The Burning Barrel Farm

We like to think we are the bosses around our farm, but in reality, we are far from in charge.  Years ago when we started this journey, we had one goal in mind...self-sufficiency with a more wholesome lifestyle.  We never imagined we would take a few detours along the way.  Our homestead grew a little quicker than we wanted.  It got to the point of needing to find balance and we needed a little extra income to help with the increased costs to feed our animals and build the appropriate shelters.  We were also struggling with trying to teach our children to the level of our personal expectations and goals.   That is when we came up with the idea of our kids taking control of their own learning and needs with regards to our homestead.  We also wanted to make sure the kids were a part of the growth of our little farm and had some type of investment in it (other than the daily chores).  That's when we decided to try some baked goods and viola!...

 I'm not going to lie, I like to get ideas from other people and try them out.  One idea I want to follow through with is the idea of beginnings or origins.  How did we get to where we are? Where did two city people get an idea to start a farm and have absolutely no previous knowledge of how to run a farm?  So that is where I will start... Alex and I grew up in suburbia where everyone mows their lawns on the same day and grills out on Saturdays.  Every summer, we went on vacation to the same place and fought with our older siblings.  Our idea of farming was watching our parents garden and listening to our grandparents' stories of the "good ole days."  We spent summer nights outside and fall weekends building forts in the woods.  Little did we know how much of an impact that would have on our adult lives.  All that time crafting our skills at making lean-twos and exercising our small bodies racing through the neighborhood on our bikes was shap...

Today is a day worth mentioning.  All over the internet, there has been so much chatter about it being International Women's Day.  It is a topic that has really nagged at me all day.  It is also a topic that deserves recognition.  Sure, all women deserve recognition and women are incredibly empowering "creatures."  The term, "creature" is so important here.  It connotes the idea that women are adaptable and incredibly resourceful, like most animal creatures.  Living on a farm only proves this.  Let me tell you about one of our incredible creatures here on our farm: our female Rouen duck.   Not too long ago, she hatched out these two beautiful little ducklings.  It was the most amazing experience to see here because it was such a shock.  Alex went out one morning to feed the animals and here was this momma duck with her two babies following her around.  It was incredible to see.  We had no idea she was even sitting on ...