The history of a house is, of course, a history of the people who called it home. The older that house, the longer the history, and the more people you learn about as you research its origins. Our farmhouse, built in 1898, was owned for many years by one family. I’ve been fortunate enough, through the wonders of the internet, to connect with someone from that family, who has graciously shared with me stories and genealogy that add new layers of meaning and understanding to the history of this place. I love that one of the unique characteristics of this house, these colorful windows, is what connected me to this previous owner.

We are still just getting started with our new lives here, but now as we continue to do so, we can think more of those who came before. We have learned information about the builder, and the wonderful fixtures used on the doors and windows, and about the residents too — the original owner used to make cheese in the barn! Subsequent owners made Christmas wreaths there, and who knows, maybe one day we might use that same space to make something from our orchard too. Knowing the history of the house and those that made it their home before us is a comforting way to feel connected to this place and this community. It adds a level of reverence and gratitude — Thankful to the house, that it has stood for almost 125 years, providing shelter. And thankful to the homemakers, who cared for it so that we too may call it home. We are also reaping the rewards of previous owners who cared for the land surrounding our home – apple and evergreen trees, gorgeous floral blooms too.

The poem below is not about our home, but it was written by someone related to the family that built and owned our house for many years. And it seems appropriate and fitting to share as the history of this homestead continues.

Half a year. That is what we have to keep telling ourselves. It’s only been HALF A YEAR.

This is our first home. And this is also our forever home. And so we are eager and excited to do, do, do — but we must also remind ourselves (daily) that we will be here a long time (hopefully) and that there is absolutely no way to do it all so quickly. We have learned this the hard way — In some cases, we have moved with too much haste. Too much enthusiasm mixed with not enough research, discussion and thought can lead to mistakes and poor decisions. We have certainly had a few of those. But teamwork, determination and perseverance can lead to successes too. We are proud of those and have ultimately had a mix of both ups and down in our first six months here at the homestead.

In addition to upgrades and fixes needed on the house, we are also attempting to start an orchard and a garden. The orchard is off to a great start, we planted a variety of fruit and nut trees this spring, with more planning and planting to come in 2022. The garden so far has been very hit and miss, partially because there is just no time to research and learn (to grow a green thumb!) properly. This first year will be a bit of a free for all — just plant and see what happens, without much reading up on best practices. This seat-of-the-pants approach has already proved to be a poor strategy for the herbs which were transplanted too soon. But we can’t possible do it all in year one and we most certainly cannot do it all well. We are humbled by this old house and the wonders of nature on a daily basis.

We’ve had to make some decisions about projects that just have to be put off until year two (or later) no matter how badly we want to do them now (new pool fence being one of these). As the long summer days inch closer, we are recognizing that we need to stop, slow down and make more time to just BE — be present, be accepting, be patient. We also have to be able to leave the homestead more — for hiking, visiting family, day trips and finally, again — some travel! The house is not going anywhere and the project list will always have items on it. Learning to space it out to keep stress down has been an important step for us this month. We are slowing down and focusing more on what already IS wonderful and what is also just fine AS IS, even if it is not perfect or what we would ideally like.

Some months I’m just not going to have time to record here where we are at with things. This month, we are thankfully at a pretty a good place. It’s a slightly unsettling spot with the usual unknowns related to personal and professional things, but not as scary and overwhelming as a year ago, when the pandemic became this huge daunting reality for all of us.

Our foundation is strong (after some physical repairs, including nice re-pointing mortar work by Mark) and our focus is clear — on most days. We have some really cloudy, bumpy moments (as is normal for all us humans) but in general, we continue to settle in to this new life — as homeowners, homesteaders in training and budding business partners.

We are busy with many new tasks & actions: gardening, sowing, tilling, amending, sawing, drilling, insulating, staining, rewiring, venting, draining, cleaning, planting. Both inside and out, we are growing our skills set and expanding our perspective on what it means to own an old farmhouse and care for both it and the beautiful land that surrounds it.

Whenever things get too overwhelming with our day jobs or family matters or medical issues or plans for our business or home repair drama — we make a conscious effort to stop and get outside, because nature heals and we can’t lose sight of this. Even on the most hectic of days — if it’s just a short walk to the mailbox or to bring in the trash cans — we have to step outside and take a deep breath. It’s what gets us through and keeps us going. Onward.

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We have been waiting for this amaryllis to open since late December. She is taking her time, but we are so close to seeing two buds emerge. They are really moving at a snail’s pace it seems, or maybe I’m just being a bit impatient. I have enjoyed our first winter here, and even though the snow has been pretty constant, there was only one major storm. Each fresh snowfall is always beautiful, and so as much as I may tire of the snow at times (especially on the grey days) I always find moments to be thankful when we are gifted with more of the white stuff. But March has arrived, and with it a shift is underway — I’m beginning to long for extended warmth that comes from the sun, instead of from the wood stove. I’ve noticed the longer light while making dinner in the kitchen, and today we saw two red-breasted house finches, a new (to me) species but apparently very common. Signs of spring for sure.

