There are plenty of “Look, I started a farm!” websites out there. This one is kind of like those. It has a blog, and information on farm products, and pictures of cute animals.

But this isn’t about a late twenty-something white-bread couple and their adorable young children who quit their six figure jobs to go homestead on affordable land. My name is Rebecca, and I’m a childfree, sneaking-up-on-middle-aged woman with a variety of semi-sustainable threads of income and a pile of student loans in a region of the country where land prices have long since surpassed “cheap”. I take care of critters on land owned by a very generous friend and in exchange I have some space to grow my dreams (and chickens.) In lieu of the helpful husband in the background of all the landscape shots, there’s one long-distance city mouse of a boyfriend, wholly supportive but embroiled in his own business three hours away. I also have mealworms.

Don’t go! This is still a great place to see an absolute novice figure out the basics of small-scale agriculture, wax enthusiastically about locavorism, and raise a tiny flock of galliform dinosaurs. And if you’re somewhere down around the mouth of the Columbia River, talk to me about getting some eggs!

Want to get in touch? Email me at headchook(at)itbeganwiththechickens(dot)com.