My 91-year-old mother, Charlette Siemers, who still lives on her farm, was appalled when I told her I had bought a farm. "What are you thinking? You will get wrinkled like a prune sitting on a tractor seat! It is hard work! Why don't you just enjoy your retirement? Travel!"

"Mom," I said, "you still tend tub gardens from a lawn chair. I guess the acorn don't fall far from the tree!" She didn't have any smart answers for that.

There was no house on this piece of land, so I constructed my dream house - a passive solar house situated on the back of the property. It has a large atrium on the south side, bermed into a small hill. This is the solar collector, supplemented by a couple of wood-burning stoves. The north side of the house has a couple of decks that look out over the wetlands and Crone Creek, which runs across my land.

I got interested in biodynamic organic farming a few years ago. The tillable acreage is being prepared for certification. It is currently lying fallow, but I am using the biodynamic preps because it provides the best quality and tastiest organic fruit and vegetables that you will ever eat!

If I had $10 for every time someone has said something negative about my choice to move out here, I wouldn't have a mortgage. "Are you crazy?" "It's so far away from town." "What about clearing snow out of your drive?" "It's going to be lonesome." "It's a lot of work." "You're definitely crazy."

And then I stand on the land and listen to the birds and the tree frogs, I watch the creek running crazily and brightly along its crooked path, I walk down the dusty lane to the pond, dogs trotting beside me, and I know that I am home.