Welcome to Morningside

Welcome to my little corner of the country. I hope here to chronicle the life on our five and a half acres of heaven.

I've wanted a "farm" since I was about 12. My parents divorced, and I went to live with my grandparents on 40 acres of Oregon mountainside; outside of a little tiny "town" called "Mountaindale".

I loved "the farm", and after I married and began having children, I knew that I needed to be in the country again. This need wasn't just a physical need, it was a spiritual need; the need to have space and privacy notwithstanding, I needed to be an active participant in an agrarian lifestyle.

After a couple of false starts through the 1990's, we finally have a piece of property that has all the elements I felt were needed to really, finally, have a farm.

So far, our little farm has 8 chickens, including one bossy rooster; two sheep, three dogs,  four cats and one beehive*. We had a bummer lamb that we bottle fed, cuddled, diapered and babied until she was big enough to join the big boys in the pasture; the coyotes got her this last week, which was quite a blow; the realities of farm life can be difficult to say the least.

My goals are to raise a milk cow, with her calf being our yearly beef; to raise our own pork, to grow most if not all of our own vegetables and to become as self reliant as possible. I also know that these are lofty goals, and won't come about without much trial and error.

My hope with this blog is to journal our ups and downs; our adventures and misadventures as we make this journey; I invite you to come along.

*Late edit; I left out the bees. Pfffllllttt