Farm Life So Far

I recently moved to the country with my husband because we wanted a change in pace and in life. Being in the city and in our condo, we were longing for grass, trees, and more greenery, so we finally made the switch. Along with his parents who shared the same longing, we now have put together a team effort and started our family farm!

Being in the health and wellness industry for 20 years now, I have evolved my practice not only in massage therapy but in nutrition as well. Learning about the big food industries did not match my view of where our food should come from. After many years of research of the best food products and practices, which are organic and regenerative, we decided to do it ourselves!

This is how my private practice ties into gardening and farming; I needed to get my hands in the soil. And any regenerative farmer will tell you that healthy soil is not only important for a healthy planet, but also for healthy people.

All Hauled

From city to country, I am so grateful for my family who helped, including my 11-year-old nephew who is super interested in all of this and had a ton of questions, as kids do.

But First, Chickens

Before we settled ourselves in the new home, we had to prepare our chickens for their new home. You can see us building their outdoor roost here.

They also needed indoor roosts, laying boxes, wood chips to start our deep litter ,(which turns into fertilizer for the garden in the summer), prepare their food and water containers, and so much more. So, when our chickens arrived, they immediately felt comfortable, found all their necessities, and got into their routine very quickly I have to say. We’re very proud of them (huge shout-out to my husband on this one).

Our First Dozen

This is a picture of our first dozen of eggs that officially came from our chickens on our farm to our table.

The chickens are cage-free, free-range laying hens, which means for eggs only. They eat a healthy diet of organic grain-feed, meal worms, and other organic vegetable scraps for extra nutrients, along with apple-cider vinegar water, herbs, and probiotics…

Their guts are just like ours, needing all the right ingredients to keep them healthy. Plus, they think everything they get is a treat.

Speaking of treat, check out what they got for Halloween!

Halloween

The treat I prepared for them was a pumpkin ball!

I started carving the pumpkin with an apple corer, just taking off a layer of rind, enough to expose the flesh, and have them peck at the little holes to carve the rest. I chose to do a polka dot pattern rather than a tradition Jack-O-Lantern face because I wanted the chickens to have enough space to go around, otherwise they would have all been concentrated at the face, maybe even fighting for a taste of their treat. We want happy chickens, so they remain stress-free, which is a huge part in egg production.

Just like humans, we perform better with less stress, right? I had to help them scoop out a bit more, then I scooped out the pulp, and got the pumpkin ready for a candle on Halloween!  

Of course, I made sure to use the whole pumpkin, so then I roasted the pumpkin seeds for my Halloween treat. After roasting the seeds, I made a pumpkin seed bark with dark chocolate, maple syrup, and mountain salt. This was the only chocolate in the house for Halloween. As mentioned, once you learn about the food industry, and the fake ingredients they put into every candy, chocolate bar, or cookie, you don’t want to ingest those brands. You don’t even want to give them your money knowing that… at least that’s where I’m at in my life. If I want a peanut butter cup, I can make a peanut butter cup!

If you’re interested in how I made the pumpkin seed bark, here is the recipe below:

Not too sweet with a hint of salty.

Ingredients:

-          14oz dark chocolate, 72% - 85%

-          1 ¼ cup roasted pumpkin seeds

-          3 tbsp maple syrup

-          1/8 tsp pink Himalayan salt

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a pot with water on the stovetop to make a bain-marie. Bring the water to a boil and melt the chocolate completely. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Spread the blended ingredients out onto a medium-large cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Spread into an even layer, then chill the chocolate in the fridge until hardened.

Now you’re ready to break or cut them into pieces and enjoy! Store in an airtight container up to 5 days. You have a homemade, all natural, dark chocolate bark, good at any holiday!

Next Comes Landscaping, Septic Tanks, and Renovations

Finally, we started working on our land and our humble abode. There were many weeds overgrown as the property was not landscaped for 3 years, so I took a pair of shears and made path to reach the other barns. I simply cut down the stems instead of uprooting them because this is a good cover crop during the winter. It’s also important to leave fallen weeds or wildflowers over the winter so bugs and birds can find a home during the cold, preserving the ecosystem on the land. This is an important step in regenerative farming.

Next, we move onto home renovations, including septic tanks, plumbing, electrical, floors, painting, and more.

We’ll be busy for a while, as well as driving back to the city to see clients, but I can say that the work and the commute is absolutely worth it for this wonderful, almost unbelievable landscape I get to call home! I am grateful.

For more frequent updates and sneak peaks of our land, like our first snow fall, follow my stories on IG.