IamA Woman living like fantasy fiction. I used to work full time as a corporate graphic designer but felt dead. I am an archer, hunter, equestrian, falconer, and homesteader. I spend my days farming, hawking, writing, and living like a background ...

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3 acres pasture. 4 acres wood. stream, pond, and bars. Farming is only about 10% of my income though. I am an author, blogger, teacher, speaker, and internet geek.

Falconry is absolutely badass, that is all.

agreed. I just started last year and it is so wonderful, accessible, and rewarding.

As a falconer, what exactly do you do?

a falconer is a hunter, just like any other liscened hunter. But a falconer uses a hawk or falcon instead of a shotgun on small game like rabbits, pheasants, grouse and squirrels. It's the most regulated sport in America.

What was your first bird, and how many do you keep now? Do you have a favorite, or is that like having a favorite child?

My first and only bird ever (I am a first year apprentice) is my male red tail hawk, Italics.

Can I just ask, why did you choose the name Italics?

because I am a writer and it sounded "hawky"

Are you self sufficient using the animals on your farm? How is it going and how was it starting off? My SO and I plan on buying 10-15 acres in the next couple years and would like to hear how the process goes outside of hers and mine knowledge. Thanks!

No tractors here. I use animal power (a fell pony) to help pull logs for logging (I heat with wood) I have rented things like tillers and such but mostly it's just this girl and her hoes.

See what I did there?

Do you mean do I use draft animal power over tractors, then yes. And I off grid and growing all my own food, no. I am on grid and grow a lot, store a lot, but I also meet friends in town at the local diner for a burger or head to Saratoga or Albany for a night out. I try to find a balance.

What's your plan for retirement, or when you get too frail to be out on the fields every day? What are you doing for health insurance? If you break your leg, won't the whole thing go down the drain?

No plan for retirement. No health insurance. I hope to be able to afford the state plans next year but this year I opted out. Honestly, I think this kind of thinking keeps people in lifestyles that shorten their lifespan. I was going to die overweight of a heart attack at 50 when I had healthcare and a 401k. This afternoon I am going to help load 200+ 5lb bales of hay into a barn in 85 degrees. So healthcare is a fight as well.

I hope to find a partner, and start a business or CSA to save for my older years.

I don't live that way, thinking that way. A lot of things could happen, but today I am happy. It's enough.

With all due respect, I suggest you do. Living alone on the land is fraught with unforeseen peril-- as any GOT aficionado can tell you. An adventurous heart is one thing, goofy naivety is another....

PS. I know whereof I speak. ;-)

the night is dark and full of terrors

It's not negative thinking, it's thinking about practical consequences. How happy will you be later today if you do break your legs falling over one of those bales?

so unhappy! So let's say I do break a leg today. Here is what would happen: Up here I have been farming for around 7 years in two states that border each other: VT/NY. Friends would take over chores, so the animals would be okay. Medical bills would have to be figured out through some act of the gods - maybe I could crowdfund in exchange for something like a novel or book? I don't know really. I just know that today I hay, and that hay feeds my horses through winter. Winter is coming.

Ok, there's at least somewhat of a plan. Good, and good luck to you!

thank you!

Hi there! It sounds like such a wonderful and meaningful life. Do you feel connected to the world around you, or is the different way you live also a barrier? Do you worry about the future and about your health/age standing in the way of the things you need/want to do? Do you miss intellectual challenge in your daily life?

great questions!

I think I am in a better position than most when it comes to the future, at least on a primal level. I am in good health and getting healthier, and feel great. I don't have health insurance though, I gave it up.

As far as intellectual things, I am an author and blogger, writing every day and just published my 5th book. So plenty of thinking is going on. I weed while listening to audiobooks. My friends are all intellectuals (we exist in farm country too). It's just another way to live, I wish more folks would.

You didn't sign up for Obamacare?

not yet, opted out this year because it was too tight after this rough winter. I hope to next year.

Obamacare is super expensive. If you hadn't heard.

