"A farmer depends on himself, and the land and the weather. If you're a farmer, you raise what you eat, you raise what you wear, and you keep warm with wood out of your own timber. You work hard, but you work as you please, and no man can tell you to go or come. You'll be free and independent, son, on a farm."
-Father in Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer: A person outstanding in his field.
About Us
When I was a horse-crazy 10 year old, I had . . . my Horse Book. It contained drawings of my imaginary horse farm, complete with secret caves and the 100-stall stallion barn (!); cut-out pictures of horses that I named and categorized according to their outstanding abilities; and other various lists and pictures of things that I thought would be nice to have.
Hidden Hills is now a husband, wife and two kid operation, supported by several contract staff and numerous friends and other family. Horsemanship training and horse boarding are our gateway services. We also milk cows, keep over 50 free range hens, care for a farmyard full of small farm animals, bale hay, manage over 100 acres of pastureland, teach classes in outdoor/wilderness/homestead skills, host guests through AirBnb, schedule birthday parties and guided trail rides, garden an acre of land, and homeschool our kids.
Pressure to sell valuable farmland amid local economic growth is intense, and the sacredness of undeveloped land in a gigabyte, schedule-driven world has all but vanished. At our farm, people of all ages are given the opportunity to reconnect with a quickly disappearing farming heritage and experience values such as honest dirt, hard work, self-sufficiency, courage, soul rest, family, respect, patience, the value of life, and interconnectedness.
"Why does a farmer farm?
Love. They must do it for love.
They love to live where they work
and work where they live."
-Wendell Berry