Welcome to Seven Points Farm!

Making big changes is not something that comes easy to me. I could analyze my childhood for you, but as I came to peace with it in my late-twenties I won’t rehash the details. Suffice it to say, for as long as I can remember there has always had to be a MAJOR motivation for me to make big changes. You are currently reading about one of those times in the making. Although the changes I am preparing to make do have an element of need, most of it has to do with want instead, which is a much friendlier place to be coming from and greatly influenced my decision.

To make no changes allows me to stay the course… continue straight ahead at the job I am comfortable doing and am good at, in a nice company that does good things for this world. To make these changes however, means a complete unknown as this idea has only been a collection of various dreams up until this point. But there’s a problem. Actually there’s been a problem for quite some time. My soul is no longer satisfied and has not been satisfied for longer than I care to calculate. Now, the opportunity and vision to take this path may have only recently come about, but I have half-consciously been waiting and preparing for this moment for a very long time. I am a woman ready to make drastic changes in her life as living in the status quo is no longer relevant or possible.

Despite my gypsy lifestyle while in college, I always managed to grow things. At the least I had an apartment full of houseplants, but later when I was making a tad bit more money and able to afford renting a house (albeit as one of several people) I began having a vegetable garden in the backyard. What started as a small garden in pots that could be moved in case my home address needed to change, morphed over time into various incarnations of larger and larger vegetable gardens firmly in the ground. Moving to the hills of Northern California I thought all of my bookmarked pages on larger gardens, food preservation and farm animals would finally come to life. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

On my mother’s side of the family everyone is or was a gardener at the very least, with many being actual farmers and homesteaders of the traditional variety. My uncle to this day grows almonds and yams on his farm in central California. So it’s no wonder that I have a strong desire to return to those homesteading roots.

Unfortunately, my location in the foothills of Butte County no longer allowed me to have a garden large enough to my household supplied in food due to drought. This has been challenging to say the least, as it is a major part of who I am. Through this challenge however, comes the creation of a plan for my future. Seven Points Farm.

Seven Points Farm is the start of my homesteading lifestyle that will eventually be a location where others can come and learn with me. Even though it is somewhat terrifying for me to verge off this path of familiarity, the personal growth I have gained through life experiences has given me the courage to follow through and take a different path. I have come to the conclusion that I am ready to make the commitment to this life-goal of independence by defining my version of what a homestead is bringing that to life.

Homesteading is becoming a popular concept again as it appeals to those ready to shun the prepackaged consumerism that is the staple of modern grocery stores, whether for health reasons or ideals or both. With the internet now in play, it has become easier and easier for folks seeking a different way of life to do a search and begin collecting ideas on chicken coops and goat pens faster than it takes to create a new Pinterest account. I too would have started this way if it hadn’t been for my family.

As homesteads have been used to describe size lots from less than an acre, to up in the thousands of acres, the term can vary in meaning from an almost spiritual practice to an actual piece of property. The original concept of homesteading was about individuals scratching out a living and home for them and theirs, so I believe it is therefore up to the individual to define for themselves what “homestead” means to them. Even though I’m sure my definition will shift to some extent as time goes on, I believe my core values on homesteading will not change.

To me, homesteading means a lifestyle created on property that will allow me to sustain my household in a healthy way with work, food, community and joy. To me this means living in a way that is simple, mindful and thoughtful. To make foods and home products that are natural and organic. To create a home that contributes to a viable lifestyle connecting me with the earth and interconnecting me with communities. To me this means committing to a way of life that is incredibly challenging, but incredibly rewarding as well. What is a little more unique about my definition, is the incorporation of cannabis as an addition to my natural apothecary and health maintenance routine. If you are not familiar with this idea, you’ll be able to learn more about this plant and how it can be utilized for healing on this blog alongside other medicinal plants. Using cannabis medicinally will not always alter your head space and I am hoping to show people how beneficial it can be to our whole health.

Over the last few years I have committed to eating whole foods, replacing chemical cleaners and products with natural alternatives, composting plant materials and waste, and growing organically, so creating Seven Points Farm feels like natural growth. This is a lifestyle that has already begun for me in principle, even if I don’t yet have the property that will support it in its entirety.

The start of this blog is the start of making that dream come to life. Welcome.

2 thoughts on “Welcome to Seven Points Farm!”

  1. Thank you for your beautiful story. I’ve followed you for awhile used lots of your recipes and research Thank you thank you thank you. You make me want to be a better mother/wife/ mentor have a great life. carrie

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