The farmer and I have a great appreciation for a good farm.  What makes a good farm?  That can mean a lot of things, but to me a farm that catches my eye has a farmhouse with historical architecture, wood barn (limestone is even better but those are very rare),  large oak trees or maples, and for bonus points, a root cellar.  I believe the farmers idea of a good farm is one with lots of dairy cows and modern milking parlors.  We are so on opposite ends of the ideal farm spectrum.

Nancy's farmhouse in 1890.

A centennial farm, is a farm that has been owned by the same family for over 100 years.   The farmer and I have a few family friends who run centennial farms.   The centennial farm I would like to feature belongs to my good friend and farm wife mentor, Nancy.  Her farm has been in her family for 127 years.  The other really neat fun fact about this farm is that since 1890 there has only been girls born to the family and the girls are the ones who have kept it and passed it down the lines.  Of course, their farmers helped a little.

In 1885, Nancy’s great grandma Sarah Jane bought the farm for $1.00 as a wedding gift.  In 1890 Nancy’s grandma was born and this started the girl tradition.  Nancy’s mom was an only child.  She had 4 daughters, Nancy was one of them.  Nancy has two

Nancy's farmhouse today

daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, Sarah has two daughters and Elizabeth has one daughter.

The farm is as beautiful as ever.  Keeping up on your landscaping, gardening, mowing, and building maintenance is no easy task, but Nancy and her farmer plan to stay on the farm for many more years.  Together they grain farm and finish steers (buy small steers and feed them until full-grown and sell them).  Nancy’s farmer also reserves a section of field to plant  pumpkins and gives them away in the fall to anyone who wants to come and pick them.  I usually get my pumpkin growing tips from them.

100 yr. old Soft Maples.

As I said above, one thing that catches my eye about an old farm are the trees. There is no amount of money that you can spend to get a 100 yr. old tree on your property.  Unless it has been there for 100 years.  Nancy’s farm has many soft maples that line the driveway and are probably 50 ft tall.  They are just beautiful in the summer months.  Also, her apple trees are the old kind not the dwarf varieties that us new apple growers have.  They are the huge, 5 bushels of apples per tree type.  I love those trees.  I had a few on the farm that I grew up on.  It’s an heirloom apple tree.

When Nancy and I were sitting down having our coffee and talking about farm and garden stuff, I noticed her wedding ring and thought, I’ve seen that ring before.

We have the same ring

Eat your heart out ladies, it’s the farm wife wedding ring.  We all know who Kim Kardashian will be marrying next- her nearest farmer.  It’s a great ring and we both agreed it’s a matter of function not fashion.  This is a ring for someone who spends time in the kitchen and garden.    I know Nancy has had many years of digging in that soil and then moving into the kitchen to get dinner ready for the family.  I hope that I’m blessed with as  many  years of being that kind of farm wife.

The Farm Wife