From a Reader
Cultivating Her Calling
Perseverance, Leadership and Stewardship from Saratoga Homestead
By Bethany Salisbury
The first time I held a newborn rabbit in my hands, I felt both awe and terror. Its tiny heartbeat rattled in my palm, and I realized that farming wasn’ t just about planting seeds or harvesting crops, it was about life, responsibility and connection. My whole purpose seemed to snap into place.
You see, I didn’ t grow up on a farm. My childhood was more about books, sports and pounding the small town sidewalks with my bike, rather than soil and livestock. A classic case of small town girl transplanted into the country, if you will.
But I was obsessively drawn to the rhythm of life that agriculture offered: watching a small seed sprout, tending animals in the stillness of a barn and feeling the seasons shift in ways city life never allowed. I started small, raising a few contraband chickens and rabbits in our backyard in town for 4H, growing and learning to preserve a small vegetable garden with my mom and the occasional hunting trips with my dad.
Discovering Purpose
I quickly discovered the satisfaction, and ultimately obsession, of seeing something grow from my own hands,
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