Turning Ugly Into A Beautiful Garden Area

This past year has been quite the adventure!  We've spent the last year turning dirt and sticker bushes into spaces and places of beauty.


We've Michael has ripped out fences, torn up dirt, built barns, put up fences, moved dirt around, built raised beds, made little gates and a lot more to reclaim 9080 E. Cactus Rd (Scottsdale, AZ) back into the farm/ranch land it once was.

His newest spot of attention has been to redefine and redesign the center island area of the turn around on our farm. It's been ugly for the past thirteen years with what I'd say would have been hopeless for anything other than the pine tree and the big rocks.

Creativity flowed the day my husband stood staring at this ugly place {here}

Today Michael spent time on Ugly and he's slowly turning into a spot of sanctuary.  Stay tuned for part 3 pictures!

Quick Happenings Around the Farm

Midst the holiday preparations of tree trimmings . . .

cookie making. . .

and cake baking for to celebrate my husband (Michael became a year older this year and our dd made THIS amazing cake) . . . 

planning a trip to PDX for a few days, writing out milking schedules for Anita (our farm manager), pulling weeds, trimming goat hooves, making goat milk fudge for our Simple Celebration of Christmas here at the farm, planting new seeds, preparing and planting new starts of herbs, tomatoes and peppers to sell at our Tuesday market . . .

and regular home front care - Michael's building a green house (and by the way, I'm incredibly proud of him...he designed and built it himself!) . . .

and breeding goats - today . . .

. . .no, it's not a full life at all!  Ha! Ha!

No matter how full a day gets and no matter how many speed bumps we run into (that's a constant on farm life) or how many projects we're simultaneously working on (which is often farm life), we LOVe what we're doing and get to do what we loVE.

And, so . . . that's just a little update for today!  We hope you all have a wonderful and Merry Christmas!

What About The Simple Farm

The Simple Farm is the local farm in the neighborhood off Cactus Rd and the 101. We're located at 9080 E. Cactus Rd in Scottsdale.

Last fall, Michael and I (and our family) had an opportunity to move back into this wonderful Spanish style ranch home and lease the (almost 3 acres) land to reclaim it and return it to its original state - farming.

We love what we're doing and get to do what we love - digging in dirt, looking at how amazing seeds are, gathering eggs from our chickens that don't do drugs, milk our three Nubian dairy goats, and eat the fruit of our labor.  It's simply amazing.

Because of the huge interest in the "farm in the neighborhood" we're in the process of establishing "visiting" hours to the farm. If you're interested in coming and seeing what we're up to - please email us at thesimplefarm@gmail.com.  We can't wait to meet you!