OUR STORY - THIRD ACTS

Nearly a decade ago a phone call out of the blue led my husband and I to the unthinkable—leaving our beloved California. An offer we could not refuse took us first to Tulsa, Oklahoma, then to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and, ultimately, to our dream life.

Ever since meeting in college and marrying in the 1980s, we had envisioned living on a ranch. While we each built our respective careers, we always gardened as avid hobbyists and lived as close to nature as we could—it was our spiritual sustenance and someday we intended on moving far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Yet, never in a million years could we have imagined finding our ideal lifestyle on a farm in the upper reaches of Northern Indiana. We were westerners! We were ranchers! Our story is proof, though, that dreams do come true, albeit sometimes in the most unexpected ways and places. In our Third Act, we are finally defining life for ourselves, fulfilling our dreams by living in nature and drawing upon its beautiful bounty.

While still working and living in temporary accommodations in Fort Wayne, we fell in love with the Midwest and its farming community. The agrarian tradition was central to the development of this country, and we want to commit ourselves to this grand American way of life. Realizing we wanted to settle here, we eventually found our dream property and bought it the same day we looked at it.

As Gary and I drove up a long, unassuming but well-maintained gravel drive, with rows of gleaming corn on one side and fields of purple-tufted alfalfa on the other, we passed a nineteenth century dairy barn before turning toward the house. While still at a good distance, we could begin to see the homestead as we curved around a series of ponds and crossed over the bridge above the running creek into which they gently flowed.

Built in the mid-1970s by a Frank Lloyd-Wright protégé, the house was nestled into the highest point of this 40 plus acre farm and was surrounded by six acres of manicured landscape. Carefully planned garden beds were naturally arranged on a sea of grassy sweeps and knolls and featured a rich mix of trees, shrubs, and flowers that made for a series of enchanting outdoor rooms. All the surrounding arable land on the more gently inclined or purely flat areas of the farm was dedicated to field crops. When we parked and stepped out of the car, Gary and I looked at one another, knowing we had found our true home.

Upon moving to the farm, we decided not to plant the field directly adjacent to our yard and visible from the picture window in our kitchen. This field had ignited our imaginations, and while we still commuted to town for work, we wondered what to do with it. Leave it as it is, with its beautiful natural grasses, weeds, and flowers? Make it a grazing pasture? Or, seed it with wildflowers?

Meanwhile, we spent most of our free time tending to the six acres of cultured landscape surround the house. This included caring for the legacy beds full of carefully chosen flowers. As we took care of many amazing varieties, just as we had for years, gardening in all our previous locales, we slowly but surely realized what to do with this field. Plant it in cut flowers!

And with this epiphany, we changed up our lives and have devoted our Third Act to this calling—to growing fresh, local, and naturally beautiful flowers and trees!

Whatever you dream for in your Third Act, carpe diem! You have the power to seize it!

“I greatly enjoyed the Hawaiian Islands… the greenness, the fragrance, the flowers - extraordinary flowers covering the tallest trees and turning them into huge bouquets.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

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