A neighbor’s free range bird. One of many farms on a ride home. Grass fed gifts that were as unexpected as they were appreciated. An outdoor theater with a view. Cattle enjoying fresh grass. A tiny chapel that hosts weddings and Bible studies. A tractor demolition derby. An inspirational message encouraging sharing. A local tractor […]
Building Community for a New Life Read More »
Kittens climbing up my muck boot at a farm. Tomato pie assembled and oven ready. Tomato pie finished. Sunset at a friend’s house. Guinea fowl roosting. Previous Next Every time antivirus ads pop up while I’m working on the computer, I “accept risk.” I don’t really think about it. Some part of me always gets
I have always been a busy person, in my days and in my head. I work, I cook, I clean. And I have always had a list that I never finish. That’s a safe statement for absolutes. Do I have anxiety? I prefer to see myself as overly ambitious. But, it would be nice to
Om. Struggling to Meditate, an Oxymoron Read More »
The Lebahn Family was living an average life in the suburbs, with Austin going to work and Rebekah at home raising the family. The busy mother’s days were filled with children, school, and trips to the grocery store. In 2018, Austin Lebahn’s grandparents spoke about selling their nearby dairy farm and that changed the life
Committing to Family and Community Read More »
Driveway Etiquette People respect property lines in the countryside. When we moved in, the previous residents had “Private Property: No Trespassing” and “Beware of Dog” signs posted at the driveway entrance. Having come from a place where the property lines were a bit blurry, and not with our blessings, I thought, cool, leave the signs.
Rural Missouri Ways, Good to Downright Scary Read More »
Having lived in South Florida for over twenty years, heat was not a big deal to me. I was warned before buying an old concrete block home that the crawl space underneath would mean hot summers and chilly winters and indeed it did. On a cold winter’s day, I could walk into my backyard and
Crash Course in How to Get Firewood or How Not to Freeze Read More »
My first Missouri winter was the coldest it’s been in 30 years, according to some reports. Awesome. I now know how to stoke and feed the fire in our wood burning stove. I haven’t started a fire in it yet, but it’s probably not a lot more than the maintaining. I repeat the mantra I
Notification Turns on Panic Read More »
About five weeks into living in the cabin and three months since we left South Florida, I still have unpacked boxes. If my writing “South Florida” as though it’s a different state from Florida stands out, it is. South Florida and the rest of the state are night and day different. The Spanish language is
The Moving-box Unopened Read More »
Today I walked/hiked down a snowy hillside, baked an elderberry crisp and pulled thorns from a dog. This is an improvement over last year when I was administering a standardized test and commuting home through heavy South Florida traffic. How? God. While I dreamed for years of moving to the countryside, I felt that taking