I Had a Farm in Nooksack

Last night, we started watching "Out of Africa".  At the beginning, Meryl Streep says:

I had a farm in Africa.  She said it with such feeling, it embraced everything I felt and the tears began to fall.  She said it two more times, and I was a goner.

I had a farm in Nooksack.

Leaving here was the hardest thing I ever did.

When my husband inherited a half interest in this farm in 1996, it was a derelict former dairy farm.

We maintained it for two years, with occasional visits, but it sat vacant during that time.

 Then we discovered alpacas.  We bought our first alpacas in 1998 and proceeded to convert the dairy farm to an alpaca friendly environment.  I moved to the farm in 2001 with 21 alpacas while my husband continued to work in Seattle and visit on the weekends to do the remodeling and heavy work.  I was there mostly by myself for 7 years before he retired.

I converted the grounds to a showcase, and created a business and store.

 The farm became a destination for tourists, including busloads from Seattle, Bellingham, and Canada.

Then my husband died in 2010, right before Christmas and my life was changed.

Leaving the farm was hard enough, but leaving the community was the worst.  The life I had in Nooksack was idyllic in many ways.  I had so many friends, and my church was the best.

More than anything, though, I needed to be closer to my family.

I was gratified the other day in talking with my son about it all, and he told me how relieved he and his brother were that I moved.  They worried so much about me there, and it was so difficult for them to come for a visit.

There were many factors involved in my halving to leave.

But I have found new happiness in my life with my new husband and my new community.

And I am happy to be closer to my family.

Market Basket

The Market seems to monopolize my time these days.  Only two more Saturdays, then a break until April.  I'm looking forward to my "hiatus" to experiment with some more felting projects and catch up on my dying and spinning.

On Friday, I called the Market manager and asked her if I could be outside.  I feel that if people are cold, they are more inclined to buy something warm, right?  So, I had a beautiful location, with my tent set up right in front of the Pavilion.  Other vendors offered me heaters, or thought I was just plain nuts.  But I did really well, kept warm, and had a terrific time.

It amazes me that there are so many fresh vegetables still available, especially since we have had such cold weather.  In this picture is Hopewell Farms, who are right down the road from me.  Well, actually, just about all of the farmers are "just down the road" from me, in County terms.

That is something that took me awhile to get used to when I moved here.  If you don't live in Bellingham, you are "out in the County".  It's like the hinterlands, or the North Pole to the City Dwellers.

This is Rabbit Fields Farm.  I just love her display and her products, although if she was really Rabbit field, she would have nothing to show at the market!!  It's quite interesting to also note that most of the farmers are women!

This is our manager, Caprice.  I had to go through a strict inspection to be qualified as a farmer here at the market.  They inspected the farm in September, and I demonstrated all that I do with the fiber, and I have "qualified".  It seems everyone is more friendly and accepting of me now.  I know they had doubts that everything I was selling was actually from my alpacas, but I showed them.

Now, last, but certainly not least, since this is the master of the household, Leroy is modeling a cria coat that I had just repaired.  He thinks this is very nice and warm, and didn't want it removed.  Sorry, Leroy, Centennial still needs it.