I had not. How expensive?

Depends on where you live and what kind of plan you want. But it's not like a free ride unless you're below a certain income threshold. Which come to think of it, OP might be. How high could her income be?

Less than you think, more than you realize!

I hear the sweet spot is 128% of the poverty line. Then you get a fully subsidized silver plan but aren't on Medicare.

I appreciate the freaks and geeks reference

yup

I think I answered this above? Nope, it costs a lot of money.

The blog is why I asked about intellectual challenge. Your writing is very nice to read, and well thought out. It might be weird, but I'm happy you're happy.

well thanks!

I see you do a lot of workshops on your farm, sounds like fun. Tell us more!

I do! It's one of my 67 jobs I now do since I quit my main one. It's a way to get people aware of alternative living (even though up until a hundred yeras ago it was pretty conventional). Workshops are mostly meant to get people excited and started in things like raising chickens for eggs and meat, getting into horses, making soap, keeping bees etc.

Wow. You are living my dream! :D I wish you the best, and I have only one quick question for you. For the amount of land and work you do, how many people is ideal to let it run smoothly? You mentioned friends. So you live alone or do you partner with a large amount of your daily work?

Just me, a border collie, a horse, and dented pickup truck. I do it all with the help of animals. If I had a partner it would be an empire!

Wow, that can be fixed quickly. I bet there are loads of people who'd dig your lifestyle. Living the dream but I guess it can get rough sometimes. Respect.

it is crazy hard to date out here. Think about the taboo of single guys not wanting to date women with kids? I come with a farm. A farm and a D&D game.... You see my problem.

In D&D are you a level 8 Human Graphic Designer?

level 3 dward ranger. pathfinder, rise of the runelords. I TPKed as a human graphic designer.

I think this is true for all single people who have this kind of lifestyle. Being alone is a challenge, but getting seriously injured is what really scares me.

eh.

That is so cool, I have goosebumps. :D

shucks.

Can you please post some actual proof please?

I posted my blog link, that is my business. you mean like a picture of me saying the date or something? Here is a link to my facebook page where I just wrote: HERPDERPHERPDERP PROOFTOWN

https://www.facebook.com/jenna.woginrich

Hi sorry but none of this is actual proof of your subject. Just linking to your blog and face book is not enough. Sorry!

Ack! You do not feel suffieciently proofed. How can I make you happy Herpderpherpderp? Tell me.

You need to provide proof of of the topic you have posted, and not just a blog link without even a mention of your ama. Posting to facebook, again, is just proof that ypu have a Facebook page.

You need to provide proof that you undertake the activities you have stated in the topic and that they are a profession or so singular to your life that they qualify your activities as an AMA subject.

The rules concerning proof and what qualifies as an AMA are available to your right. Thanks!

Like a link to something I did professionally? Here are books I wrote: http://www.amazon.com/Jenna-Woginrich/e/B001JP7N1Y

You need a tax form or something?

Here is a photo of the date and my bottle-fed lamb, Brianna.

http://imgur.com/rDqoPIT

I've followed you closely Jenna, we are friends on facebook, we've chatted a bit before, and I have to say.... you hot.

You made my day!

Hey there!

I respect you for the choices you have made and sticking to them! One question:

What does your family/friends think about all of what youre doing? (although I'm sure it doesn't matter :) )

My parents think I am crazy. Too much work when you have a BFA and had a great job in AC with healthcare.

My friends are just as crazy as I am.

also, my family is 5 hours south of me. I'm in upstate NY and they are in PA. They do visit, they just don't understand my reasoning and the distance being the sole farmer on a piece of land creates. I can't go home for holidays or travel, at all. Paradise is here.

Does it feel good knowing your hands have likely seen more of a calloused days work than most people will we experience?

In other words, what makes you happier with labor than work?

Are you asking why does labor make me happy? Or happier than office work?

