I've been aching for North Carolina ever since we left the summer before last. We had a good life here. It was warm. You could grow well into Winter. We had browned skin and red clay caked to our feet. We would spend mornings chasing pigs. And spend summer afternoons sweating through the garden's rows. We would spend evenings in cold bathtubs, drinking beers in the mild of a Carolina sundown. We didn't have to insulate a special coop for wintering chickens. There was never enough weight of snowfall to worry about the character of an old barn.
Nostalgia is such a beast. Walking through the streets of Raleigh these past days and lapping up the humidity and the (rather uncommon) high winter temperatures I keep turning to Nick with a shouldn't we?....couldn't we?....won't we? look that is certain to drive him to crazy. And we haven't even been to the farm yet. We had our good reasons for leaving. Proximity to family. An abundance of water. Support for smaller farms. Universal health care. Thank you, fourfold, to the good quiet state of Vermont.
I am so happy with the shangri-la we have found up North. It is a difficult land to farm but an honest one. Vermont will be my forever home, but part of my farming heart will forever lie in the lolling hills of North Carolina.
This is where we fell in love with the land. This is where we began our lives as farmers.
All photos are mine and Nick's from days of yore, except for the last which was taken by the good people of Saxapahaw farmer's market. I just don't know "who" precisely.
ooooooh, kate. loved this post. xo
ReplyDeleteI get that ache in my heart when I see a picture of VA's Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a good ache, though, isn't it? Choices have to be made, and if they were all easy, that wouldn't be much of an adventure. :)
ReplyDeleteLove those photos of farm life...an evidence that farm life could be fun too:)
ReplyDeleteSuch gorgeous photos - they almost make me nostalgic for a land I've not even visited....
ReplyDeleteBoth NC and Vermont sound like incredible places to live and farm, and for such very different reason. As an expat who's lived in various countries, I understand the nostalgia that tugs and pulls.
ReplyDeleteI hope the rest of your winter up north will be kind to you.
Love those photos! We live in NC now (Wilmington, by the ocean - so lovely), and part of me never wants to leave. It's easy place to fall in love with. :)
ReplyDeleteyour Nostalgia is contagious, darling. thanks for sharing the bug. :) xxoo
ReplyDeletePS I think i get to see you Friday !!!!!!!!
I am from rural Kentucky and now live in Chicago. I know the feeling well, especially around spring time when they've all thawed out and started to bloom down there below the Mason Dixon and we're still wearing down coats.
ReplyDeletexo and perseverance,
Hadley
Wow, stunning photos. That one in the outdoor tub is just amazing. I've been yearning for milder temperatures too, but then I remember all of the wonderful things about New England, the seasons, the history. Spring will be here soon enough!
ReplyDeletexox Lilly
such beautiful photos. thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-charity
lumivintage.blogspot.com
oh goshhhh now i NEED to take a bath outdoors!!!
ReplyDeleteenjoy winter, in the summer you'll miss it!
Hermosas fotos!! con tu permiso tomaré algunas prestadas para mi blog las mismas llevaran el respectivo enlace...Me encanta la vida sencilla que llevan...en algún punto debe ser dura, quizás, pero estar tomando un baño en el bosque lo vale :)
ReplyDeleteBuena semana!!
alitadegorrion.blogspot.com
@blueistheteacher I Know!! A dear friend was just reminding me how I told her one hot July afternoon how much I was looking forward to the quietude of winter. I will never learn.
ReplyDeleteHello! from western NC! Asheville to be exact.
ReplyDeleteWe just had some snow this morning and it is FREEZING! Love your blog, best wishes,
Jessica
wow, such stunning, beautiful photos
ReplyDeleteLove that pig.
ReplyDelete...and the dog and you guys of course!
ReplyDeleteabsolutely beautiful pictures. i'd want to go back to that too!
ReplyDeletehttp://mcdowellserendipity.blogspot.com/
Gorgeous photos! I'm really loving your blog!
ReplyDeleteAh Raleigh...my home and my love. Glad you guys had fun down here. :)
ReplyDeleteahh! these photos (as all of your photos are) are so gorgeous! the dog on the couch outside and your bathtub! aww i'd love to do that and be there. okay, i will stop commenting as they are all the same about how wonderful your photos are and how envious i am! :) btw, good luck with the guitar! i have been playing for a few years and probably haven't gotten t-h-a-t much better since i started, but it's still fun.
ReplyDeleteLOVE your photos...recently pinned one on pinterest! Love your blog entry more as we also used to live in NC but moved north for family...we recenlty took our kids to NC for the 1st time this summer (my oldest was 9 mos when we moved back north to MN--he is 9 years now)...we all loved it and my husband and I gave each other the same looks you are referring to! We have never farmed but have gardened and would love to have a hobby farm with some animals in NC. We want to go back! We have a little family there which is good. Your story resonates with us and I love it! Good luck to you!
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