I’m Mouse. Yes, I go by that name in real life, even though it isn’t the one my mom and dad gave me at birth. My husband came up with that pet name for me some time ago, and it has stuck. Especially since his nickname is CAT. We have a 13-year-old boy that goes by Grasshopper, and an 8-year-old girl that goes by Cricket. No, those aren’t their given names.

We are the proud but sometimes weary owners of 33 acres of diverse land in the heart of America. Our property includes ponds, trees of so many types, a ridge, a field, and a river. This is our dream and we are so fortunate to live it, even when it exhausts us. This is our backyard. How can anyone hate this view?

Great, right? So now you’re asking why on earth I would make time to write about it and why would I share it with the whole world. Easy, I love to write. I even write for a living; it’s just less creative and more technical. I have family from coast to coast in the U.S., a brother in Australia, a sister in England, and another brother in Norway. Inevitably, someone would get forgotten in the email distribution.

More than that, I have a semi-unique outlook having jumped from city living all my life to living in rural America, surrounded by towns of fewer than 10,000 residents. Many city dwellers wistfully pin pictures and collect idealized images of life in the country as picturesque and simple. I thought, ‘sure it can be any more challenging than keeping house in the city and keeping our hunting lease.’ Reality check! It’s tough work! But we have fun toys.

We love it, and we want to share our perspectives with people in the same boat as us, with people that are thinking about jumping into this life, and with people that want to live this life vicariously. Our posts will include everything from home renovation adventures, building things, life with kids, maintaining the property, livestock and other farm animals, and so much more. It’s meant to capture life as we know it. We hope that you will enjoy our adventures and share some of your own with us in the comments.

~Mouse