A Young Girl's Dream

The rolling hills, the smell of fresh hay, and the sound of cows grazing in an open field. Yes, at the young age of 12, I was hooked on the farm life. As the cows entered the milking parlor that morning, this young suburban girl was in her glory as Uncle Lee taught me how to milk the cows. When we had finished the morning milking of tons of cows, we walked down the hill to the old farmhouse where we enjoyed buttered biscuits and ham that my Aunt Etta Mae had cooked on her old- fashioned wood cookstove. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the life I was meant to live.

But as the summer was coming to an end, I had to return to "real life" in the suburbs. It would be many years, a husband and 11 children later, that I would finally milk my own cows.

To be honest, I am a wanna-be farmer...just learning as I go along. Last year my husband and I took a giant leap of faith and bought a cabin in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. We knew enough to survive...hopefully.

So we did what all new homesteaders do, we got chickens. LOTS of chickens. Not only did we purchase laying hens, but 100 meat chickens. We planted a garden, put up fencing, and watched more YouTube homesteading videos than any human should be allowed.

While the chickens roamed the fields we took a road trip to Tennessee...to pick up Penelope, our first guernsey milk cow. And before long, Pearl, our second milk cow, joined the family. Both ladies were expecting calves. We were over the moon!

The garden vegetables grew, much to our surprise. We butchered our first batch of meat chickens, the farm "chicks" were laying more eggs than we could possibly eat, and my friends were asking me to make them some of my homemade tonics.

The Sweet Briar Farmhouse wasn't just a dream anymore, but a reality.