I grew up with my mother on a long country road in Chautauqua County. In a small mobile home on two acres of land we lived modestly. My playground was the creek, the woods, and my grandfather's grape farm. After high school I went to college and was in awe of city life. I fell in love, married and bought an old Victorian in the heart of Buffalo.
After over 10 years in the city something began to change. Country ways started to come back to me. We planted a vegetable garden in our little back yard. It wasn't enough. I began learning a number of crafts that were not suited to urban life. My husband started talking about tractors and over-alls. Visiting my parents and friends in the country became more important than the weekend bar scene in the city. Finally we realized it was time to move to the country.
For me, it is like coming home. I remember life on my grandfather's farm. We picked berries and potatoes, grapes and apples. We took our grapes to market and had a small fruit stand at the house. We chopped and stacked wood to keep us warm for the winter. When I was little and asked for a pony, my mom said, "Okay, but we will have to build a barn first". We did just that. I painted the inside purple.
For my husband this is relatively new territory. He is eager and wide eyed at the possibilities. So we have begun to plan our escape. The city's charms have worn thin for us. Our desire to be more closely connected to the land grows stronger on a daily basis. Now when we visit the country it is hard to come back to the concrete and asphalt of the city.
This blog will be a record of our progress, trials, desires, and outcomes.
