Did you ever wonder what farm life was like? Did you ever think you wanted to be a farmer? Well let me tell you the struggle is real.
I live of the family farm. It was purchased by my great grandfather in the 1930’s and he raised his four children (including my grandma) here. I was raised here, and now my girls are being raised here too. I am really grateful for this opportunity, but let me tell you something, I think every last one of my forebearers was a serious packrat. This place is just filled to the brim with old newspapers, journals, and junk that my ancestors just couldn’t part with. Little by little we are weeding through the remnants of a bygone era in an attempt to salvage those items that are worth holding on to and disposing of the rest without upsetting my dad or uncles.
When I am not sorting through a centuries worth of stuff, chances are I am chasing some escaped bovine who thinks she needs to not be in the fence, but trotting up the middle of the road. Something that I am sure infuriates the neighbors, but nowhere near as much as it does me. I mean I am the one that has to go out and chase her, regardless of the weather. The worst part of the whole thing is it is almost always the same cow. Tipper! Or as I like to call her, hamburger helper. She really is a sweet girl and I would never eat her, but some days I can’t help but threaten her with being the main course on my dinner plate when she decides to live out her fantasy of being the cow from Hey Diddle Diddle.
In addition to being a single mom, chief cow chaser, and junk sorter, I am a full time student (psychology) and am a bit of a artist/creator. I love to work in all mediums and am completely self-taught. So, while I am not really great at any of it, I take grate joy in the attempting. I also greatly enjoy taking pictures. Probably one of the best parts of living in the Catskills is the wildlife. Getting to see Bald Eagles soaring up the valley is an almost daily occurrence, but it never gets old. I am less fond of the coyotes, but they are still fun to try and get pictures of. So long as they leave my livestock alone.
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, there is always a spectacular beauty about this valley I call home. In the winter it looks like the scene from a snow coated fairy tale. Spring has its own kind of magic as all the trees start to bud in different shades of green. I always feel like I am in a cathedral with the sun pouring through the colorful stained glass. Summer is filled with daisies, touch me nots, bumble bees, butterflies, and splashing in the creek. And last but not least, my personal favorite, autumn in all its vibrant, majestic colors. I have a friend who has never visited New York, but every time I send him a picture he swears I have photoshopped it because “it always looks like a painting”. Perhaps that is why I love art so much, I grew up on a living breathing canvas.
So there is a little bit about me to help us get acquainted.
Shillyshally Shenanigans 