Homegrown Dreams

Hobby farmer and his “best friends”

I would like to introduce you to the brains of this homesteading-in-the-hollow operation. (smile)  Ever since my husband was a young boy, he had hopes of one day owning his own property to plant roots on.  He grew up on five acres and visited his grandparents each summer on the family’s original farm, dating back to the mid 1800’s.

As enduring as his childhood dream was, I was not always as sure that his dream would ever become a reality.  Over time as our family grew and I jumped on the natural health bandwagon with my already health conscious husband, my doubts started to dwindle and this dream of a simpler way of life began to resonate with me.  I began to get excited!  It took over a decade of moving around the states and overseas in the military, but we finally arrived just prior to his military retirement.  The homestead is definitely a fixer upper.  What it lacks in some areas, it makes up for it with all its’ rustic charm.  Our hard work is slowly breathing new life back into our simple little homestead in the hollow.

Apple Tree

The property was a bit neglected after sitting for months at a time since we could only visit during holidays and long weekends to check on the place, but after 2 years, we started to make the transition to full-time residence. It is more work than I anticipated, but it is rewarding and I love a good challenge.  (smile)

These apples are part of our mini orchard and unfortunately, they needed a lot of TLC…along with the pear and aprium trees.  We lost the blackberry bushes, but have plans to plant more in the future.

Blueberry Bush

We also planted more blueberry bushes near the garden and more muscadine grapes, after a fatal accident with the zero turn mower. (sigh)

Pear Blossoms

Cabbage

View from our 1840’s log cabin

The garden has become my “happy place” and even during the roughest part of my chemo treatments, I would try to force myself to go outside and soak up some crucial Vit D.  I literally felt like I was going to die in the summer heat! It is tough when your body doesn’t want to work as designed.  I think this is why I am so fond of our little garden in the hollow.  It helped me dream a little about tomorrow, during a time when my tomorrow was so uncertain.  Praise God for second chances!