Stepping into the unknown…
Although the dream of starting a lavender farm was planted, it would take us giving everything up, including our comfort zone. At the time, we lived in a home that we had just renovated, and that I LOVED. It was tidy, the perfect size, great layout, cozy and had the most magnificent view on the bend of a river….it was PERFECT! The drawback? It was on a postage stamp lot and we needed more room….much more! We stepped into the unknown, and sold our beloved river home during the pandemic and moved to an in-betweener until we found our forever home. Not sure which one is harder living in the unknown or knowing all that was to come.
Faith isn’t doesn’t always show up as logic…
Our hope, was to live in the in-betweener, then identify the property where we would start our farm. We looked for 9 months, bid on a few, only to have those doors closed by other offers that came in simultaneously. After diligent prayerful consideration, we felt that we were to sell our in-between home and trust that our send down roots property would present itself. That’s cool….but it was September, and Old Man Winter was right around the corner and it takes time to identify the property, close, move and all that could take 60 day at the least! So much uncertainty, we did it anyway.
Needle in a haystack…
Our home officially went pending and the heat was onto find our new place! We had moved 11 times and both of us were ready to send down roots. A place to plant fruit trees, watch them mature and actually enjoy a harvest. But more so, a place to plant our dream and our fields of lavender. Lavender is a member of the mint family and actually originates in the Mediterranean. It requires thrives in breezy full sun locations with well drained soil and actually LOVES rocky soil due to mineral content and ph. So finding the right place, here in super sandy Newaygo, County Michigan, was imperative to the success of our plants, farm and essential oil quality!
The one…but there’s a catch…
By the first of November we found our send down roots property. It had most everything we were looking for minus trees and rolling hills, which neither are a necessity for growing high quality lavender. And besides, we can always plant trees! The ground was perfect for growing lavender, with high mineral content rocky well draining soil, and abundant water nearby for irrigating fields. It had previously been a farm, but was a mess, unmaintained for over 30yrs….luckily we have vision and abilities to see it through. But there was a catch! There was nothing there but an old dusty hay barn filled to the brim with junk and disheveled well pump house. Everything had to be built from the ground up, but we also had to be completely moved from the house we sold in 30 days and it was already mid November. So we rolled our sleeves up, and over the course of 3 weeks we worked together to build a 14×20 cabin, complete with a woodstove, that would be our “construction headquarters” and little did we know, for the next 2yrs. We traded our neat, comfortable, tidy lifestyle for what would be some of the most uncomfortable, challenging, no end in sight times of our lives. That story is for another day and another cup of coffee.