Each month when I sit down to write this recap I have grand plans of summarizing our progress around the homestead in great detail, so that I have a record to look back at over the years. But each month — this one included — I don’t know where to start. (I should really try writing in the morning, instead of late at night.) Maybe the bulleted lists I dream about will materialize by the time we get to year number two on the homestead? Maybe I’ll eventually get to my goal of writing monthly Frugalwoods-like posts? Until then, the easier short spurt updates on Instagram seem to summarize the highlights of our homestead life well enough for now. But there is a lot more going on as we continue to settle into the house and also make plans for the surrounding land. I’m excited to share more, and I think I said something similar last month, but each time I want to write about it, I get overwhelmed with where to begin. At least I haven’t skipped a month yet 🙂

Let’s try a super brief synopsis: In February we bought a lot of plants! We purchased seeds for a garden that will be my project for the home and since I have never had a garden before I’m sure it will be full of failures, but I’ll try my best and have fun doing it. We also purchased a few fruit trees and shrubs for the future orchard and some other tree species to diversify our small forest. When all of this begins arriving in April and May…we better have a good plan in place for where it is all going to be planted. That is what March will be for. The ground is still too frozen for soil amendments and other field work we need to do, but Mark has been pruning our existing apple trees and sketching out plans for where everything will go.

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We continue with our CCE classes, Mark’s focus on the horticulture side of things, while mine is on the business/marketing side. There are so many great resources — we are thankful for access to such a knowledgable network we can turn to as we navigate all of this. Around the house, we made some improvements in the basement and some further electrical fixes. And very soon we will have new windows and lighting fixtures installed. There was also a surprise medical emergency that put me out of commission for about a week, so that slowed us down a bit, but thankfully, the worst of that seems behind us, and we can look forward to the coming spring – longer days, new growth and lots of green. Thanks for following along, see you on IG or back here next month.

It does not surprise me that I never got around to posting a summary of what we did in November and December as I said I would. Moving into a new home is daunting for anyone, and we knew that going in. We also knew that our circa 1890 farmhouse would need some TLC, so we set about scheduling some of that right away, before the coldest weather set in. We got connected to a helpful handyman, located an electrician, and did several other key upgrades before Christmas. Some of that work continues into the new year, calling on experts as needed, while Mark has also done a fantastic job tackling quite a bit of home repair. I place hardware store orders and help strategize on problem-solving, but he is doing the heavy lifting with the fixes!

I’ve kept myself busy with more of the unpacking and decorating tasks, or more accurately — creating lists (and more lists) for future creative projects — hanging art, buying rugs and hopefully doing some spring/summer bargain hunting for a few small pieces of furniture that fit the house design. We had a few family visitors in December (to cut down their own Christmas trees and enjoy a quiet holiday), but because of Covid and the cold, there are currently no planned guests on the horizon. Of course that makes it a good time to settle in, get used to the place, learn its quirks, and gather ideas for the months and years to come.

Now that the holidays are over, we have moved on to our plans for the land. Excited to share what we are working on but it’s too soon for that. We have much more to learn and decisions to make. We are doing a ton of research, taking online courses and attending Zoom conferences — it’s essentially like taking night school after we finish our full-time day jobs. Add on to that a daily indoor house fix here, or some evening outdoor chores there, and it just never feels like enough time. I asked Mark if we could please make a list of things we won’t talk about until March first of this year…but we could probably come up with some things to put on a list for March 1 of next year too! There has been no time to make said lists, but mentally, we can name numerous things that are getting pushed off until some future spring. We have to set priorities and honor limits to what we can tackle. We haven’t even been here for three months! We are ambitious, but we have to keep things in check and not take on too much at once. It’s a tricky balance, but we are learning our way.

For now we watch the snow fall almost every week (from flurries to feet), and feel thankful that we have the time to plan, the will to give things a try and the resources to see where all this winter planning might take us. Stay warm and healthy and follow along all month long here if you like. Happy early Valentine’s Day too ❤

Three years ago today, (January 1, 2018) I wrote this:

Today was the first day of the new year. A day always filled with promise and hope. And this year, it was day one of real discussion about our dream. We know we want to own land, most likely in upstate New York. We know we want to grow things on the land — fruit or nut trees, mushrooms, ginger, plus a big garden. We don’t know when or where or how this will all shake out and come to be. But over toasted rye sandwiches (with delicious Russian dressing) at a great Jewish deli on Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring, MD — we had our first really in-depth back and forth chat about it.

It was a freezing cold day, but we talked as we walked all the way to lunch, and then back home via Sligo Creek, so we didn’t notice the chill too much. Along Sligo was one of the places where we had even earlier discussed this dream. Things have moved farther along since that day…with a more positive twist…and things will continue to grow as we talk…and walk…more. Momentum is building. There is much to think about, much more to discuss…but it is all very exciting. We are building a dream together. Here’s to 2018 and beyond. Onward.

And now, three years later, sitting in our new home on our land in upstate NY, we re-read this and feel a deep sense of joy and gratitude. We set a goal, and kept moving in the right direction somehow. Some aspects of fulfilling this dream fell perfectly into place. Those were the lucky blessings. Other pieces had to be swayed, finessed, jammed or pushed along to get us here. But now that it is exactly three years since that crisp chilly New Year’s Day walk — there is a special wow feeling. We did it! Of course, it is tinged with sadness during this terribly difficult and sorrowful year full of such loss, grief and struggle. We are humbled by our good fortune, and are mindful of it each day. We resolve to stick with the general plan, and see where it leads.

Part of the dream has been realized — We got to where we want to be, but now we have to DO something with what we have. We resolve to nourish our connection to the land and nurture it. We will care for and maintain both the house and the surrounding fields and forest. We will honor each day all the reasons why we made this move — to be closer to the earth, to stay grounded, to develop a deep relationship with the natural rhythms of the universe, and see what magic or music we might be able to make while moving among it all.

My mom shared this Tolkien quote with us recently: “I am at home among the trees” This sums up perfectly where we are at and where we are headed here on the homestead. We are feeling hopeful for 2021 and wishing that it is a better year for everyone filled with good, happy and peaceful moments.

I hope to do a round-up here each month with highlights from the previous one, just so we can track big milestones and small successes (as well as the most definite failures too!) Will do the first one soon.