Pleasant Hill Farm

After the sun goes down:

            For over thirty years, my husband, John Van Voorhees, and I have nurtured our organic blueberry farm. John’s grandfather bought the original section of the farm in 1937 and started planting blueberries with his sons. We still harvest berries from those bushes! John’s parents expanded the farm and planted even more acres to blueberries in a large peat bog encircled by woods. John and I believe in living simply on our homestead. We garden year around, keep goats, chickens, make maple syrup, and harvest our electricity by wind and solar power.

            For the past two years, I have been writing and recording “audio-postcards” from our farm for our local NPR affiliate, WMUK. Links to those MP3 files are located just to the right on this page.

            Farming and homesteading require much work, but like Pa Ingalls of the Little House books, when the sun sets, John and I like to play traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, and America. John plays piano accordion while I play an Irish button accordion or folk harp. I love fiddle music and folk dancing because common people past on these traditions from one generation to another. I can join in with other Irish musicians anywhere in the world, and we will probably know some of the same tunes and can play them together.

            My hands also piece quilts or grip knitting needles as I create socks or patterned mittens. Usually one of our cats snuggles on my lap along with my corgi. Life is better when shared.

For more information on organic farming, visit my LINKS page for some related sites.

Below are links to some podcasts of features Joan has done for WMUK Public Radio from Western Michigan University.

Farm to Bowl
Dry Beans
Pruning
Maple Sugaring
Tomato Soup
Blueberry Harvesting
Keping Warm

To view a recently published essay in the Ezine, Public-Republic, click here.

We use wind generated power, and have solar panels too.

This is Our House, which we built ourselves.

This is our Small Barn, where we keep our animals:

We keep chickens,

and Goats.