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About Us...

About us ... for once I'm at a loss. How do I describe us to you?

There are currently 3 of us left at home. Myself and 2 daughters aged 14 and 21. We live simply. There are very few what you consider extravagant items in our home or lives. The focus is more on NEED rather than want. Our biggest luxury is the internet and satellite tv.

On our few acres here in rural North Carolina, our livestock varies and from time to time you can find pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, quail, geese, turkeys, and we usually have a couple of goats. We try to supply most of our needs at home in the way of entertainment and food and don't mix well with the general population. We're not big on going places and doing things. We enjoy an occasional journey into the world but we find that the world and the people in it for the most part leave a lot to be desired.

I am the worst of the bunch! The kids have far more patience than I do and are better equipped to deal with this chaos that has become the way we live.

We are getting out of dogs... I am getting older, the kids are focusing on their education and trying to prepare themselves for the world tomorrow. We currently have 2 blue tick coon hounds and 3 beagles, which I am looking for lifetime homes for.

We hunt, fish, grow our own garden, milk our goats, have planted a small orchard, slaughter our own chickens, pigs and eat what we kill, and waste nothing if we can help it. Age and physical ability is limiting my ability to hunt and I've got to find a better outlet for my interests in that area.

Growing anything here in the foothills is far different from the fertile eastern Carolina soil where I grew up. We've had to learn farming all over again. We're 2 hours west of where we originally came from and the difference in the soil is incredible.

Money isn't plentiful, we chose our way of life over cash. Money can buy a lot of things, but it can't buy happiness, peace of mind, love or family.

We live pretty much in harmony and appreciation of each other and have a mutual admiration society going here. We balance work with play when it's convenient. Needless to say, work comes first.

To say life is good is an understatement. Life is great! You know it's gonna be a good day when you wake up and find you're still breathing! ROFLMAO!! There is so much pleasure to be found in each day if you can cut through the bullsh*t to get to it. :)

I work outside the farm to help support and sustain the farm and livestock and one of my daughters is able to maintain a full time job while going to college. (She has graduated since I originally wrote this statement and now I find myself having wrapped up my first year on a 'new' degree, qualifying me to do what I already do. )

God governs our home. We live by his rules, and within the laws of nature, trying never to take more than we give back.

We play inside societies rules for the most part, but live by our own standards. We do not let society dictate our beliefs. My children don't run the streets, or see or feel a need too. They don't wear baggie clothes, designer labels, or have to have the 'newest' fad.

We do have practices that set us apart from the world at large.

We don't do doctors or pharmaceutical medicines without good reason. To visit a medical doctor is a rarity in our home. We don't need them I think predominately because we live a healthier and more holistic lifestyle than other people and we tend to take care of ourselves well I think.

We have been blessed in that the worst thing going in our home is a bad cold occasionally.

We do seek medical treatment when required, or when something is outside the realm of my abilities to treat with herbs and common sense. We live a healthy enough life style to not need much in the way of doctoring, holistically or otherwise.

The animals are treated holistically and we lean towards preventative treatments rather than waiting for illness to come. Animals are wormed, fed well balanced and nutritious diets, kept warm and dry and cared for as if they were children.

As far as dentistry goes, we've been fortunate with the children's teeth. They brush and floss regularly and we do not allow sweets and have taught the children to care for their mouths. Neither of the 2 youngest of my children has ever had a cavity.

By the way people. Aging isn't a disease. You don't go to the doctor to cure getting older. Arthritis, back problems, wrinkles, gaining weight, slowing down, are all parts of aging..... So is reduced eye sight and hearing problems. Getting set in your old ways is too. LOL.

We don't do public education at lower levels. The girls did not go to public schools for their high school diploma. I wanted a quality of education for the girls that can not be provided thru public school anymore. Lack of text books, the changes in society, the changes in public behavior and the need for schools to enforce conformity all contribute to this decision. I have found that a public education promotes a lot of things that we do not approve of...... like disrespect for others, a lowering of self esteem and it is a breeding ground for a lack of moral fiber.

I also feel that raising children is a job for parents not teachers or day care providers and the political system. It is our duty as parents to provide our children with a foundation of beliefs and values that will sustain them for a lifetime.

My children have been taught the value of a job well done, the rewards of honesty and pride, and to know the value of the natural resources that surround us.

We are each a contributing member of what makes life so wonderful here. We all have jobs around the farm based on what we do best

We all work hard at life....... in hopes that this will all pay off and will bring about a better, happier, healthier life for us and those who's lives we touch.

Our biggest goal is to pay off the farm, and to allow me to retire. I injured my back a few years ago when my mother took ill and in the recent years it's taken to where it is harder and harder for me to get around. The girls tend to most of the farm chores and we occasionally can get a little help in to assist with the heavier jobs. Many things around the homestead are taking me longer :) and no longer get down as promptly as I would like. I'm having to learn to be patient with my aging body!

Pay off is still a whopping $67k away, and I am grateful that this is the only thing I ever financed in my life. The sheer weight of the debt keeps me awake at night trying to figure out how to a better living without compromising my values and still maintaining all my responsibilities to the girls, farm and animals.

The job I have is much like yours. Subject to not be there at any moment, and the sales from the farm and the books are small, in keeping with the fact the economy is in the sh*tter.

The job is simply that, a job. I go there to get a paycheck, and I return home each night grateful that the day is over so I can go home. There is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

I really appreciate you stopping by the site.

The Flat River Farms Blog
Daylily Gardens, Vegetable  & Herb Gardens
Blue Tick Coonhounds and Beagles

Jerky Masters Guidebook | Muffins from a Country Kitchen
Best Little Bread Book

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