Labor makes me happy because it is a direct payment for effort. I used to design webpages for TV shows and it took 2 weeks, a national tax system, a bank, and a bunch of commuting to cash a check so I could buy kale. Now I plant kale. BAM! instant results = the happy. Think of how you feel after just mowing the lawn. It's like that all day but with ponies.

How much do you feel comfortable telling us about finances? Which ventures have proven the most sustainable, when you balance your effort against the profit made?

Which are the most rewarding for you personally?

Sure. I am usually broke! But that's because all income that comes in goes right to the mortgage, farm insurance, bills etc.

Most sustainable and best ventures are teaching workshops, raising pigs for shares of pork, writing books, and things like google adsense. It's a real mixed back of internet and brute field work.

Well, plenty of people slave away for employers all day just to pay the mortgage, so live the dream, I say!

You live in NY, have you looked at the affordable care act website already?

yup, cheapest plan is 250 a month, which isn't bad. But rough year this past one, hoping for next!

Do you receive any government assistance?

Nope. I did get a $22 tax return this year. I bought Guinness with it.

sorry if my spelling sucks. I am not a moron, just rushed.

broke in dollars but rich in friends and happiness

agreed!

as for personally rewarding: horses and hunting. I hunt with a rifle or a hawk, both kick ass.

How did you pay for this? When I investigated equipment for draft horses, I decided I was better off without a horse.

Also, that seems like a lot of livestock for a small farm. About how many animals of each type and space dedicated to each?

I should also say I gave up alot of "normal things" to live like this.

So I bought the farm when I was working a 40-hr corporoate gig. I had a good job and the house and land were pretty cheap - around 150k which I bought with a 30yr mortgage. So thats how I got the debt.

I pay it by doing a lot of work, more than ever before. Partially with farming and direct sales, but I am also a writer, blogger, freelance writer, freelance designer, speaker, workshop teacher, and so on.

I have about 20 free range hens and some roosters 2 pigs in a pen in my barn, more pigs riased in woods in summer. 2 dairy goats in an indoor/outdoor pen 10 sheep on 3 acres 2 horses in a 1/2 acre paddock (share the sheep pasture) dogs in house (2) cats in house and barn (2) I feed hay almost all year.

About how much penis would you say you see on a daily basis?

I see zero penis. Alas.

What types of martial arts do you practice?

Taekwon do/Karate, Okinawa Weapons.

Also archery, mounted archery (on horseback), some grappling.

Cool. I train /r/bjj and your lifestyle is one that I would love to have for myself.

What was it that triggered you to make such a drastic change? And once you did it, how did you go about transitioning your life? Was it gradual or just one huge leap of faith?

bjj sounds so wonderful, but not a lot of good schools around here, that I know of at least. my BB has been a lifelong goal so one art at a time! just 10 months away from it!

I fell in love, honestly. Farming and homesteading showed me a life that let my passions for cooking, hunting, riding, and everything else fall into place. Once I was in I was in. It took 4 years to work up the guts to quit. Best mistake I ever made.

Congrats on the incoming black belt! That's huge.

I don't know exactly where in upstate you are but I did a quick search based on a mention of Cambridge on your blog.

There are a couple schools it looks like!

Also, as for the transition I'm asking more specifically, how much money did you save up? Where did you look for properties? And once you found one how long did it take you to get things set up to where you could produce some of your own food and be self-reliant?

I cashed out my little 8k 401k. I wrote a book called Barnheart about that transistion, but to sum it up: I was being kicked out of my old rented farm and this place in Washington COunty, NY was ready for me. Lots of luck in-between.

cold antler is a good name for craft beer so u could start home brewing as a 68th job !

I called it Antler Ale though!

I already do!

Two questions from me:

• Do you generate your own energy? If so, any tips you might want to share?
• How did you get into falconry? I am both interested in your personal background, if you choose to divulge as well as in the "technical" details, i.e. "What do I have to learn to become a falconer"

Thank you for doing this...your blog is now in my blogroll ;-)

I am not off grid, not totally. I only use woodstoves for heat so I do log, collect, and chop my own firewood (with help of friends at work parties).

