the farm adventure begins

so, it occurs to me that i haven't really explained where the hell i am, or what on earth i'm doing exactly. let me fill you in! for the next three months, i am care-taking an incredible farm owned by some dear friends of mine. a few years ago, these dear friends realized that running a farm in winter in the Catskills is HARD WORK and, though there are aspects that are completely amazing, they might rather enjoy packing up a few ponies and wintering in Florida. they asked me two years ago if i would be interested in farm-sitting for the winter, but at that time, it wasn't an option for me. this past summer though, when the idea was again presented, i slowly began to realize that this could be the ideal situation to catapult me into my new life upstate.





well, here i am! i've given up all of my jobs and my apartment in the city, and the adventure begins. i am caring for 5 horses, 12 guinea hens, and 2 cats here on the farm. snow management is now a major part of life, not to mention fence repair and water-pipe-freezing prevention. i rise by 7:30 to feed, water, clean stalls and check that everything is in working order...




... then it's back into the house to get the fire going and make breakfast. above you see my first fried eggs cooked on the woodstove! gertie spends most of her time curled up right in front of it, as it's our primary heat source as well as my preferred cooking appliance. i love that i can keep the tea kettle going all day, without using any extra energy.