Too much time

Okay, I know it's my second post today--I do have too much time on my hands. It's sleeting and Rob is visiting his grandmother, so I'm stuck at home with the kids. Plus it's Sunday, and the places I'm interested in visiting are closed on Sunday...and I just went to the grocery store yesterday, so I don't need to go to these places just yet...

because "these places" are farms! That sell grass-fed beef and chickens that actually lived like God intended chickens to live--not stuffed six to a crate to lay eggs.

Let me backtrack. I just finished reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollen. Boy, if ever there were a book that made you want to live off the grid, this is it. Now, I live in a development, and thanks to the previous owners, I don't even have a back yard to speak of (although I have a lovely koi pond and a huge patio). I did take a strip of land behind the garage and grow tomatoes and peppers on it last summer, and that's about all the garden space I'm going to have for a while.

My husband grew up on a farm of sorts--as much of a farm as one can have in suburban New Jersey. They had laying hens, goats, pigs, even a cow or two. I think Rob is somewhat amused that I'm moving in this direction. It wasn't that long ago that I was saying I had no interest whatsoever in the renaissance of the Evans family farm. That baton has been passed to my sister-in-law Cori. And she actually has the property to do it.

It's cold and sleety today, so I've been on the internet way too much, but I've found a farmhouse on 1.5 acres around the corner from here! The house has been renovated in the important places (kitchen and bathrooms), and an acre and a half should be enough for a decent size garden and some laying hens. And did you know that you could just buy some laying hens for like $2 each?! Think Rob would go for it? Hmmmm? Just put this palace up for sale (in this soft cushy market!) and buy an acre and a half. Ha! We haven't used our lawn mower in two years. I realize my daydreaming about hormone and antibiotic free eggs is getting out of hand. I guess this is just aspirational for now. Although it would be nice to have some semblance of a yard so the kids could go outside and play--or pick vegetables for dinner.

Since I realize my farmstead dream (for this week anyway) is unlikely to happen, I've been looking online for places where I can buy grass-fed beef and chicken and eggs. I've found a couple of places that are about 15 miles away. Better to start small than not to start at all.