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It only took me 3 day to get up the nerve to comment.

I have spent almost 5 years recovering from an emotionally abusive marriage and blaming myself for letting it happen. It's been 9 years now since my husband of 40 years died. At first, as I was told, I thought I couldn't survive, but I did. A huge financial burden threatened to take the farm that I love, but I figured it out and in the last 9 years I have payed off 'a dead mans tool shop to another dead man' and payed down a large mortgage on the farm with help of a banks loan department guiding me, who can actually say that, to where I will have the mortgage also payed-off this year. My son did move in to help and eventually, will take over the farmstead that he has thrown his heart and soul into going from working on his PhD in Evolution, Ecology, and Environmental Biology to being a full time farmer. I have written for the Edwardsburg Voice one article a month for 17 years, really no one knows where Edwardsburg MI is. I will be 69 years old next month, and am finally finding that woman that used to be so sure of herself, adventurous and positive that I can do anything and fix anything that is thrown at me. My farm market is a regenerative farm that helps to feed my community. I'm a board member of the Cass County Conservation District and an advisor on the FSA board, they told me I was a minority farmer. I never thought of myself that way.

I'm sorry this is so long, but I love your posts and have followed you for awhile. We too are working on saving our environment and are invested in it. We have an awful lot in common I think and now will look for the 'Sparkle'. Thank you

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment, Karen! So wonderful to connect with other lady-farmers and homesteaders here. It's inspiring to me to know there are pioneer-women such as yourself out there paving the way for women like me. Thank you for keeping your farm alive. And thank you for following my story!!❤️🙏

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Yes! Do things for you, love yourself! Sparkle! How nice to hear your voice. On a side note, my husband was a pig farmer when I met him. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the long haul together but I did love those pigs!

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They did have their moments, I admit! I think if I hadn't lost so much money on them I wouldn't be so opposed lol.

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