lightning bugs and maybe you'll hear a frog or two in the distance. You'll hear the cows sometimes, and on some occasions, a pack of coyotes far out in the woods, beyond the pastures.
We have a learned a lot, cleared lots of space, battled lots of cicadas and horseflies (seriously, how do they know when I'm outside?!), and created a ton of memories. We trialed cosmos, and zinnias, held sunshine in our hands with our florist quality sunflowers, relished in the beautiful goldenrod the fall gave us, and found that gladiolus and lavender love it here. And this January, we brought our first pygmy goats home. Our buck, Clyde, and doe, Eriu, had just kidded that weekend. Triplets. Two didn't make it, but the little buckling that did has been named Bres. Yes, he's slept in the house when he was sick with pneumonia, and he's come in to play and do his sweet little goat dance.
We are now planning to realize our dream as flower farmers. Last year was just the beginning. 2015 promises to be huge for us. There is nothing more satisfying than dropping a teeny tiny seed in some soil, and watch it become a beautiful flower, that you can cut to add to a beautiful bouquet for someone special, or have your work held lovingly as a bride walks down an aisle to her groom. This year, the last piece of the puzzle will fit in to place, and we are so thrilled you're joining us for the journey. We can't wait to share our knowledge from the first year at Olde Glory, as we move full steam ahead in to a promising second year!
Til Next Time,
Katie