Welcome to Five Cats Farm!

Thank you for being here. What will you find? At Five Cats Farm you’ll discover gardening on a suburban lot, recipes, preserving, flower arranging, artful living, cat antics, sewing, home-making, simplicity, and creative inspiration for your own projects. Grab a cup of tea and join me. I'm so glad you stopped by!

MY STORY

I live on a typical suburban lot in western Washington with my husband and five cats. I work full time as a licensed veterinary technician at a very busy family practice and I run our household. Still, I carve out time for gardening and art. What I’m not able to raise on our (admittedly tiny!) land, we try to buy local and fresh from farmers.  We have a dream of moving to a small farm, one day. In the meantime, I’m not going to let these years go by without working toward my goals of greater self-sufficiency. Every jar of tomatoes I put up, every potato I dig, every handful of spinach or blueberries or flowers I bring in from the garden, is a small part of that larger vision of THIS LIFE I AM CREATING. 

Having a deep understanding and connection to where our food comes from is very important to me. Maintaining a strong connection to the Earth and doing my part to walk gently upon this planet is not something I can wait for. I need it now. I feel most alive when plunging my hands into the rich soil, talking to my plants, and watching life grow and change in my garden.

In 2016, I retired from a deeply rewarding and yet terribly consuming career as a dance performer and teacher.  (Yup, I was still working as a veterinary technician then, too. Most dancers have other jobs to help ends meet.) I knew that giving up my vital presence in my artform was going to create a huge void in my life. I thought ahead and spent a lot of time doing very deep soul-searching to try to prepare for that eventuality. I knew I needed art in my life. I also knew that certain aspects of my lifestyle had been in active conflict with the things I felt were most important to me. Most importantly: time with my family, self-care, and actively nurturing my spiritual life. I wanted to replace dance with something gentler on my body, less stressful, that could be practiced in solitude, relatively cheap, could include my husband, and most importantly… that made me feel close to the Creator. I’m so happy I chose gardening. It’s made me a better person in many ways. And it’s helped bridge the chasm in my life when I left dance.

Gardening is incredibly artsy. Planning gardens, choosing plant combinations, noticing each plant’s individual habits and contributions, arranging flowers and making meals… all of this fills my cup and sparks creativity. It’s also a wonderful hobby because I can also choose to just experience what I’ve made, anytime. I don’t need an audience, music, or a 2-hour warm-up to get loose(!), before I can dive in. I just open my back door and sit down on the back porch. I look around, and I breathe slowly. The healing energy of my garden is available to me whenever I slow down long enough to receive it. 

 How does your garden bring YOU joy? Let me know in the comments!