When Gardeners garden...

This is my paternal great grandparents working in their garden outside their home in Utah. Circa 1930

When I was eleven years old I announced to my parents that I wanted to be a shepherd when I grew up. They assumed I was just trying to make them laugh, but I was completely sincere. I had thought about how I wanted to spend my time as an adult and the life of a shepherd seemed fitting. I can see now what I was reaching for - a quiet simple life, my days spent out of doors, with animals and mother nature. Though I don't want to be a shepherd anymore, I still yearn for the same things I did as a child.

My mind is always going. There are all sorts of names for my type but I prefer to call myself a dreamer. Sometimes though, my brain can get fuddled up with noise - all of the things I heard/read/saw that day from websites, the news, phone calls, music from the car radio, my kids running through the house screaming, or the dog barking. The only thing that seems to help is going outside and doing something with my hands. When I'm outside it feels like all of that confusion and stress just slips off of me and is replaced with a quiet strength. I know that sounds silly but I mean it!

I see the same in my kids. After too much television or video games - they are like wide-eyed zombies ready to attack. I've found if we take a step outside and pull some weeds from the tomatoes, or gather some basil for making fresh pesto, or just watch the chickens scratch around for bugs, that they return to their former selves. They're curious and thoughtful - they're happy (and a little dirty).

I recently came across a quote from Ken Druse, a gardening guru, writer, and photographer, that said:

When gardeners garden, it is not just plants that grow,
but the gardeners themselves.

He succinctly puts into words what I find to be true in my own life. I have realized that to live an abundant life I need more time in that element and away from computers, television, and radios. More than ever before, the world we are surrounded by is constantly bombarding us with both visual and auditory noise. It gets harder and harder to have even shorts amounts of time away from technology. I finally got a cell phone a few months ago and I have a hard time even blow-drying my hair without it in my gaze. I easily become a media junkie who needs a garden to save me on a day to day basis!

So, that is why I am so excited, or should I say obsessed, with this new blog. These activities that have been lost in the last two generations or less are essential to living full & peaceful lives! I really do hope that it will serve as a reminder and a help to my family and yours in our quest for better lives. And if not, at least in our quest for some darn tasty eggs and homemade pesto!

~Megan

Welcome to Backyard Farming!

Growing up I always wanted to live on a farm. I wanted to spend time outdoors - able to hear the wind blowing through the trees and fields - to spend time with animals - to work with my own hands. That desire continued into my college years and as I started my own family. Together my husband and I dreamed of moving out to a piece of land after we finished school to live more simply but life took us in a different direction. We applied for jobs - looked at different communities and homes and found ourselves in the middle of a large suburb of an even larger city. We longed for the lifestyle we had dreamed of, but we also enjoyed the benefits of living in a place so close to friends, schools, churches, shopping, and work. We were torn between living in two seemingly opposite worlds.

After a few years we realized that it was possible to enjoy many of the activities of rural living in our suburban home. We planted a highly productive herb and vegetable garden and enjoyed our harvest for many seasons. Still though, we wanted more, we wanted animals! We visited local feed stores and farms and investigated what, if any, farm animals could live happily in our backyard. Around this time some friends of ours started their own backyard flock of chickens. After some encouragement we went to the local feed store and came home with four baby chicks. For the first six weeks they lived in a box in our pantry while we designed and built a simple chicken coop in our backyard. We were hooked and our quest for a backyard farm had begun! Little by little we are adding small activities to give both simplicity and joy to our daily lives.

Backyard farming is the idea that we can bring a little piece of a simple country life to the city or suburb where we live. Whether you live on 1/16 of an acre or 20 acres there are some simple and healthy activities that can be incorporated into daily life that are good not only for your own family - but for the planet. This site is dedicated to those things. We hope not only to give you a glimpse into the things that bring us joy - but also to provide some practical instruction. Whether you're interested in adding a small herb garden to your patio, having your own compost pile, or obtaining a flock of backyard chickens - this is the place for you!

-Megan Knorpp