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WBM
THE FARMLAND
T HERE are 11 hens,
one rooster, two
goats, three rescue
cats and one rescue
dog so far on Wild Hearts Farm. Butter-flies
flutter about the garden of zinnias,
gladioli, lilies and dahlias. A typical
Sunday consists of coming home after
church to gather eggs from the chicken
coop and climb onto the tractor to mow
the acres of grass.
“It takes Dave three to four hours,” says
Heather, who adds baking bread in her cast
iron Dutch oven to her Sunday chores.
“Farmhouse” is more than just a style.
It’s a lifestyle, one shared by many across
the country. Heather discovered the
community through creating an Instagram
page that’s grown to 8.5k followers.
“It started as a creative outlet, to hope-fully
lighten up someone’s day with pretty
pictures of the farm or the animals, and
then it kind of took off,” Heather says.
“When is the best time to start
decorating for fall?” Heather asks in an
Instagram post. Another post of zinnias
and seeds shares tips on how to start a
garden. A post of the tractor adorned
with an American flag bow on the
20th anniversary of 9/11 pays tribute
to current and former military members,
including Dave, who was in Iraq with
the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
A video of a stroll with June and Dolly
(the goats) and Baruch (the dog) offers a
peak into the hobby farm life.
“I love to just walk the grounds and see
what things are changing and growing,”
Dave says. “In the fall, there’s the changing
of the leaves. There’s a beautiful stream
that goes all the way down to the river;
you can canoe out there.”
Dave hunts the game lands that back
up to their property.
“I’ll make venison sausage and give it to
friends or bring it to a party,” he says.
“Being able to harvest food from your
own property is very satisfying,” Heather
says. “An important part for us is being
good stewards of the land. God calls us to
be good stewards of land he gave us.”