Farewell, Alabama!

Today was a strange and sad day as we said good-bye/see you later to all of our friends on Spencer Farm and Alabama. This shouldn’t have been that difficult, however, when the time arrived, both Jason and I found ourselves at a loss for words. We worked hard 5 or more hours every week day (the kids worked a couple of hours each day themselves) and honestly enjoyed having something purposeful to do in these strange times. Our family bonded with the baby goats, Daisy the puppy (who was looking less like a puppy in the past couple of weeks), the chickens, the cats, Winnie (the dog) and we even grew fond of the skittish cows. Above all, we shared a stressful time with some straight-up wonderful people for two months. In all honesty, we could have easily seen ourselves staying for the summer…that’s how much we enjoyed being with the Spencers, Chris, and Augusta at Spencer Farm.

Before we left, we each made a list of 10+ things we’d miss about Spencer Farm, then combined it to a larger list. There were many commonalities among our lists, and it appears that highlights involved the people, the animals, and the food. I think it goes to show that the things we hold dear from this experience aren’t really things at all, but a culture of coming together to learn from each other, work, play, and appreciate good food. We printed the list for our new friends and will share it below. Some of it might not make sense, but I think it gives a good glimpse into what we will most remember. Maybe you can guess which one of us wrote certain items, knowing our personalities?! 🙂

1. 8 a.m. feeding times
2. Art with Augusta
3. Baby bunnies
4. Baby goats and their floppy ears

5. Being in lock-down mode with people we can call friends
6. Biking back to the bunkhouse by the stars (and flashlights)
7. Birthday cinnamon rolls
8. Canoeing the Cahaba together

9. Chains clanking against the cattle gates
10. Chip, Veigh Kaye, and Mac’s musical talents
11. Chip’s sense of humor
12. Chorizo, pork chops, and pork belly
13. Comradery and laughter during stressful times
14. Cutting and gathering fresh flowers
15. Daisy, Daisy, Daisy
16. Dinners in the garden
17. Driving the Ranger
18. Eating microgreens on everything!

19. Filming on the farm
20. Fishing in the pond

21. FRESH eggs
22. FRESH veggies
23. Friday night fish frys at the bunkhouse (with our fresh caught fish)
24. Game nights with Chris and Augusta in the bunkhouse
25. Goat milk
26. Having purposeful work
27. Leda’s garden

28. Laura and VK’s delicious cooking with farm fresh products
29. Laura’s studio and the wonderful smells that greet you as you enter
30. Learning survival skills with Chris
31. Midnite and her affections when you pet her
32. New learning experiences (milking goats, growing microgreens, soil sampling, horse care, soap-making, etc.)
33. Operating the hydrostatic tractor
34. Picking mulberries from the tractor lift
35. Potluck Tuesdays
36. Raccoon hat-making

37. Rosy, Posy, and Delphi (the adolescent chickens)
38. Searching for the elusive dewberries
39. Soap-making with Laura
40. Spraying honey locusts with Augusta (with a cup of Dalgona coffee)
41. The cacophony of the pea fowl, guinea fowl, and baby goats
42. The cows and their personalities
43. The purple martins singing
44. The smell of WD-40 in the morning
45. The view of the pond from the RV windows
46. Thursday night Pasta and Movie nights
47. Trapping runs with Chris
48. VK’s sourdough bread
49. Winnie walking us “home” after dinner
50. Y’all!!!

These strange times have been stressful and devastating on many accounts. We are certainly thankful for a safe place to shelter, truly hospitable people, and being able make more memories together. We didn’t say goodbye today, we said “Until we meet again, friends!”