Barn Chicks Who Blog- Suzanne McMinn Interview

     In the past year I have had the pleasure of reading many new blogs. My very favorite blog is Chickens in the Road. The author is Suzanne McMinn. She is a former romance writer with twenty-six books that have been published. Several years ago, she moved with her three children to a "slanted little house" in West Virginia. She eventually built a new house on forty acres and lovingly named it Stringtown Rising Farm.

Suzanne

Photo property of Chicken in the Road

     In a blog post titled The Slanted Little House, Suzanne had a sentence that jumped out at me when I read it. She said, "I was at a turning point in my life, a crossroad where for the first time I could choose where I would live, not simply be carried along by circumstances." This was so noteworthy, because she not only chose where she would live, but how. Suzanne chose to cook from scratch, have a garden, raise livestock, craft, and even learn cheese making. I have lots of respect for this lady. She not only writes and shares great photos, but she is actually out there getting her hands dirty. She blogs about her day to day experiences. This is not a vicarious documentary of others working, but an incredibly enjoyable blog of someone who is really living a country life.

The Animals of Stringtown Rising Farm

Photo property of Chickens in the Road

     I would love to one day sit down with Suzanne and have a cup of tea/coffee and just chat. I would bring a pastry to the meeting, and I would hope that she would too. Suzanne has posted some wonderful recipes and has a section of her blog called the Farm Bell. It's a place where members can share recipes and tips. It's worth joining and filling your "recipe box" with some of the great things to be found there.

The Interview

1. Please tell me what things are currently happening on Stringtown Rising Farm?
    Right now, Stringtown Rising Farm seems to be all about the taming of the wild calf, Glory Bee.  I hope we're finally on the right road there.  A calf has been an all-new experience for me.  I've made some mistakes, but that's how you learn.

2. I love all of  the stories about your animals. Please tell my readers a little about your animals. Do you have a favorite type of farm animal? Do you own them or do they own you?
    I don't know how to pick a favorite type of animal.  That would be like choosing between my children.  I love my animals.  I can say that sheep are my least favorite, and what I'm mostly likely to stop raising, mostly because sheep need so much pasture and we just don't have it.  For now, I'm sort of in a holding pattern with the sheep and will decide at a later point whether I want to continue or not.  I adore my goats and my chickens and my ducks, and I just love my milk cow.  I even love that ornery calf.

Clover

Photo property of Chickens in the Road

3. You mentioned visiting a cabin there in West Virginia when you were a child. Did you have experiences visiting farms, that might have contributed to your desire to farm?
    I've never been to a farm.  I had no idea what a farm was like other than from children's stories.  That might explain my semi-angelic take on farming, which in reality can be hard.  But I see it through the eyes of children's stories, and that makes the difficulties seem easier.  I've wanted to live on a farm my whole life.  I have no idea why.

4. Was there a moment when you said, "That's it! I'm moving to the country?"
    I've always wanted to live in the country, but never really thought I'd get there, at least not as rural to the max as I've gone.  In a way, it was a circumstantial move in the end, and by the time I got this far into the country (the slanted little house), it was easy to go all the way and out a dirt-rock road and over three creeks into the wildest boonies.  By then, I was sucked in and loved it here.

5. What was the hardest transition for you when  you moved to the country?
    Grasping the difference between hay and straw.  (Just kidding!)  Probably the most difficult issues for me are dealing with rough roads in the winter.  I'm not a good winter driver in conditions that include ice and snow and unplowed roads with steep drop-offs.

6. When you wrote romance novels, were any of them in a farm setting?
    Most of my books were set in small towns.  I did a few in rural settings.  I would write those better now!!

7. Is it more fun naming novel characters or your farm animals (who ARE characters)? 
    It's more fun naming my farm animals.  They're real.

Jack

Photo property of Chickens in the Road

8. Have you ever looked back and questioned your decision to move to the country? If so, what calmed that feeling?
    I've never regretted moving to the country.  I love it here and never want to live anywhere else again.  Sometimes I wonder if I've taken on too much on the farm itself--on days when I'm really tired or things are very difficult.  Walking around on my farm is always a reassuring feeling.  The lands feel good.  And hugging a goat solves a lot of problems.

9. Have you run into anyone who knew you before you became a farmer? What has been the reaction?
    It depends on the person what the reaction is--depending on their view of country living.  Some people are fascinated and want to hear about, and other people just think I've gone to an alien planet and lost my mind.

10. Please finish this sentence for me: If someone had told me twenty years ago, that I'd be farming, I'd have said.....
    Can I do it sooner?  Do I have to wait 20 years?

11. You mentioned, on your blog, that this has been a very good thing for your children. Please tell me some of the more positive things that it has meant for them.
    I like the most that it has changed their perspective in regard to materialism.  That is not to say they don't love things.  They're teenagers.  They want things.  But they don't get things, and aren't even exposed to things, the way they were when we lived in the suburbs.  A few days ago, I took them for a treat to Wal-Mart after I picked them up from their practices and told them they could buy junk food.  I sent them off without a cart (on purpose).  Morgan came back with her arms loaded up to her chin--she did the holding while Weston did the stacking of packages and boxes.  Then he carried all he could, too.  They were thrilled because they never get to buy junk food.  When you live a simpler lifestyle, it doesn't take near as much to thrill kids and helps them appreciate the little things.

12. What's in the future for Stringtown Rising Farm?
    Babies!!!!  (Lots of goat babies coming up.)  Hopefully a barn!

Thank you for this interview, Suzanne. You and Chickens in the road are super!

GIVEAWAY

Welcome to anyone visiting from Chickens in the Road! Hello and hugs to my regular readers!

I will be having a giveaway. Here is the prize:

1 hand-painted frame with mirror. 7"x7"

To enter:

Mandatory- Make a comment here about this interview or about Chickens in the Road. (1 entry)

Extra Entry- Leave a comment on any post on EverydayRuralty. (1 entry each, up to 3 extra entries)

***ALL ENTRIES MUST LEAVE AN E-MAIL SO I CAN REACH THE WINNER

I will draw for this with Random.org.

This giveaway will be open until Friday at midnight (EST).

Note: Did you notice  that I didn't say you have to follow? I want folks to read my blog because they like it, not because of a contest. I'm learning that number of followers could never mean as much as the interaction I have with  the great people who visit here!