I'd Rather Be . . .

I had rather be on my farm, than be emperor of the world.
~ George Washington ~
No truer words were spoken. And I didn't realize the truth of them until we moved onto our own little farm in the heart of Wisconsin. Or until we had rabbits and ducks and chickens and goats. Or until our alpacas came from the farm where we were boarding them to our farm. Or until now, almost a year later, we are settling in to our little farmhouse and well established routines.

Life takes on more meaning on a farm. You are forced to look outside of yourself to the animals in your care and the land you're living on. There's no sleeping in. There's no, "I'll do it tomorrow". You are gently guided into being present. You do not dwell in the past and are not worried about the future. You are in the moment. Thinking and planning on how to best use the space you've got and how you can make a difference.

Chores are not chores, but are ways of spending time with the animals. Looking for signs of illness or injury. Listening to them as they chatter away happily - wishing you could understand them. Almost wishing, at times, that you were one of them. Ducks get along with chickens and barn cats get along with rabbits. There's no animosity. They simply coexist. There's enough for everyone. Everyone gets what they need.

Stepping outside my door in the morning I am grateful for the quiet and peace of living in the country. It was the first thing that struck me when we first arrived. Having spent several years in a small town with a malting facility and the constant drone of machinery and fans, I cried tears of relief and joy. The silence was a most welcome friend. Silence is something I cherish. I don't have the radio playing as other's do. I prefer listening to chickens and ducks any my miniature pig grunting. And the sounds of nature. The birds. The wind. Far off trains blowing their whistles. I enjoy the sounds of life.

With winter almost at an end, we've lived life on our farm through the four seasons. Grateful for the experiences and the learning curves. Grateful that we had a relatively moderate winter. Grateful that spring is almost here. Grateful that the ground has thawed enough that we can get the barn door fully open. Grateful for farm fresh eggs. Grateful for the gift of this farm.

And so we find ourselves content with our little piece of the world. We don't feel the need or desire to travel. We enjoy being on our farm, surrounded by animals, enjoying the peace and quiet. We are home.

Letting the House Speak

The ache for home lives in all of us,
the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
~ Maya Angelou ~
We've been on our small farm for almost a year now. I can hardly believe how fast it's gone by. We've settled in and so have our alpacas with their livestock guardian dog, as well as goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, a barn cat, and our three dogs, three parrots and miniature pig.

Our house has undergone some significant changes in how it views the world. Gone are the small windows in the kitchen and master bedroom and in their place are gloriously large double-hung windows. The living room now hosts a beautiful door and large picture window overlooking crop fields at the front of our property. Our bedroom furniture that couldn't fit up the narrow, steep staircase found it's way up through the new bedroom window. And with the coming of spring, the front porch will be undergoing a face lift. I can almost hear the house sigh as sun light filters in.

I'm a proponent of letting a house speak in regards to its design and how it wants to be lived in. Now that we've settled in our routine, I'm beginning to hear our little farmhouse speak . . . in whispers. Her rooms are gently whispering in my ear that they want to be yellow or a soft white with touches of red and soft green. They want to be uncluttered. Simple. They want to be pretty but not frou-frou. And they want to be lived in, cozy, warm.

I began my farmhouse makeover in the main floor bath by removing the dated wallpaper and painting it a soft, worn green called Burlap (6137) by Sherwin Williams. This room is very small but I wanted to do something unexpected because it is right off the dining room . . . so I added engraved prints in large antique frames.

The large master bedroom is divided into two rooms. I had thought to take down the dividing wall and open the space, but that may well be in a future renovation. For now the second room is a relaxing retreat for reading or taking a nap. I used Turning Oakleaf (ATC-38) by Pittsburgh Paints. It was their 2014 color of the year. "A buttercream yellow that evokes tranquility and is the perfect "no fail" yellow". Don't you just love that? The color changes depending on the light and varies from a soft bright yellow during the day to almost cream in the evening. It's a beautiful color.

My large kitchen and back entry will also be painted Turning Oakloaf and I'm considering painting the dining room this color as well. Because it acts as a neutral (at least to my eye) I think it will tie all these spaces together while adding warmth and light.

The living room was going to be painted a cayenne color, but since listening to the house, it may end up a soft white. My furniture is dark (it suited our previous house well and because it's new we won't be replacing it). So I think white in here will help brighten the space.

I love this picture found at a second hand store for $35.

And so I go thoughtfully and carefully through our small farmhouse that is now our home. Listening to the house as it guides me through each room. Because in my experience, a house knows what it wants. From the paint colors on the wall, to the furniture placement, to the people who live in her. A house knows.

Life on the Farm

Having moved onto our farm in April of 2015, we set about making ready to bring our alpacas home from where they were being agisted (boarded). A good friend of ours, Richard, came down from Canada to help Brian with fencing and other heavy work. Those boys worked hard digging holes, setting posts and then stretching the 4x4 welded wire fencing to enclose our front pasture.

The newly fenced front pasture . . .

Richard on Big Red . . .

Moving a shelter into the front pasture . . .

The girls now home and enjoying the front pasture . . .

Then came the rabbits, a barn cat named Boris, ducks, chickens, goats, and a livestock guardian dog . . .

Boris (the cat), MooMoo, Midnight and Moonbeam (the rabbits)

Thunder and Storm - English Angora

Cayuga Ducks

Heritage Breeds - Australorp and Golden Laced Wyandotte, Cinnamon Queen, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red

Felix and Oscar - Fainting Goats

Loki - a Maremma

We've all settled nicely into our routines and things run pretty smoothly. We've been very fortunate not to have had any casualties (save for one chicken that our dog Oliver got - I cried heavily over that chicken . . . sigh). But then it's no surprise, because we're watched over by Angels. And I'm very grateful for that.

With spring just around the corner we're very happy to have survived our first winter on the farm. And this year spring brings us five Ancona ducks and two Talhouse geese. It also brings the renovation of our front porch and some much needed landscaping. Such is life on the farm . . .

Welcome to A Pig in the House

Welcome new friends and old! I’m so glad you stopped by!

Let’s see . . . where to start? Oh yes, at the beginning of the adventure that brought us (my husband, Brian, and I) to the farm.

It all started with five alpacas that we purchased in January of 2015. At the time, we thought we’d board our alpacas for a year or two until we got our ducks in a row (pardon the pun) and find the perfect farm. It didn’t take that long . . .

Sitting on the couch one evening, I came across this farm on an internet real estate site. Brian had said don’t even bother looking (he knows me so well), but as he came up from the basement and sat beside me, he told me how he had found the same farm. Hey! I thought we weren’t supposed to be looking?! Serendipity?!

In February, during a snow blizzard, we traveled from the small town we were living in to the farm to have a look see. Well, we fell in love with the place. I wasn’t too thrilled about the house though. It had wonky floors (all slanting towards the back of the house), a narrow/steep staircase, a fireplace that looked so out of place, and other features that I wasn’t too thrilled about. On the upside? The property itself was amazing! It had everything we needed and then some.

So, overlooking the wonky house, we dove in and placed an offer hoping our house would sell quickly. We were aghast when it took only seven weeks to sell our house in a town where it wasn’t uncommon for it to take at least a year (as in our neighbor’s case). We had two weeks to move. The pressure was on . . .

We did manage to pack up and move our belongings, three dogs, three parrots, and five aquariums – not without much effort. I still don’t know how we managed it.

And so we moved into the wonky house.

I hope you’ll visit often as I share with you the joy of living in a wonky farmhouse on a perfect farm.


Be Joyful,
Teresa