From This Dirt Forward

I am Annie, the passionate, idealistic, eco-advocating half of the Stoffel farm and the self appointed head garden gossiper.  Doug is my loveable, farm-raised, dangerously experimental, chainsaw wielding new husband.  We survived our first growing season as husband and wife on three rural acres in northeastern Indiana… and the second promises to be just as entertaining.

I feel so fortunate to have married a fellow green-thumber, who enjoys the dirt and is equally excited to devote our weekends and modest income to transforming our nondescript three-bedroom ranch in the country into a homey hobby farm.  But here’s where things get interesting…

When I gear up for some serious weeding, I slather on the sunscreen and stretch my hamstrings in preparation for an afternoon of squatting in the sun.  My husband goes to the barn and mixes up a batch of  roundup in his 50 gallon boom sprayer and revs up the four-wheeler.  When I see a hornet’s nest, I make a mental note to avoid that location indefinitely.  My husband searches for explosives with a mischievous grin.  I believe in researching and planning.  My husband believes in doing and learning.   We could both stand to learn a bit from the other. 

En lieu of pre-martial counseling, we opted for the much more grueling and revealing task of pre-marital homesteading.  Our adventures in the dirt together were filled with gasps, giggles and bruises, but I’m sure we learned more about each other’s quirks and tendencies in the garden than anywhere else.    

Email us at:  fromthisdirt at gmail dot com.