Who knew that when I wrote THIS post in January 2009 that I would still be writing this blog over six years later, that so many of you would have followed us on this amazing journey from living in the middle of a town in Cumbria, to living in wild wooly and rural Oxfordshire, Berkshire and now in our final destination North Wales.
Make yourself a coffee, and pull up your chair and pretend you are in the front seat of my car .... we are going on a journey.
Who knew that when we set out along this track ...
... taking a photo at each bend in the road.
With the mud splashing the car ...
... not knowing
... what was at the end.
Bend after bend ....
... until we came to a farmhouse, knocked on the door and Jill jumped in her car ...
... leaving her dog to guard the house ...
... and we continued along the track.
Past farm vehicles sat in the muddy grass ...
.... past barns and even more old and new farm machinery.
Past the tractor that stayed in exactly the same position as a landmark ...
... for all future visitors ...
... who traveled this well worn track to see us in the middle of nowhere.
Round more bends than you can imagine,
... through the fields where one day we would walk our dogs.
Along the almost final straight ....
... until there is a glimmer of what might be there ahead of you.
Until finally in the distance ....
... the house that was to start our adventure and be our home for the first three trial years of self sufficiency.
Of learning about country ways, of joining in with Farmers Markets. Raising chickens and pigs, growing veggies and fruit. Spending time with family and good, good friends made along the way all through our journey.
Who knew that my musings would one day be read by thousands of lovely folk all over the world, who joined in with us, despairing when things went wrong, buoying us up when times got hard, wet and miserable. Who encouraged us when we took in rescue chickens and learnt with them how to scratch for our food in the earth. When we bought and raised pigs, wallowing alongside them in more mud than we had ever seen before.
All along the way you were there watching our successes, our failures, our fun, joining in our laughter, loving our animals almost as much as we did ourselves. Sadly the original trio are no longer with us but they paved the way and opened our hearts to other furry characters that have overlapped, joined in and found their little bodies warmed by our open fires and their tummies fed by food grown by us, aided by them and watched by you.
Who knew that one thousand seven hundred posts would go by and still we would be here ... it's been a journey, as long a journey as that first drive through fields seemed at the time, exciting and never quite knowing the direction things would take, being one step ahead of ourselves and at times one step behind where we should have been. Thank you for sharing it with us ..... we are still on the path of learning that is this rural country life and enjoying almost every minute of it.
I hope you will continue with us as we carry on living ..... Our New Life in the Country
(The drive you just accompanied me on was just over two miles long ... and our route to the village and civilization for three years, we only got snowed in a couple of times amazingly.)
Sue xx