our farm

Our place might be called an urban homestead.

We have about an acre on the edge of a small town in what used to be rural Idaho. We grow much of our own food, a fair amount of our own firewood, as well as fruit and berries.

The garden part is still in the county, with rules based more on the agricultural use. The house is in the town, with all that involves.

When some one says glowing things about Idaho, when I am somewhere else, I usually respond that it was a lot more fun place to live before it was discovered. We use to say that when you see the national news, Idaho (no one knew where it was, really) was behind the head of the weather person. Then California moved in.

My town was 8 or 9000 when I was growing up. Now it is over 30,000. The next town over was smaller than my town and now they boast 90,000. The next town over still was a couple thousand not too long ago and is close to 50,000 now. No one thought of any of this ahead of time, except in glowing head in the sky terms.

All of that grown has caused a host of problems. There is improved “shopping” but how many of those out of town owned big box stores will still be around when the dust settles? We used to have a few “outdoor” stores in the valley and now we have dozens, all of them huge, all of them out of state owned. One went bust last week and others are sure to follow. I sure am not doing my american duty to support all of these boxes.

We even have an Olive Garden Restaurant a few miles from here now. We are steady customers. We go in once each year.

But we have growth.

So my little farmstead is a bit unusual. We could have a few chickens and a dairy goat or two, we have enough room and zoning would not be a problem. If we were not gone so much visiting daughters and camping, we might.

But it is spring, almost. I have the plant stand setup in the downstairs bedroom, with seeds in the pots on the heater pad and seedlings under the fluorescent lighting.

We still have potatoes and cabbage. The freezer has berries and peaches and walnuts. Canning jars hold apricots, pears, applesauce and a LOT of grape juice.

I am thankful for it all. But it is a LOT of work and I am lazy.