Reflections from Briarhopper Ranch Four months in, and we’ve officially survived the seasonal transition from “the last breath of autumn” to “stark winter” to the “is it here or not?” arrival of spring. When we pulled up to our new homestead, a few trees were still clinging to their fall wardrobes; today, everything is accessorizing […]
Author: Sarah
Taking Leave of Our Senses (And Finding Our Cozy Place) in Appalachia
Reflections Most of our inner circle has been remarkably supportive as we trade our Rocky Mountain yuppie life for a life-stage August season on an Eastern Kentucky farm. I’d like to think we’ve even inspired a few friends, in ever how small a way, to reconsider their own trajectories. However, the fact remains: some people […]
The Completion Myth: Finding Peace in a Dream Under Construction
Reflections It’s hard to believe it’s been more than three months already since we moved to Kentucky. We have such exciting dreams for this farm, but the to-do list seems so overwhelming. We have projects great (full renovation of the farmhouse, revitalizing the pond, fixing the driveway, etc.) and small (setting up our grow light […]
The Small Town Challenge of Shopping Local
The Great Relocation: Expectations vs. Reality Before we swapped our five-acre Colorado exurb for a 50-acre Kentucky homestead, we made a pact: Go local or go home. We were eager to pour our resources back into our new community, envisioning ourselves as the cheerful patrons of the town’s small businesses. But as it turns out, […]
Less House, More Life
Reflections This fall, we made a bold trade: we swapped a large house on five acres for a small cottage on fifty. We love having the extra room to roam, but shrinking from 4,400 square feet down to 1,500 is a major adjustment. We went from a heated six-car garage setup to an open-air parking […]
Quiet Skies
Reflection I was outside the other day and realized something pretty profound: It has been 2 months since I last heard an airplane fly over my house. Our old homestead in Colorado didn’t have many airplanes overhead, but we did have a few United puddle hoppers from Denver to Colorado Springs plus a handful of […]
Revitalizing Our Old Homestead
Background Briarhopper Ranch has relocated to a ~49 acre property in Eastern Kentucky. We are exploring the land, the history of the people who lived here for generations, and simultaneously launching an overwhelming amount of work to revitalize the land and the structures to make this plot our own. There’s evidence that this land has […]
Engineering a More Perfect Move
Reflections Just days remain before Mike and I leave our Colorado home of 20 years (25 total in the Pikes Peak Region) for our farm in Kentucky. This entire moving process has been incredibly exhausting, but in retrospect, Mike and I did a few things right. • Debt Free: We entered this move with zero […]
Selling Our Home: Old Address, New Museum
Reflections Our house is officially live on the market. We’ve had the professional cleaners, the sales stagers, the photographer/videographer with the drone. Everything looks amazing, so crisp and neutral. And it feels like we can’t even live in our own home comfortably. The address is the same, but the home is no longer ours. Within […]
Forgetting to Breathe
Reflections I was on my way to a 7:00 AM dental cleaning, driving down what used to be a quite 2-lane road, when I realized something. My chest was tight. My head hurt. I was holding my breath! “Breathe!” I reminded myself as I drove down the road. “Just breathe. This will pass.” Our Colorado […]