Email me about falconry? [email protected]

lol! You sound like a younger Claire Wolfe.

I would tend to recommend sites like http://www.backwoodshome.com

and the Foxfire series of books for anyone planning on living like a hillbilly, or whatever you prefer to call rural middle of nowhere people. ;)

The survival podcast used to be fun, but then the guy running it went kinda nuts, and started ranting about forum drama more than rural survival living. :D

I was interviewed for one of his shows, I like Jack. He's a firecracker.

Yep. You gotta be a tad crazy to piss off a Quaker. ;)

http://badquaker.com/archives/2691

I heard about that. yikes.

Nothing but a bit of Podbeef. Nothing compared to some of the forum drama you see on various Bushcraft and Firearm forums. ;)

If you want to stir the pot, mention something about all the "manly" paracord crafting being just a way for men to spend time with their daughters without looking like big sissy boys. :D

Behind every hardcore paracord knotwork expert is a closet full of macreme related shame, and some happy daughters. :D

Oh yeah, that's gotta be good for 400 downvotes. ;)

Seriously though, if they want some "manly man" crafting, there's always leather work. One lousy saddle from cut parts to completion is something like 60-90+ hours of misery. ;P

preppers are like highschool lunchrooms.

Do you process your sheeps' wool? You could make fair money from selling organic, hand-processed, handdyed fiber tops and batts. Set up an Etsy shop, network with bloggers, ring up Knitty and/or Taproot and you're set.

Also, I admire your courage and will to live actually off the grid, I wish I could do that too.

done all that! You do not make good money, or any money.

Thank you. And you can do it too!

Oh, ok. What exactly did you try, if I may ask? Why didn't it work?

And no, I cannot do it, I'm afraid I live in the wrong country (there's no good land here left to buy) and value the access to a good cinema too much. :) I'll have to make do with my small garden.

i didn't have the spare time to process all that wool, and having it done by a mill would cost around a grand for 10 sheep.

Take me as your apprentice ?

WWOOF check it out!

that means world wide opportunities on Organic Farms - places feeding and housing interns for free. I don't do that.

Do you ever give falconry shows/ lessons?

NOPE! in fact as an apprentice I am not allowed to. If you are serious about falconry look up a general or master falconer in your area, or contact NAFA or your state club to meet a local who can get you started!

Umm..can I come adventure with you? Currently in that safe, stable, office type of job environment and my spirits feel dead :(

get outta there alive!

People always complain about office jobs...I would actually love to have a nice stable 9-5 with decent pay...

Maybe I'm weird.

It really does sound great. It is stable and safe and all...but it becomes routine and grey and stale. If you are a simple person, looking for a simple life, it's all for you. But if you seek any type of adventure in life, it will destroy your spirits.

Not stable. Not safe. I guess by adventure you mean travel? I am constantly going on adventures!

Not complaining, it just wasnt for me. I am happier doing this.

Kay, Jenna has wonderful workshops that teach you all kinds of things. You should check one out! Next Sunday I'm going to a Goats and Soap workshop. Can't wait!

great! see ya there Cathy!

Friends, I need to go put up bales. I'll check back and anwser everything later tonight! Thank you and please feel free to email or check out the website for more info, let me know how I can help you!

BACK!

how do I get into falconry?

you contact your local falconry club in whatever state you are in, let them know, and contact your local fish and game (whatever dept gives hunting and fishing tags in your state) and ask them for information and an application. Then follow the steps. It usually starts out by taking a written exam.

You live in beautiful part of the country. (I'm from Greenwich) :-)

hi neighbor!

Well, I grew up there but I've been gone for a long time. I miss Bald Mountain where I was born.

where you at now?

Do you appreciate life a lot more now you can do what you want? how much money were you making to just up and leave like that? I'm kinda jealous I don't make enough to just save for a few years then go live in the sticks.

