Winter..or..red mud season in Tennessee!

Not much happening in the Holler during red mud season, except for lots of new goat and pig babies.  They are SO cute!  As soon as I figure out why blogger can't read my photos right now, I'll post some CUTE baby pics!

Update from the Farm

Pics from the deck this morning.  Pretty sunrise! 

Out and about this week.  Picked apples at a nearby farm.  Picked grapes last night at a nearby farm (evening),  Bought huge, beautiful mums for $4. a pot at the same farm.  Meeting more farmers in the area.  Having fun.  Lots of improvements here, still ongoing.  Will update the house status and improvements soon.

Whew!  Where has the time gone?  We moved up here..to the Cumberland Gap area of Tn. late last Summer.  Moved into our completed Mother In Law suite just the week before Christmas..and here we reside, now!   Still can't believe the breathtaking views out every window.  Cannot believe the goats, pigs, horses, and chickens that have multiplied on the property in the last year. 

Didn't realize how much strength and energy I had lost during our 5 yrs in the condo in Fl.  Mostly because of my knees.  Am now recouperating from full knee replacement surgery and expect to have the other one done by Fall. 

My Bedroom....

My front "porch".....

Hubby's office..he works from home, online..

New foal this Jan..

Where I spent my birthday, with my daughter..thank you Hubby!

 

Have wanted to post some updated photos here since we moved into the house.  So, we'll try this again.  January's posts seem to have been relegated to the ether..or some other internet dimension!  

WE'RE HERE!!!!

 

A Month ago..above..

Now..

Main deck (back) overlooks the ridge..

On the front porch..

This side faces the country road..love the chalet

style balcony! 

The herd..dwarf nigerians..

Even, while building the house, they got a garden in

and it was ready when I got here!

Morning.

Goat barn..

These guys are so much fun to watch!

The bee whisperer.

So..we are here!  Finally!  It was overwhelming trying to get ready..and to move.  But we're here now..in the garage apt.  The house is moving right along. Bebe (my little pup) loves it here and has been happily reunited with her friend, my daughter's dog, Lottie.  They love playing in the meadows and chasing chickens! NO!  Don't chase the chickens! 

Very scary..being 65..leaving home, friends, car, "stuff" behind.  I was a little scared, a little cranky, a little worried and having buyers remorse (did we really just do this!!!?).  But things are comfortable now (Larry has jumped through hoops to make us comfortable..Darian too!) and we are very happy with our choice.  We'll be 100% happy with it when we're in the house.

A week after we arrived, the great grands arrived..many adventures and very cute pictures of them..maybe next entry.  So glad I started this blog, even though I haven't been very consistent with it.  When Facebook goes away..I'll still have this. 

Some thoughts on this journey today..from my Facebook page:

                                                                         

So..my sweet Ralph just walked in, sat down and said (after reading what I wrote here yesterday, about moving to Tn. and the farm) "I didn't realize that getting back to a farm was a dream of yours. I'm so glad we have the opportunity to do this." I said it was a dream before that came to an end when my first marriage ended. It was a retirement dream later when I was on my own as a single mom, and it was still a retirement dream when Darian and Larry announced their intentions and we decided to help them to financially meet their goal to buy property in Tn. And now.....it's a dream come true. He said it makes him happy that we're going to share in this "dream" come true.

It IS a blessing! Although there are some personal downsides/stumbling blocks..and, for now, I have to sit here writing about it instead of participating..it is a very old dream come true. And my post was a thank you to my hubby..because this is/was never his dream but he's so looking forward to it too..for me!

Because it was mostly a dream I gave up on..becoming a daydream more or less. We loved our home on the West side of Jax. And I had tons of space for gardening..plus the luxury of an old pool..so that was our retirement..then we had to leave there and with physical debilitating issues we decided the condo was probably our best bet..and then the kids started looking for acreage..and that was fun..to go with them and look at properties. And then...THE 26 acres in Tn. and our financial investment to help them turned out to be an invitation to be part of the whole experience..and it's now a reality with the house partially built..a tight and cozy garage apt. done..and animal pastures and shelters built..wowee..I feel like...HANG ON! The ride of a lifetime!

It took accepting where we were at..then investing my own little retirement $ into the "kids" dream..with no strings. The "building a cabin" on their property morphing into helping build a nice house with a mother-in-law suite came several years later..and here we are..getting ready to move in the next 6 to 8 mos..dreams take more time and work than $..but pooling resources did make things happen faster. And this is really more personal info than I intended to share..think I'll copy part of it to the blog and delete here this afternoon..but thank you friends for applauding our good luck and hard work! We've been sharing this exciting part of our journey..but it all started 4 yrs ago..funny how the effort just seems to melt away when you begin to see the fruits of your labor...

Sept. 21, 2014

Just found this in a holding pattern and decided to go ahead and post with updated photos. 

 

Very pleasant here at Rolling Meadows Orchard and Farm.  See our FB page too!

The dry-in started..then the monsoons came!

The house!  This is as far as they got when the monsoon started.  But after tonight .. when the winter storm finishes moving through..there are at least 7 days of sun and dry weather..we should have the roof on!!! Yay! 

Raining on our "parade"!




The Pond!  After a week or more of rain the pond is full..it won't last, but it's fun to see it this way now!!!!  The house construction has come to a screeching halt but should start up again next week..after a short drying out!  It's so exciting!