Memoir recounts 'starter homestead' near Maple Falls

MICHELLE NOLAN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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If you've ever dreamed of establishing your own "starter homestead," or turning your yard into a food-producing paradise, Susan Colleen Browne has written the book for you.

A longtime local writer, editor and writing instructor, Browne has just released "Little Farm in the Foothills: A Boomer Couple's Search for the Slow Life."

The 203-page memoir, written in conjunction with husband John F. Browne, reveals the steep learning curve they experienced while creating Berryridge Farm, outside of Maple Falls. The book combines gardening advice with light-hearted humor and dozens of stories about the joys and challenges of rural life.

KATIE BARNES | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Susan likes to say she has learned that "simplicity can be awfully complicated."

Susan, 54, and John, 60, each have two grown children. He retired eight years ago after a public safety career with Western Washington University; she is a 1993 graduate of Western's Huxley College of the Environment.

Question: Susan, is your farm is a never-ending project?

Answer: It definitely is a work in progress. We've got quite a little orchard and vegetable garden, even though we have only a half-acre cleared out of 10 acres we own. We're focused on growing as much of our own food as possible. Someday, maybe we'll grow enough to sell at the farmer's market.

Q: Have you fulfilled your dream of "the slow life?"

A: Oh, yes! It's pretty amazing to wake up every morning and realize that there is no place you'd rather be. ... It was one of those life-changing dreams. Call it our "mid-life re-invention."

Q: What can people learn from your book?

A: It takes us from conceiving our dream to carrying it out. We have a few segues into our pasts, since looking at your past really does inform so much of who you are and what dreams you might have. We'd like to think we provide a sense of inspiration, a sense that your dream might not be as far off as you think. But it's not a how-to book; you won't learn how to build a chicken coop.

Q: What are the challenges?

A: Be prepared to downsize a bit as you dream. We started with nothing but raw, old, clear-cut acreage. We came in dreaming of a log cabin home, but we realized we didn't have the finances for that, so we put in a beautiful manufactured home.

Now we're dreaming of building a traditional, big red barn. You might say we've gone from a dream home to a dream barn in our aspirations.

Q: Can urban gardeners benefit from what you've learned?

A: This book is for anyone who loves to garden or loves to dream about a more peaceful, slower life, especially if you're into growing at least some of your own food.

Q: Is that why you donate part of your profits to Sustainable Connections?

A: Sustainable Connections has deeply inspired us with its "buy local" movement in Whatcom County, along with the organization's farm map, so we very much want to give back to this wonderful organization.

Michelle Nolan is a freelance writer.