I am making the same amount of money but working 10X harder. Worth it.

Living like a background character in GoT who has an internet connection...

you're adorable.

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thanks, the google ones that change and text links are the only pay-per click ones though! the big squares!

How busy are you with working? What's a day in your life like?

Busy! Very busy. Chores for a few hours in the AM, then writing, then more work outside, then training, the more work inside, then evening chores.

Can you give more detail on a semi typical day? What are your usual chores? Are they indoors/outdoors? Are you studying or physical training? What time do you start/finish?

Sure. I get up between 5:30-6AM. My body just does it, I do not set an alarm. I start out by feeding the cats, then letting the dogs out to pee, and then getting dressed and heading outside. I need to make sure everyone has morning eats and fresh/clean water. that takes around an hour depending on time of year (winter it takes 15 minutes). I break for work indoors when the farm is locked and loaded for a while. In work on the computer in my office here in the farmhouse for a long while and then head back outside to do midday chores - like repairs and goat milking.

Afternoons are usually open - I can work more on writing projects or do what I did today: helped a neighbor put up 254 bales of hay. we finished at 6Pm and I came home to let out the dogs, do evening chores, and now I am playing WoW and getting ready to watch something on the internet on my "tv" a 2005 iMac in the living room. Probably Kevin Pollak's Chat Show. I like it. Tweet 5!

Sounds like you didn't really quit work, but chose work that made you feel more alive.

agreed!

You need any assistants hah?

WWOOF!

Do you also have a collection of Fedoras? pls respond m'lady

No. I wish. I have a felt and stray cowboy hat and a jaunty tweed driving cap. Wearing a bandana now.

was this a hipster jab?!

And now I kinda want to propose to you. Kinda. ;)

shucks, gives a gal hope!

Eh, it would never work. We're polar opposites; you work your ass off to go from corporate to country, and I worked my ass off to go from country to corporate. I applaud your tenacity though, and wish you good luck!

heartbreaker!

Hello from two old college friends from maryland. Glad to hear the 5th book has been completed. Keep being awesome.

hey hey!

So if you aren't logged in it says my info was removed, and this post got a bunch of downvotes? I don't understand why?

Sounds very interesting. What is your plan for receiving medical treatment like simple prescription medication? What is your medical emergency plan? And how do you plan to pay for these services should they be necessary? Also, you said that you are an archer. It it safe to assume that your farming tools and practices are equally as primitive?

I think I addressed healthcare above? But I will add I have learned a lot of alternative methods of healthcare as well, for those of us without the cards and pills. I grow a medicine garden. I jog. I eat more kale than any normal person should.

I plowed up an extension of my kailyard with a wheel hoe! but have rented rototillerrs before. No tractors though. I have a draft horse named Merlin you can google. Just GIS for Merlin and Jenna.

Apologies, your previous comments didn't show up for me until after I posted. Thanks for the response!

I'm over it!

I hope to one day live your lifestyle. Convincing my girlfriend might prove tricky, but the idea of being able to provide for myself and my family without slaving away to make someone else rich appeals to me on so many levels.

I think it is part of who we are as an animal. Start her off slow by baking bread or cooking her meals with farmers market food, then whisper: Hey baby, we could eat like kings every day if I planted a garden and got a few hens.... then pour more wine

I like you, it's like you've been reading my 5-year plan!

attaboy

How young should I start my daughter in archery? Were you a 4Her?

I was not a 4-Her and had zero experience in ag when I started. She can start pretty darn well at 6!

Serious question. What qualities are you looking for in your future lifetime partner?

Wit, adaptability, acceptance of my geekiness and hopefully equal love of outdoors.

Would you like him/her to be able to do what you do in the farm? Or are you looking for someone with a different career path?

I'm not looking for any of that. I'm not really even looking. I don't date for sport, at all. I have dogs for company and batteries for "company". I'm holding out for love though. Though musicians get me all twitterpated.

You should get a musical "companion" then ;) but seriously thanks for answering my questions and may you live long and prosper.

welcome!

