Welcome to Boots n' Roots Farm

Welcome!

Boots n' Roots Farm is currently a small hobby farm in La Center, WA.
In this post I'll tell you a little about how we got the farm and what my plans are for this blog.


In the fall of 2009, after years of searching, my parents found their dream home and property. 20 acres of mostly flat pasture land and scattered trees, 3 houses, a shop, a pole barn and a small orchard. We all celebrated when we found it, this place felt like home.

It was a bank owned property and had been vacant for over a year. Everything was dust covered and overgrown. It needed more than a little TLC.
2 of the houses were not livable. The 1st was the shell of the original 1 bedroom house built in the 30's, it's floor slowly rotting away in places and several of the windows were broken, but the basic structure and roof were in good condition. We named it the doll house.

The 2nd house, was built in the 70's,  and had been stripped of it's plumbing and electrical in some places, and had holes punched in the walls. It was extremely dirty and damaged. I bought 1 package of cobwebs from the Halloween store and used it to block people from going in the kitchen, it was all the decoration needed for the Halloween party I had a week after we moved in. There's nothing like watching Horror movies in the upstairs of a run down house on Halloween. We named this house, simply, the 'little house'.

 The 3rd and only livable house was built in the early 2000's and was a remodel from an old barn, it too needed a little work, mostly finishing touches though. It is known as the Big house.  I know, we are super creative with naming the houses, right?

I only stayed till the spring of 2010, moving into an apartment with my boyfriend. The little house needed too much work before we could move into it like we had originally planned. Life has a way of postponing things doesn't it?

A fall sunrise from the back deck of the little house.

While in my apartment I dreamed about gardening and canning and raising more chickens - I didn't realize how much I missed the chickens and fresh eggs.  I only managed to keep a few shade loving plants on my back corner apartment, it had limited light, even in the summer and plants just couldn't thrive or survive in most cases. This was the time I found out I was gluten intolerant and had to change my diet. I looked more closely at food in general and started watching food documentaries.

In the Spring of 2013 the lower floor of the little house was finished enough for us to move into. It still needed work, but it had a working bathroom and kitchen, and the bedrooms were almost done. 

This little house is a start for us, while we save up to buy our own home, and it allows us to learn about home repair and property management. We are currently remodeling the upstairs and I am hoping it's finished by this fall. 

A winter Sunset before the snow storm.

 I've taken over the garden and have plans to expand it this fall, and start growing things year round in stead of just the summer garden.
I've also increased the number of poultry we have, to include not only laying chickens and ducks but also meat chickens and ducks. I know I won't be able to provide 100% of the food we consume, but I want to get to around 70% one day. I have big dreams of one day getting cattle, including a dairy cow or two, but that's probably years down the road.

After the snowstorm

The goal with this blog is to track my progress here on the farm and share my many projects and even the inevitable mistakes that will take place. Topics will vary, but I'll keep it interesting and in-depth, with lots of pictures -at least that's the plan.

Spring cleaning campfire...Yes we had marshmallows. 

This past year I've learned a lot and accomplished a great deal. I'm so excited to continue and share it here.

 Beginnings are fun aren't they?