an unlikely farmer
Hi, I’m Shelli
I’m the dreamer, planner, and farmer behind Simple Leaf Farm.
Thinking of myself as a farmer still feels odd, like a child dreaming of engineering great bridges while playing with Tinker Toys. By God’s grace, with time and experience, I’m growing into this title.
I never imagined I’d be pursuing this dream to live simply with my hands in the earth. The desire crept up slowly, imperceptibly at first. A whimsical desire to bake a loaf of bread for my family opened up a new world to me. Where I had once turned a blind eye, I actively sought to learn about harmful ingredients in our packaged food. I realized that apart from its caloric intake, much of what I was eating was so processed it could hardly be called food. Suddenly words like non-GMOs, grass-fed, gluten-free, and organic became commonplace in our home. Once you open your eyes and seek information, you can’t unsee or unlearn what you discover.
All the while I was embracing organic food, my heart was longing for an organic life. A life that allowed my responsibilities and desires to meld together seamlessly. The corporate desk felt cramped, the four walls confining. Stiff, unused muscles begged for movement. Instead of segmenting my days into work time, church time, exercise time, and leisure time, I longed for a simpler time when deep friendships developed across neighboring fences while the work of hanging laundry on a clothesline was completed, when all the exercise a body needed was achieved by working in the garden or walking to the market. And while this highly introverted girl wouldn’t win a prize for being social, I delight in deep, encouraging, and heartfelt conversations.
Soon, longings sparked conversations, conversations fueled dreams, and dreams led to making plans. Farming, I’ve heard, is more than a job – it is a lifestyle. Admittedly, it’s a bit scary to make a decision that will change your whole life, but for years my life had been molded and shaped to make this decision. I dreamed of the life before I dreamed of the farm. So here I am – a girl with the farm of my dreams and I delight in sharing the beauty and bounty with you.
