January, Where did you go?

Hard to believe February is knocking down the door. I'm not even sure I got anything done in January. Typically the month to plan and dream, I was able to do some of that, including buying tickets for a trip to Italy and France. My travel buddies Sabrina and Sarajane (also sis-in-laws), and I have been talking about it for over a year and now it's right around the corner. (April 19-May 3) We've rounded out the trip with a fourth, another sis-in-law Kim. Our itinerary includes Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Rome and Paris. You will hear more about it as it comes.
NEW to the farm are four black kittens, 3 of which have tamed very nicely and #4 is slowly coming around. They pretty much look the same but I named them and can tell them apart even if no one else can. Tom is my favorite, very attentive, warm soft purring baby who loves to be held and petted. Bert is a little less desiring of attention but comes running when I step into the garage. Til lie, the only female is a ball of energy, always playing, always teasing the others and Art is the most reluctant to be tamed and has brought me the first mouse. And yes, I named them after my oldest aunt and uncles. I was thinking of groups of four names(3M/1F) and it popped into my head and stuck. They are for the purpose of ending the mouse population that continues to invade the garage and house. Wish me luck!
I've also been working on garden plans. Seeds need to be ordered NOW and even started if I want to get an early start. I am so excited to use my greenhouse this year for the first time. It will help especially with first crops, I am sure. As the seasons come along it will be a learning experience. I learned last year just how hot the greenhouse gets when I lost ALL of my tomato plants in the early stages of growth. Ended up with a bumper crop anyway, but had to buy some of the plants. If you are not familiar with our garden, we grow using organic practices. Each year since we started we've had multiple families share in the garden work with us co-op style and we have always shared with those less fortunate. We garden about an acre. +\- and grow from May through September. Our program is called Firstfruits Cooperative. Last year we did a much smaller garden with just our family because I had full time care of my then 1 year old granddaughter. We added a dozen chickens last year as well so my hands were full. This year will also see some changes. We are adding another dozen chickens to the henhouse, all layers, thus necessitating a venue for sales. My plan is to have a Saturday roadside stand to sell eggs and vegetables. This is how our name came about -HOPEWELL Farm, Helping Other People Eat Well. Can't wait to develop the plan.
Other plans and dreams included working on plans for an addition to the house. So there will be lots to talk about in the upcoming weeks. Hope you will come along for the ride. I'm hoping to figure out photos here soon. Things changed in my absence from the blogosphere.

So it's back to learning, learning, learning and dreaming and planning. Nothing new under the sun!

Happy New Year from HOPEWELL FARM

It seems kind of tacky to say, "I'm back," as it's been four years since my last post. That's a lot of water under the bridge and a LOT of changes. So, here I am starting over again. If you've found your way to this post you are either a friend of mine or you were intrigued by something I posted either on Facebook or Instagram. My goal is to post weekly about things pertaining to our little farm. The one we live on, not the one we have for vacations, but more about that later.
Currently on our 17 acres we have a large one acre garden, 11 chickens, 2 rabbits and 1 dog. Oh and maybe three kittens after this weekend. We work hard and play hard and want to share the learning and the fun with anyone who wants to listen or sample a taste.😉
New to us this year-we have named our farm; welcome to HOPEWELL FARM. The name is an acronym for Helping Other People Eat Well! Our mission is to impact our community with fresh organically grown fruits and vegetables, fresh eggs from free range chickens, fresh herbs in season and wonderful herb blends the rest of the year, and to be a resource to help those in need in our community. Our garden activities still fall under the name of Firstfruits Cooperative and new this year is our road side stand open every Saturday. More information to come.
We have lived here now for four years and people comment all the time about the many changes and improvements they see on this property. It is rewarding to hear that people notice, but really, things could not get much worse than they were when we arrived in January of 2013. God has been very kind to us and blessed the projects we've taken on. Scroll back and take look, and then follow along as we continue to grow the land we've been blessed to steward.

You can find us on Facebook and Instagram.