What is the biggest struggle you've faced since moving to the current location of CAF?

Money! But I do make enough to get by, working on making enough to not wake up at 3AM scared. If you mean farming wise? Then the hardest part is the end of winter. out of firewood, not warm enough to be outside a lot, stress for taxes, etc.

How did your family react to your change of lifestyle?

Okay at first. Less so as it got more "serious" though I can't blame them. When your daughter can't travel home for Christmas it is hard. They are always invited to visit the farm anytime, but they live far away.

Do you eventually hope to expand to production/selling at local markets?

I'd like too, but right now the blog is how I pay my bills and the farm is my grocery store. But I would love to raise more meat commercially. Vegetables make me nervouse.

Vegetables freak me out too.

I just want to say thank you for your blog. It's due to the blog and the related groups on Facebook that I had my first WWOOF farm volunteering experience.

that is wonderful to hear, thank you!

How did you meet your "equally crazy" friends, as you put it? Was it before or after leaving your corporate job?

Most, but my blog drew in a lot of like minded people. I think farmers in general are kinda counter-cultural. We live and work at home, are frugal, can't work for anyone but ourselves.... we're all crazy.

so, internet!

You mention that you're a weapons competitor. What weapons do you compete with outside of archery? I apologize if this is on your web site, blogs are blocked where I work :/

Bo staff. Mostly just a big stick, but I love it. I want to learn longsword through the SCA, heavy list but a gal can only do so much.

Damn I'm jealous. Good for you.

thanks! you can do it, too. It's pretty much all humankind has done up until recently.

I would love to live that life. the only time I get near the great outdoors, is when I am photographing wildlife

bring a gun! shoot during hunting season and you go home with dinner, too!

What do you do for income?

All the things.

I am an author, freelance writer, freelanced graphic designer, speaker, blogger, pig farmer, etc etc etc

How has this new lifestyle affected your dating and relationships, if at all?

The truth is farmers have a lifestyle only other farmers really get, but most farmers are too busy to date. So enjoy that next bit of Chipolte Burrito, it has be seasoned by sexual frustration and lonely tears.

I kid. I'm a kidder.

I don't date for sport. If I fall in love, it'll be grand. If I don't, then I don't.

You may find this question silly, but with 4 wooded acres in upstate NY I have to ask: any potential Sasquatch activity since you've been out there?

I have been asked this so often. I am not joking.

Nope. But sometimes I don't shave for a few weeks in winter. It gets hairy. (more puns in the fedora thread. Yowza!)

Hahaha great reply, I actually find it encouraging that it's a common question for you! Keep your eyes and ears open :)

I get emails all the time. If I see him it'll be on reddit.

Would it be too personal to ask what corporate company you worked for as a designer?

Could you talk about the work you did as a designer? I'm an art student, and used to go to school for design. What couldn't you take anymore? Was it personal issues (which you don't have to go into if you don't wish to) or was it more the job of a graphic designer wasn't that great?

Thank you!

I worked for:

HGTV Coldwater Creek Orvis

It wasnt design, I love design and art. but art in the corporate world is not a happy place.

Thanks for responding. :)

Oh? Is working for corporate soul-sucking work or something?

just not for this soul

You gallop up mountain roads on a drafthorse?

I do. His name is Merlin. He's a thousand pounds of awesome.

Ouch.

ouch?

As one with limited experience with horses, why ouch?

Draft horses are lovely animals, but they were/are bred for battle, hauling (draft), and heavy farm work, not riding. (Think: tank, tractor, semi truck.) And particularly not riding at speed, which even with special shoeing, is very hard on their joints and ligaments-- and bone-jarringly uncomfortable for the rider.

This is why knights used palfreys for travel, and why knowledgable riders don't subject their draft horses to trail work or racing.

My Merlin is like a couch, not at all uncomfortable. He is barefoot. I guess I'm not very knowledgable?! But we ride all over and he does great!