We sell our produce, homemade goods, meat, & eggs as available! Both my husband Danny and I (Sandy) had lived in or very near large cities all our lives, but we're also hardcore nature lovers! So along with our young son we spent as much time as we could camping and enjoying the great outdoors. A few years ago we also had several fun opportunities to farm sit for friends. We began to notice that t
he longer we stayed at their farm, the more calm, regulated, and engaged our son Will became. It was clear that the chaotic, noisy Metro Atlanta life was affecting Will in ways we'd never even considered. Meanwhile, I had always dreamed of living on a farm. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if "Why can't WE live on a farm?" was the first sentence I ever spoke! Every single thing about homesteading was right down my ally. (Well....except harvesting your own meat. Still not quite ready for that one.) Unfortunately, up until then Danny had remained firm on his desire to stay in the Atlanta area and simply escape into nature whenever possible. BUT, when he began to witness how transformative farm life was for Will, even Danny started imagining a permanent move. (Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!) Last year, we both agreed that the time was right, and we took a major leap of faith. We sold our home in GA and ended up finding our own little piece of paradise down here in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. (It's just 90 minutes from downtown Atlanta, when traffic's good.) We have 28.3 acres with a perfect balance of untouched woods and aged pastureland, not to mention a 2 acre pond stocked with fish. Every single day we encounter mother nature at her best and constantly pinch ourselves to make sure it's really real! We chose the name Will's Eden because it honors the reason we came here in the first place and reflects exactly how all three of us feel about this farm. This is our first year here, and we're still very much in the "building" stages of farm life. We believe that anything we do should be as close to nature's way as possible; so we plant using organic, sustainable, nature-friendly practices; and we make sure our poultry are free to employ their natural foraging abilities outside. Our current flock of 160 chickens (half of whom are absolutely adorable little Bantam--or miniature---birds) has a safe and roomy coop as well as tons of grassy space all day long. Our flock of 26 ducks has their own safe, cozy coop up beside our largest planting area, along with grassy pasture space and a sizable pond for swimming. In addition to the plants and bugs they forage for on their own, our chickens and ducks have only ever been fed non-GMO feed, fruits and veggies, and wholesome tidbits from our kitchen. Oh! I almost forgot! In addition to the chickens and ducks, we also have two peacocks. Will has always been obsessed with peacocks, and to help with the tremendous stress of this major move, we promised he could finally have peacocks of his own. For safety reasons they have a huge flight pen, rather than roaming free; but they don't seem to mind. Along with our eggs, we're selling seedless jams and jellies made with the wild fruits and flowers we find throughout the property. We make them with organic sugar and use as little of that sugar as we possibly can to allow the true flavors to really shine! (There's nothing worse than a jam or jelly that looks gorgeous but tastes like little more than sugar syrup!) I also make and sell my own lip balms and lotions; and as soon as I get the chance, I'll start making artisanal soaps and other products to sell! As we continue to clear and plant new garden plots, we'll have more and more naturally grown produce to sell. I'm especially excited about the tea garden we'll be planting come spring, so I can offer my own unique blends of tea for sale! We welcome anyone who wants to visit and see for themselves that the feathered ladies who produce our eggs are truly happy and healthy, and that our gardens are growing without the use of any chemicals. You can play with our three kittens and two dogs, feed our various birds and help collect eggs, hike the property and offer treats to the neighbors' livestock (donkeys, cows, and a horse), find a quiet spot in the woods to "forest bathe", and try your luck fishing in the pond! But raising, growing, and making things is only half of our vision for Will's Eden. One day we hope to create a place of fun and respite for kids with autism as well as their families. At this point we honestly have no idea exactly how it'll work or what it'll look like. (If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them!) We just want to give individuals with autism a chance to come here, far away from the overstimulating city environment, and just be completely free to be themselves. It'd also be really great if that involved hanging out with other Autistic kids, at the same time! Another thing we'd love to do is host gatherings of families, so the parents can relax and enjoy some time with other adults without having to worry about the things parents like us usually have to prepare for. Like, what if my kid has a meltdown complete with ear-piercing shrieks and flying fists? What if he suddenly becomes determined to go lie down in the Master bed (under the covers, of course), and I don't really know these people well enough to just LET him? Or, worse, what if he suddenly appears from the the bathroom wearing neither pants nor underwear because he had an accident and he CANNOT put back on "pe**ee clothes"?! We want to be a place where none of that stuff matters---where parents don't have to spend hours pre-planning how to avoid socially awkward situations. (And when something inevitably goes wrong ANYWAY, they won't have to agonize over how to deal with it!!!) Because....everyone here will "get it". So what might be a seriously awful situation elsewhere will be just another normal day, here! That sort of thing isn't easy to come by for families like ours.
