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twig & vine

follow along with our farm adventures on instagram @twigandvine

Lambing in progress!! Follow along in our stories!!

Twenty one years of having him as my Valentine. .
The best advice we ever received about marriage? It isn’t 50/50. It’s 100/100. I could never tell you how much he means to me. Or how many times he’s carried me. So, so many times. He’ll forever be my knight in shining armor. #twigandvinelovestory
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Photo @adriencraven
Styling @landfloral
Dress @frankieandmaude
Rentals @wandereventrentals
MUA: @lovebeautybellingham

A different version of snowy white for you to enjoy today. ❄️
Not that we haven’t been loving every minute of this beautiful powdery stuff. Though I think we may have actually ended up with a lot less than most of the #pnw. (We’re at maybe 6 inches counting last Sunday’s snow.) But no complaints here: there’s still been plenty enough for sledding and fort building. How about you: how much piled up in your neck of the woods? ❄️
#queenanneslace #flowerfarmer

To raise an animal, to know the investment and connection and hard work and care and joy that come with it: it’s a big reason why we bought this farm. We longed for our boys to get to grow up with this experience.
The value is absolutely worth every second of the trade off. Are we expanding the flower side of the farm as quickly as we planned? No. Getting the barn renovation finished on our original timeline? Nope. Building a house instead of living in the double wide we bought with the farm? Again, nope.
But we are still building and investing. Just in a different way. And it’s not just fences and pens and sheds and feeders . All of it is just a tiny expense to invest in something far greater: character. Speaking from experience, I’d have to say there there really is nothing like raising an animal to develop patience, persistence, kindness, care and pride. When you save up for your own animal, feed it before you eat your breakfast, nurse it when it’s sick, patiently teach it to walk on a leash or halter...well, there’s really nothing like it.
Last year, after Emmett had his sale raise money to buy Picket, he took the remaining earnings and put them back in his savings. He’s been slowly adding to it and just made his next big investment: two Gloucestershire Old Spot weaner pigs.
Reflective and quiet, Emmett often gets a little lost behind his brother’s shadow when it comes to 4h and the fairs. In years past, he’s always done what Eli’s done and shown chickens, though it was never really “his thing.” I guess that’s partly why I’m so excited for him; he gets his own, special 4h project. I know his steady quietness and diligence will serve him well.
Our flower seeds might not get started right on time (again), but that’s ok: we’re planting seeds that are going to pay far greater dividends down the road.
Photo by @ryleafoehlphotos

I’ve depended on “big and late” (rather than little and early) for far too long. I’m pretty good at last minute everything and I will admit to often being most creative in the time crunch. But it’s left me undervaluing the importance of progress little by little. We’ve spent the snow day plugging away at a project that is anything but “big and late.” There is no instant gratification in the process to truly build this farm into the place we want it to be..just little steps that get us to the next, bigger project. And so, I’m learning to embrace the process and remember, change (of any kind) is not an event. It doesn’t just happen. It’s little, by little, by little. #bringingbeautyin

If there ever was one excited little boy, it’s this guy right here! The count down to lambing is on. Mantra, Eli’s newest Romney ewe, should deliver any day now. Eli has the “jug” ready, (separate stall for lambing) and all of his lambing supplies prepared and organized. Every morning, he jumps out of bed to see if they might have arrived in the night.
And I have to confess: I’m just as excited! I’ve been sneaking out to check on her as much as possible. Not only has this been a long held dream of his (he’s been planning and saving for these lambs since he was four) but it’s also such a farm dream of ours too. And while there is a small part of me that’s terrified of complications, most of me is trusting in the incredible mama @ironwaterranch hand picked for Eli as well as Shane’s years of experience. (He raised his own flock of sheep 20 years ago and assures me that pulling babies and tube feeding a lamb is just like riding a bike: you never forget how.) So for now, all that’s left to do is to keep counting down and waiting patiently. (Or as patiently as possible.) She’s now reached her due date (which is the month of February: long story about calculating a closer date), her udder is most definitely swelling and she’s huge. Who wants to wager when these babies are going to arrive? (Shane says for sure on the coldest day of the year next week. 😳🤦🏼‍♀️🤣) What’s your guess?

Photo by @ryleafoehlphotos
#elissheep #familieswhofarm

Embrace. To cherish, welcome, encircle, hold, accept, adopt, include. It’s my word for the year. .
You know when you step into a place that’s so quiet that you feel it? And with that awareness comes the sudden realization that you hadn’t even realized how much noise you’d surrounded yourself with? This last month, I’ve been stepping into quiet with a new depth and frequency. It’s shocking that I didn’t even realize how much it was missing. This new space is giving me a chance to really listen. And listening, really listening, requires action and change. It’s been hard and messy and so, so good. And from it, I’m stepping into 2019 with a deep desire to learn to embrace. To learn to cherish and encircle, to welcome challenges and changes, to accept what I can not change. And while these will take a lifetime to fully learn, I’m looking forward to a year of intentional progress.
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If you choose a word for the year, what’s yours?
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Photo by @ryleafoehlphotos

It’s impossible to find enough words to explain what a privilege it is to walk through life beside this man.
Shane’s turning 38 on Sunday. We’ll have celebrated 20 birthdays together. Twenty more couldn’t ever be nearly enough.
Right now we’re on the road, sneaking away for a weekend, just the two of us. We’ve learned a few things over the years, especially that you’ve got to keep dating each other. And while our dates usually look like bouquet-making or wood-stacking after the kids are in bed, every once in a while, it’s good to remember what it’s like to set aside time just for each other.

It’s taken a lot of years and attention to get where we are now, but I feel like last year we figured out more about each other and marriage and life than we ever have. And one of the biggest lessons has been this: be fully present. Think about when you were actually dating....you give your full, undivided attention to each other. Out of respect, care, interest, attraction.
Every January, I sign off social media for a few weeks. It’s so easy for me to lose too much time and too much attention to it. I’ve been stepping back the last week, but I’m learning that totally disconnecting every now and again is exactly what I need. Here’s to walking into 2019 focused on the things I love the most. .
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Photo @adriencraven
Dress @frankieandmaude
Styling @landfloral
#twigandvinelovestory

Twig and Vine Farm

Skagit Valley WA ,

USA

twigandvine@gmail.com

Hours

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