luna acres

hello there a jacket I made after Ian Curtis of Joy Division, in the movie Control (old school) I haven't fully explained the living situation we moved home to. Since Jonathan and I left for the farm we have had two additional house guests. Wanda, the first, has been a life long friend of my mother, and after being thrown some of life's unexpected curves, she needed a place to stay, and my parents opened their arms. She has been incredibly helpful while we were away, taking the pressure off my mom with the cooking and cleaning. The second is my cousin, Billy, who came to stay about 50 days ago. We were reconnected after my grandfather's passing, when he was first trying to escape a bad relationship fueled by alcohol, while still caring for his two sweet children. What started as a weekend retreat away from the pressure of city life grew into an opportunity to become a family, despite being out of touch for years. He immediately showed his appreciation for stayin...

japanese maple It has been a productive week, without a penny spent.  the shop- after losing a cabinet and creating the tool wall the transformed rabbit hutch complete with functioning doors! the new brush pile relocated compost pile - dog proof fresh stain on the front steps The last week has been busy busy busy working around the house, the future farm, the homestead. We haven't had any money to spend on  anything  but we have still managed to get a few projects done. The rabbit hutch we were given by a neighbor has been revamped with a fresh coat of paint, new hinges, and now new doors. The compost has been moved, a real pile started. The field has been mowed, the garden marked out. The shop created, organized and reorganized, yet still unfinished. Firewood has been an ongoing chore which will continue at least until the end of the month; it would help if the chainsaws quit breaking. Next week will be productive in outside areas; we are going to stay with my sister's f...

We have been incredibly productive the last two weeks since we came home. Most of our efforts have been focused on building and organizing the new shop (quite an endeavor), but we did find time to plant garlic we snagged at our first trip to the Grandin farmers market. This morning we harvested the remaining basil to dry. I'm going to paint some pretty glass jars to put it in come spring. Do you think there's a market for organic grown and dried spices in hand painted jars? We also marked off the area of our future garden, which has me so excited to find graph paper and begin planning it out. Our first real big garden. Life is pretty incredible. planting garlic garlic point of view we planted 50 cloves total mmmm water them in! basil drying the garden to be  the shop-in progress Live simply, Angela and Jonathan

our view of fall Hello there! This a pretty big step, the first post of a real blog, for something tangible. I'm Angela, and my boyfriend Jonathan and I, along with some help from our families, are working to create a beautiful and sustainable homestead in the mountains of Virginia. We just returned home from spending seven months on a livestock farm outside of Richmond. We learned about raising sheep, cows, chickens, turkeys, pigs and rabbits, plus even more about sustainability, taking care of the land, and eating fresh local food. It opened our eyes to the things we eat, and more importantly the alternative choices that are available. Farmers markets are everywhere, it's a little bit more expensive, but the quality is worth it. We love knowing where our food comes from, and even more so eating produce that we grew and meat that we raised. It's an incredible lifestyle, a simple and frugal one, that we have fallen in love with. We want to mold and shape this little piece o...

Well things do change quickly. We have been back home for just over a week now, after reaching the breaking point at the farm. I won't go into the gory details here (I do try to save the negative for my family and Jonathan to hear), but we are very happy to be home. We are excited to be starting our own farm, though it will be a slow process. There are already signs of accomplishment, we cleaned up a rabbit hutch from a neighbor, and have spent a reasonable amount of time in the wood pile. I have been working on the social media for the farm, you can see the facebook page here , and I will have the blog up in a few days. I decided to create a new and separate blog for the farm, because I still want to fill this space with my creativity and our life together, but I need something to be a little more focused and professional for marketing. So- you have two blogs to read! (Well, you will soon.)  Until next time, Angela Kelly

The farm is busy. Too busy. A busyness that we cannot keep up with. While we love the animals, and the growth , we do wish that Those in Charge would slow down a bit. It would be such a relief to have all the animals contained and controlled, in more than just acceptable pens, before they bring in more new additions. We have a hundred yard turkeys, with a tractor waiting to be built. Two pregnant sows in a pen waiting to give birth, while accompanied by the boar (I do not think this is a good idea.) Another pregnant sow in a trailer, waiting for a home. Seven little piglets in the back yard (in a ten foot hog panel pen.) Two rabbits who day range themselves since they dug out of the dog pens they lived in several weeks ago. The laying hens are now free in the field, as their non-electrified poultrynet kept being taken down by pigs, cows, and sheep. All these things keep life interesting- but I do think we could use quiet for awhile… ...

There are dozens of animals on the farm who have stolen our attention and affection. Ones who stand out from the others in the flock or herd. Ones who make themselves known. One animal, however, has made herself our friend more than any other. This is Lucille. She is Daniel's black lab, and the "farm dog", the only one allowed to run amuck on her own and be a vital part of chores. Nothing makes her happier than to ride in the car. Especially in the times when Trilli was back home in the mountains, Luc became our visiting puppy, following us like a shadow, whining if we went inside and left her out. We are going to miss her dearly when we go. To make things more interesting- we have two Lucille's. This is Luc (pronounced "loose"): And this is Lucy: Until next time, Angela Kelly