The Storks are Nesting

I just turned 39 and I may have begun nesting. I suppose this typically happens before the child is born but maybe since having him I’ve become aware of what world I want him to be raised in.

That world is one that is away from the humans. It has goats and green things and high speed internet and Amazon Prime and Xbox Live for socializing. And a burn pit! I want to burn things. And I want a pond. I want to be able to build and play with remote control boats… and learn how to fish I guess.

Maybe it’s not about him after all… maybe it’s all about me and the nest I want to live in?

We have been toying with the idea of moving onto a farm for a few years now. We left an urban lifestyle in Baltimore in ’08 to a neighborhood on the cusp of urban but find that we are straddling two worlds. Down the road we have an abandoned urban eatery named “Chicken, Steak and Chocolate Cake” while raising chickens in our city back yard. Not far from the house you can buy Lake Trout wrapped in newspaper for lunch or you can make a sandwich from a tomato grown in our backyard garden. We have a fox and hawks that eye up our hens as well as city rats that steal their food. We are either moving back in or further out. After our trip to the Beekman 1802 farm this weekend our vote is for the later. Further out! We’re taking the chickens but leaving the rats.

I was told we were going to visit the farm of these two guys on TV. I didn’t know we were going to meet in person the objects of my wife’s desire. She rarely has ‘crushes’ or gets giddy or starstruck but I witnessed all of three of these this weekend. They all happened simultaneously and manifested themselves in a blush and a babble that I’ve never seen before. She was a schoolgirl in their presence. I’ll admit, I was a bit of a schoolboy too.

I was brought up to speed on the Beekman boys on our drive up to Sharon Springs, NY. I knew a little from her love-stuck ramblings in the past but was eager for a crash course. They are two city dwellers from Manhattan who stumbled upon and bought a farm outside of Albany, NY and relocated from the city. They met a local goat farmer who was looking for a new home for his herd and they went into the dairy business. Their story was then featured on the Planet Green Network, one of the Discovery Channel networks, as a TV show about their adventures in farming. Since then, the farm and business has grown and turned into an empire selling more more than goat milk.

When we met Josh and Brent outside of their store in Sharon Springs NY and I told them I’m envious of few people. They are on that list. Relocating to an idyllic farm after living in the city is the realization of the dream we’ve been nurturing since our son has come around. I love the idea of giving him the space to run and explore and learn from his surroundings while still traveling like we do. And did I mention the pond for remote control boats!

The idea of being able to stretch out, look at the stars and wait for the Amazon Prime deliveries to roll in on the UPS truck is a fantasy worth exploring more. Maybe our city nest will be relocating to a farm where it belongs.