City Girl/Country Girl

In the past I’ve considered myself more of a gritty country girl who was born in the city. I grew up in a Midwestern, middle-class suburb of Kansas City and hardly noticed the earth around me. I have memories of feeling dizzy from all the asphalt, concrete, and manicured lawns. I longed for tree climbing, woods, open prairies, mountains, and could spend all day outdoors. That hasn’t changed- if I had a choice, I’d spend as much time frolicking outside as my little flock of hens do. Despite that, lately I’ve begun to realize how much of an urban girl I really am.

The realization hits every time I visit a full-blown, traditional farm; the kind where they have major acreage and tons of animals. You know that dizzying feeling I got as a suburban kid around too much concrete, Chem-lawn, and asphalt? It’s kind of like that. That may be how some people feel when they learn I have five kids- overwhelmed. Anyway, I’m learning a great deal about myself in that regard. The idea of living on a lot of acreage is okay, and it could be quite beautiful and peaceful as long as you have natural terrain, minimal mowing, and you don’t farm acres and acres with large equipment. That’s a whole ballgame I’d never be interested in, but my hat goes off to small family farmers… it’s a rough, stressful, and challenging life. The idea of caring for endless animals overwhelms me. I have to keep things simple, do not use farm jargin (i.e. saying “heads” instead of animals, or figure hectares and acres), and to be completely honest I don’t like the level of clean-up required on traditional farms. I don’t mind my small chick run and coop because they’re manageable, at least to me. I clean them bi-weekly and it only takes me about 30 minutes. The smell is mild to non-existent and I prefer it that way. I love that my little 1/3 acre could grow enough food to feed at least five or six families, but we’ll have a very simple, easy and manageable small crop of organic goodies. I love that with a teeny weeny farmstead I can get creative with my chicken run and it really stands out.

Simplicity. That’s the word that keeps coming to me, and it’s because we just don’t have enough of it in our society. Micro farming is more my pace, and I mean microscopic, teeny-weeny farming. Enough to gain some self-reliance and have a great deal of fun in the process. Not something that tires me to the bone just thinking about it, but a way of life that nourishes myself and my entire family both physically and spiritually. And no, the city will never be taken out of me. As much as I love Mama Earth I have to admit that. I am not a “farm girl” and never will be. An outdoors-woman, explorer, hiker, and earth loving hippie maybe, but I don’t have the grit for what people traditionally think of as farming. That’s why I’m glad we call this an “urban farmstead” because the city factor is huge with us.

Someone mentioned we should live out in the country because of the way of life we enjoy- gardening and especially chicken keeping. What I say to that is no. People like us who desire all the urban amenities, including a community right outside their door, a quick walk to schools and shops, and a bike ride to just about anywhere shouldn’t ever feel shoved out to the isolated country just because they’d also like to become more self-reliant and spend more time outdoors. This is a whole other topic for another post, of course, but the whole city-country thing has gotten me taking a closer look at myself. I love it all– the amenities, the convenience of community AND the mini farming/gardening. I’ll never forget living in a brand new, suburban house about twelve years ago and when the neighbors saw that I gardened almost every day I was labeled “the crazy garden lady” by their whole family. Why is it considered crazy if you’re outside, puttering around all day? To me that’s such a tragic mindset. I’m an educated urban woman through and through who absolutely loves the earth, her smells, creatures, and sights. Labels are limiting. Simply put, I’m a city girl who strives to live more in harmony with the natural world. I want my cake, and to eat it , too. Well, I’d actually prefer pie.