So, we need to come clean about an issue everyone asks us. No, we’re not from the Upstate, we’re not from South Carolina or even the South. We were both born in NJ, but we prefer to say we’re from New Hampshire. I grew up in NH from 1971 until we moved to SC twelve years ago.
Neither Cliff nor I have a true farming background. When Cliff was young, he worked with a friend on their family dairy farm. Cliff prides himself on still owning the bicycle that he rode to and from that farm in the later ‘70’s in the area of NJ that truly is ‘The Garden State.’ The extent of my farming is the required 30 minutes a day we 5 kids had to put in weeding the family garden in Kingston, NH. Cliff and I raised our son, built a home and lived for many years on the NH seacoast.
Our family has always been the outdoors type and we all loved gardening. The draw of being able to garden year round and to be able to afford some acreage was a big factor in our moving to SC in the spring of 2007. We took our time and found a beautiful spot on the Duncan-Reidville border, smack in the middle of Spartanburg and Greenville. We purchased part of what was known for years as ‘the Lamb Farm.’ The Lamb family has been here to visit a few times, sweet people and a joy to sip sweet tea on the front porch with and talk about the past.
My idea of ‘farming’ was to get five laying hens and grow tomatoes in the garden. Cliff’s idea…well, he had a much grander idea in mind. We did start with five chickens, but that was just the beginning. There is something in the chicken world called Chicken Math. It involves the constant acquisition of more and more birds, despite any intentions otherwise. So, one goes to Tractor Supply for chicken scratch and can’t walk past the chicks without wanting a couple. A phone call is made home, you both agree another 4 or 5 birds would be nice, so you purchase 10 birds. It doesn’t make sense, but, believe me, Chicken Math is real.
The next idea Cliff had was to raise our own meat, in the form of two Berkshire pigs (pigs like to have a friend, so we got two). We’ve never been around pigs, but how hard could it be? Of course we named them! The first two were Oscar and Meyer. When we had them butchered, we couldn’t eat them for about 2 weeks. The next two were Jimmy and Dean. Their predecessors were so delicious; there was no waiting period before these two were on the dinner table. At about this point, neighbors and friends were asking about buying pork. So, Cliff figured why not get a registered breeding pair and we can breed them and raise the babies for meat. Well, let me just tell you, that was an incredible experience watching the birth and growth of these little tanks that are called piglets! We laughed and we cried. One thing I can say about farming is that it constantly involves death. You learn to really embrace the fun and joyful events because they have to carry you through the tough times. Times when the coyotes climb your double fences and kill a hundred chickens just for the sheer fun of the chase and the kill. The death of a ‘teenaged’ pig who you were playing bowling ball soccer with just the day before.