week 2: beginnings and endings

this week on the little dream farm

This week was filled with the mix of beginnings and endings that life on the farm seems to bring.

The wonky tree, where we place our hens and offer them back to nature so the cycle may continue on and on and on.

It’s Saturday evening and we just walked in the door not half an hour ago from saying goodbye to one of our most favorite hens, Miss Opal.

Many of you will remember Opal was sick in the early fall with crop issues. It took us an entire month to get her better, but we learned a lot in that time and she held on long enough for us to be able to try a lot of different methods. She was one of our first saves and I was amazed every day how she’d show up to another day ready to fight, wanting to heal, and wanting to live more of her days here on the LDF. Her spirit was unlike any of our other hens and I admired her for it.

Sadly, this last week she started to fade and it seemed like none of the things that worked for her previously, or for the hens we’ve managed to save since, worked for sweet Opal this time around.

This morning we’d decided to bring her inside to our master bathroom so we could keep a closer eye on her. The power was out when we got back from the gym and the weather was horrible—whipping winds and torrential rains, so we thought having her close by would help.

I went into the bathroom mid-afternoon, well after the power had thankfully come back on.

Maybe she was waiting for me to be there, because just as I placed my hands over her silky soft feathers, she took her final breaths as her sweet little soul left her precious little earthly body.

I felt glad for her and wished her peace as she passed in my hands. Now she’ll fly free.

Earlier in the day we’d left the house to run some errands while the power was out. As we drove our quiet country roads Chris was having to swerve the car for all the downed trees and branches in the road. All around us in the woods were all the trees that had had their final moments in the storms of this past week.

I said to Chris something like: our farm…where we live…caring for animals the way we do…it’s so sobering, but I’m so grateful we’re so close to it all. It’s an unending front-of-mind reminder that we’re enjoying all of this on borrowed time.

Everything we love. Everything we have. Everything around us. Everything. All of it will someday be gone…as will we.

It’s not fear. It’s not worry. It’s not sadness. It just…is. There’s something peaceful about that. It’s hard to describe the way that’s changed me. The way it makes me want to linger in the pasture with the donkeys at night. Spend a little more time in the coop with the hens. Sit on the patio and stare at the view of this farm just a while longer. Soak up the nights we sit on the couch by the fire with mugs of tea and the cats peacefully sleeping around us.

Every bit of it.

So this evening we walked Opal up to the big wonky tree and thanked her for her great big life on our little farm. We thanked her for the laughs and the lessons and for the memories, and we wished her safe travels in her new journey. I grabbed onto Chris’ hand as we walked back across the farm to the house.

As for beginnings, this week we’d been wrapped up in some annual planning for the farm for the year ahead.

And while there’s lots of things we can’t account for, like our property and school taxes doubling (literally…doubled), like how all the LDF cows got pinkeye last year and had to be taken back to John’s farm very early in the grazing season, or that it would rain seemingly nonstop all summer long and turned the gardens into weed forests, or that it’d be one of the worst peony seasons and our plans for planting a large patch of peonies would be dashed…or any number of the things that came up last year…plan we will because it’s still far better to have plans change then to have no plan at all.

Because we’re simplifying things this year our planning was pretty simple(!), and since simple(!!) is the name of the game this year, here’s the simple(!!!) sketch of what the year will look like month to month here on the farm:

We used this method last year of this shared To Do list on our phones for all of our projects and it seemed to work really well for us! We always have access to it on the go and can add, remove, change, and check stuff off as we go.

The lists will change as we get into each season and each month but that’s what we’re anticipating for this year!

When I look at this list the thing I know we can’t account for is all the in between…the stuff life is made of, the twists and turns and ebbing and flowing.

That’s the part I’m most looking forward to.

I’d written this a while back and it feels quite relevant today:

I really just want to remind you, in as simple a way as I can possibly say this...that all of this is impermanent. Those you love. The ones you don’t. The things you’re worried about. What keeps you stuck. The dreams you’re chasing. The money you want to make. The things you think you should be doing or should have done by now. The love you seek. The love you lost. Every bit of it—impermanent. Does it mean, then, that nothing matters? Exactly the opposite. It means that everything matters. The difference is our awareness…that if it really all is just temporary, then maybe our time is best spent on the things—and with those—who truly make us feel alive.

xo, Sarah

We’ve got single-digit lows and daytime temps in the teens and twenties this coming week so I’m already thinking ahead to cozy sweaters and keeping warm! This week I wanted to share with you some of my absolute favorite sweaters...the ones I’ll be wearing this coming week!

1. Need a nice chunky waffle knit turtleneck? I’ve got you! I have it in navy and the color is gorgeous. Fits true to size (TTS).

2. You’re going to want this turtleneck in every color. I have it mauve and coffee. Also TTS.

3. If you missed this one when I shared it during Christmas, don't miss it now—it’s on sale! This black and white striped sweater is gorgeous—such an elevated look and a timeless piece for a great price. A closet keeper for sure. This sweater is oversized, so purchase your typical size for that perfect look.

4. This hunter green half zip collard sweater is one that’ll stay in my closet for at least the next decade. Also on sale—you’re welcome! TTS but size up one for a more relaxed fit.

5. And finally the ribbed detail on this sweater makes it top notch. Also on sale right now, and I have it in the colorway Solid Apricot. You’ll get lots of compliments on this one! Fits TTS.

*Note: Not all, but some of these links are affiliate links. That’s no matter to you, as it costs you nothing. However, if you make a purchase, we -may- receive a teeny weeny commission.

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