I never wanted a farm.
A few years ago my sister and her family purchased some land in the country not too far from where we live. They bought a place bordered by a national forest. The property came complete with a cabin with no running water, disconnected power and well built, albeit major fixer upper They lovingly call their cabin in the woods "Moosedanger Shack" which came from childhood memories of my sister's husband. My husband and I said it would be awful to own a country place and HAVE to go every weekend to fix up and work and clear land etc. I asked my sister so many times why she loved it so much. She explained, the family was together doing a good physical work and they all learned new things every weekend. My sister learned how to cook outside on a wood fire. This is the same "I'll just have a balogna sandwich" sister. They all learned how to use chainsaws, a tractor, a log splitter, a portable hot shower, and various ways to use the bathroom when there was no bathroom. Now Moosedanger Shack has running water, electricity, a floor, a very nice bathroom, a wood burning fireplace, and even a dishwasher. On a recent visit, I asked my sister again why she loved it so much. She said that when she drives to the top of the mountain and enters the driveway, she has that "Ahhh" experience. She feels as though she is home.Just recently, my husband and youngest daughter found a farm less than 2 hours from where we live. My husband has always wanted land. His father had told him many times the only real estate deals he regretted were the ones he didn't make. The land is 55 acres with a house and a coach house. It has 2 farm ponds and trout stocked creek provides one property line. My husband and daughter ganged up on me. I kept saying, "It's not my dream". I didn't even go look at it before we purchased it because I was not interested in the least. The whole idea is that this will be a family get away place for now. Eventually, our daughter, her live in boyfriend and son will move to the farm. In the meantime, it will be for all of us to enjoy. Like I would really enjoy driving out to a farm to get hot and dirty.
We all went out for our first weekend and it was awesome. We all worked really hard clearing brush off the "art studio" which is a cinderblock outbuilding with a standing seam metal roof, a front porch, and 2 windows. It's dry as a bone in there. Even the king snake skin in the corner didn't bother me. We cleared a path along one of the ponds to the place we thought would make a great fire pit area. It was such a fun day. Then my sister called. She was at the Shack and said they would be dropping by at around 3 bringing food and beer and chairs. The Shack, it turns out, is 25 minutes over the ridge if you take the forest road. My sister and I hung out on the screen porch while the kids played and the others investigated the hinterland of the farm. When everyone returned, we went to fire pit area. I drove the car down loaded with all the chairs my sister brought. We found Richard, Donnie, his daughter, Lily and our grandson, Rowan in the pond. We stayed at the fire pit until after 11:00. It was a great day! The next weekend, I had the car packed and ready to go when Richard got home from work.
