You've found friends here on our Farm...

Living a Simple Life isn't for wimps!

Maybe you've found, like we did, that voluntarily simplifying your life has it's challenges. Here you will find personal stories of triumph, joy, humor, and sadness. Real life experiences, information, & resources about things we've learned, some of it the hard way. We had very little cash, but a true desire to change the direction our lives were headed. We had loads of creativity, only 24 hours in each day, and most importantly, tenacity & gumption. We're a scrappy bunch.

We're a home schooling family living a very simple life in the Appalachian Mountains of east Tennessee. This life has taught us so much, but we still have so much more to learn. Won't you visit with us often and let's share our simple lives, together.

From the beach to the mountains...

We moved here in 1999 from the coast of North Carolina, escaping job stress and a beach house that our family of 5 outgrew. With two small children and Ed's mother who suffered a debilitating illness and needed continual care, we were ready to try something different.

We'd always gardened, had a few domesticated pets like cats, dogs, rabbits, hermit crabs and fish. Our beach neighbors were just over the fence, the grocery store right down the street. The wild animals were limited to raccoons and possums, a few snakes, and of course, beach critters, like ghost crabs and an occasional alligator.

What would it be like to move to the wilderness of the Appalachian mountains where black bear appeared in your backyard and your nearest neighbor was 1/4 mile away?

With a true pioneer spirit and an occasional 25 mile trip to town for supplies, we renovated, invented, created, and transformed the Tennessee life into our home.

After a few years, we adopted children so we could share the blessings we'd been given, and more challenges appeared. Life has been tough but interesting and, oh so rewarding!

Are you looking for what we found?

Although our life is simple, it’s not easy, and it's very busy.

If you're looking for a way to slow down and gain more quality from the hours in your day, then visit our simple life at Blackberry Blossom. This was our goal too. What we'd like to offer you is a place to find all of the stuff we learned on this journey without having to research it for years, and through hundreds of resources, like we did.

As our site progresses, you'll find all of the information below:

Organic Farming

Native and Medicinal plants

Composting & Propagation

Healthy Living

Family Tent Camping

Tent Camping Tips

Camping, Farm & Canning Recipes

Handmade Quilt making

Nature & Twig Craft

Adoption and Parenting Challenging Children

Practical Homeschooling

Woodworking & Boat Building and more…

Our website is just beginning, come back often as we share our simple life and add new pages.

Stay tuned... this will be very interesting!