I grew up a city girl in Wisconsin on a city lot of
50 by 100 feet. In the backyard we had 2 rose bushes that pre-dated our
residence and came up year after year, blooming with abandon. One summer
I installed a rock garden back under the big trees where I transplanted
(with permission) wild flowers from the girl scout camp. Most of them
endured, and some even thrived. One year my mom planted a solitary
zucchini plant and we ate zucchini in EVERYTHING for months. Those 87
words completely encompass my early life experiences in Earth
stewardship.
My entire focus as an adult has
been one thing - escape to the country. After a brief stint at
apartment living, and then seven years living in my grandparents’ house,
that they sold us, we did it - bought 3 acres outside of town.
Within several years we had a large garden, dairy
goats, and three horses. We had a huge yard, a tiny pasture that we
guarded fiercely against over grazing, and the rest was dry lot - three
horses and about a dozen goats turn an acre of grass into an acre of
dust pretty quickly. Luckily, hay was readily available and cheap - $2.50
per bale delivered for alfalfa.
After moving to Texas and spending several years in
a trailer park, I was able to buy 3 acres and an old house via land
contract. Over two acres is wooded and we like the woods, so our garden
is postage stamp sized. We’ve no place for fruit trees and once again
our dairy goats and horse are on a dry lot, but this time there is NO
pasture, not even a tiny one. And thanks to two years of drought, hay is a
precious and elusive commodity. When I can find it, it’s $9.00 per bale
and usually sticker ridden and/or musty. While other people dream
of bigger homes, newer cars, expensive vacations to exotic places, our
Rural Quest has been one thing - a bigger piece of land, where we can
supply our own food, our own water, and our own pasture and hay. Although A LOT of land would be lovely, all we need is ‘enough’.
We looked at lots of land - every weekend was
devoted to driving through the surrounding countryside, looking for
something not too far from where we are now, since we have roots in this
little town and don’t want to leave it. Although we walked over acres
and acres of places, we saw nothing we wanted to leave our own place
for - even though it’s too small for what we currently have and want to
do in the future, it’s a gem of a place - century oaks, towering pines,
and a ½ acre spring-fed pond that’s never been murky and is only down
about a foot even though our rainfall is down almost three feet in the
last two years.
One day I drove past a newly listed place on a
whim - from the description in the ad I didn’t even have medium hopes of
this fitting our needs. And yet, when I drove up to the gate, I just knew.
I called the realtor before calling my husband! The next day we walked
all over it and signed the initial contract on the hood of the realtor’s
truck. Banks, appraisers, surveyors, title companies, and several months
later, we signed the final papers and were handed the key to the gate.
You know how when you buy something new, once it’s
really yours you start noticing little flaws you didn’t notice at first? That hasn’t happened here. Every time we go out there we love it more. But love won’t accomplish what we need to do with this place - protect
the precious natural resources that we have, while coaxing every inch to
be all it can be. At twelve acres it is certainly enough, as long
as we use, and care for it, wisely.
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