Little Farm in the Foothills: A Boomer Couple's Search for the Slow Life

When a fifty-something couple flees the city for a slower, simpler, and more serene lifestyle, they discover that simplicity can get awfully complicated...and life becomes anything but serene. In this wise, yet lighthearted story for gardeners, nature-lovers, and dreamers of all ages, follow Susan and John’s midlife pursuit of the “new” Great American Dream—living closer to the land—as they transform an old clearcut into a little homestead.



At the time Susan and her husband John first conceived the notion of having a country place, they were settled into a comfortable and convenient home in the city, happily raising some vegetables and berries in the back yard. Being an experienced gardener, Susan figured that relocating would be no big deal—they’d expand the garden a little, have a bit more peace and quiet. So they bought 10 acres in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and prepared to pretty much transfer that comfortable town life to the new property.



But this doable-sounding plan becomes an adventure that is more life-changing than Susan could have ever imagined.



Their 10 acres of brushy woods was surrounded by a deserted 70 acre clearcut, with their closest neighbors 3/4 of a mile away by road--nothing like their city life with neighbors so close you could smell what they were cooking for dinner. Susan had pictured a cedar log cabin, a big old-fashioned barn, and a pretty pasture...but with their tight budget, she had to settle for a modest manufactured home and a dark red pole building--a barn and animals could come later.



Besides all this dream-downsizing, there was so much to this new life that Susan, a self-confessed "cupcake," had never faced before—like the back-breaking labor of breaking ground by hand and wildlife predation of their first crops. Despite their daily challenges and many roadblocks along the way, they must also cope with unexpected adversity like isolation, infrastructure failures, and extreme weather.



Little Farm in the Foothills is not a memoir about farming…it’s a warmhearted story of making a dream come true. As Susan writes of their Foothills home, “it’s not a farm, it’s not even a farmette, but it’s the dream of a farm.”





Little Farm in the Foothills... A Washington State Library Summer Reads book selection.



“The Browne’s foray into slower living in Whatcom County is an enjoyable read. Their delightful, yet very real, experiences in making the big leap toward their dreams make for a humorous and charming book.” —Washington State Librarian Jan Walsh



“A delightful account.” The Bellingham Herald.





See www.littlefarminthefoothills.blogspot.com for chicken tales, recipes and gardening tips from Berryridge Farm.