Home Is Where The Heart Is
Created by a husband and wife team, Heart's Pasture Farm had been a dream for many years. Moving from the big city of Indianapolis to live in northern Michigan amongst the trees, we found what we were looking for: a slower paced life that provides a meaningful purpose, grounding us in a desired sense of place. It felt like home. So we made it home.
Northern Michigan is perfect for a lot of reasons: Lake Michigan provides a powerful grounding force, as fresh water abounds in a rural setting filled with beautiful coniferous and deciduous trees. A four-season paradise, this area of the state never disappoints. There is rock collecting, hiking, lazy days on the beach, and lake jumping to be had in spring, summer, and fall, and skiing and sledding in the winter. Those memories were a part of our journey as we became more rooted, and so we bought a home with 15 wooded acres that was only a 10 minute drive from Petoskey, created an emotional connection with place through farming and land restoration, and we have never looked back since!
Northern Michigan is perfect for a lot of reasons: Lake Michigan provides a powerful grounding force, as fresh water abounds in a rural setting filled with beautiful coniferous and deciduous trees. A four-season paradise, this area of the state never disappoints. There is rock collecting, hiking, lazy days on the beach, and lake jumping to be had in spring, summer, and fall, and skiing and sledding in the winter. Those memories were a part of our journey as we became more rooted, and so we bought a home with 15 wooded acres that was only a 10 minute drive from Petoskey, created an emotional connection with place through farming and land restoration, and we have never looked back since!
Family Photo at Lake Michigan in 2024
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Heart's Pasture Farm was Born
From our own experiences we have found that present day often time lacks the "marrow" that Thoreau wrote about many years ago when health and independence was a much bigger part of life. One way to reconnect with nature, to truly live a fulfilled life, and live out those principals is through farming. Working with plants and animals is unlike anything else. It certainly does not compare to the standard desk job of the average American. When we set our roots in northern Michigan, one way in which we were able to be closer to nature was through the experience of farming on our land. Here on the farm, we are home to white pine, red oak, red maple, silver maple, hop hornbeam, birch, and beech trees. These trees canopy the forest undergrowth of wintergreen, trout lilies, and many more green plants. It only took some time spent in the woods to realize that it was time well spent. Add our first animals to the mix, and the give (and take) of life is born, and true meaning is created.
Today we are able to take a step back and really see what we are building. Sometimes giving a title to something else that does not yet exist in its final form is difficult. But the way in which we were able to do so is through our livestock guardian dogs. Our namesake of Heart's Pasture was born through our experiences with them. Always sweet, intelligent, and protective, they selflessly live a life full of love, guarding farm and family. Why do they do that? When an animal (and human) lives in alignment with their true design, it's a beautiful thing to behold. A farmer may come to realize that what is observed through the dog's design and how it interacts with the farm, it's land, animals, and people, is the metaphorical pasture of its heart. It epitomizes one's heart's pasture.
Thus our namesake was born. As we steward our land in our little town in northern Michigan, what we are building is a little piece of our own heart's pasture. For that, we keep the easy life at bay, and truly live, just like our dogs, deep within what we have come to know as our Heart's Pasture.
Today we are able to take a step back and really see what we are building. Sometimes giving a title to something else that does not yet exist in its final form is difficult. But the way in which we were able to do so is through our livestock guardian dogs. Our namesake of Heart's Pasture was born through our experiences with them. Always sweet, intelligent, and protective, they selflessly live a life full of love, guarding farm and family. Why do they do that? When an animal (and human) lives in alignment with their true design, it's a beautiful thing to behold. A farmer may come to realize that what is observed through the dog's design and how it interacts with the farm, it's land, animals, and people, is the metaphorical pasture of its heart. It epitomizes one's heart's pasture.
Thus our namesake was born. As we steward our land in our little town in northern Michigan, what we are building is a little piece of our own heart's pasture. For that, we keep the easy life at bay, and truly live, just like our dogs, deep within what we have come to know as our Heart's Pasture.
"Open the rust-strewn gates of your heart's pasture, the field where you toil, with soil as rich as your dreams, and let loose the flock that is dearest to you. Stay in that pasture and work as your dog works, without tiring and complaining, regardless of the weather. When your body aches, and you quit for the day, your dog will stay, ever watchful, for as long as it necessary. The heart of the farm is always closely protected by the shepherd's livestock guardian dog."