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There’s something about the romanticized farming industry of the 1950’s and 1960’s that is very attractive and calming. Maybe it’s the simplicity. Maybe it’s the connection to the earth. Maybe it’s the sense of community. Whatever it is, it was something that my husband and I longed for. Something that fueled our drive to learn more about farming and homesteading. Something that is currently fueling our desire to “retire” early from our day jobs as an engineer and architect in order to spend more time on our small farm learning more and enjoying the satisfaction that can only come from a “hard day’s work”.
My name is Donette Koelzer. This is the story of the adventure that my husband and I began before we were married. An adventure that I hope will continue for a very long time. It is a story that I hope will show others that with hard work and discipline, you can accomplish so many great things.
It all started with conversations on our trips back and forth from college to our hometown. We would discuss someday living in our dream house out in the country with our children, a huge garden, a beloved family pet, and a few farm animals. When we graduated from college, we purchased a small house on just a little over one acre of land in Plattsmouth, NE. It was enough to satisfy our gardening and remodeling urges for the moment. We made several upgrades to the house, more out of a necessity to save money than a desire for it to be beautiful. We had enough land to grow an abundant garden that provided enough produce for us to preserve, and there was a small shed on the north side of the property that was large enough to house a few chickens. And so our journey began!
We were very blessed to have some wonderful neighbors who became more like family to us. I look back on our time spent in that house with great joy. And the thing I miss the most is them. Our impromptu backyard BBQ’s and games of ‘yard golf’ are things that I will always treasure!
We have upgraded to a 75 acre small farm. Acquiring the farm was a test of our faith and patience. We had driven by the property many times on our way to visit family in Kansas and we would comment how it looked like just the piece of property that we would want to own one day. When we noticed a ‘for sale’ sign go up, our excitement grew. We were still working toward paying off our house in Plattsmouth and our first daughter was just born. The timing didn’t seem appropriate, but we called anyway. The price was too much for our budget, so we had to pass and work to heal from the heartbreak of losing it.
We continued to drive past that piece of property for several more years and never noticed anything new happening. We were so excited when we saw a new ‘for sale’ sign go up!! Was this our chance? We called the number and found out the asking price. We couldn’t afford to purchase all 75 acres, but the owners were willing to divide the property up. We decided we could afford at least 25 acres. When we called the owners back, we found out that there were some family issues with selling the property and they weren’t going to be selling after all. We were told to keep in touch, though, as circumstances might change.
So, we did just that. We continued driving past this property and dreaming and we continued to call our contact every six months or so. After about 2 years of this, we found out that circumstances did change, and they were ready to sell the property. At this point, we had saved enough that we were able to purchase all 75 acres instead of just 25. It seemed God had this planned for us all along!
At this point, we had just had our second baby girl. We began cleaning up the property and exploring every inch in order to determine where to build a house. A couple years later, we were ready to begin.
First things first. We built a cedar jungle gym for the girls! This would give them a safe place to play while we worked on more cleaning and building. They loved their jungle gym, and continue to use it today.
We built a barn in 2009 and our dream house in 2011-2012. Yes, it took almost a full two years to build the house because we did quite a bit of the work ourselves. Remember the satisfaction of a “hard day’s work”? And sweet satisfaction it was!!
We have started a Christmas Tree farm and dabble in all kinds of things related to nature. Everything from gardening, beekeeping, and preserving to nature walks and photography. We hope you will enjoy reading about our adventures while learning some new skills!