Today, Spring Valley Treasure is literally the back forty, made up of overgrazed, abandoned agricultural land that regenerated into native pastures, market garden, horse training area, and wildlife corridor. Back then our barns were falling apart and our soils were compacted.
Why anyone would see a diamond here was a mystery.
Air may be the most important component for our survival, but water is a close second. Years ago, dairy farmers cooled their milk and watered their cows with spring water. Along Dewey’s Bridge Road, there is a cistern built over the ledge and spring. This farm relic gave us a chance to start our farm. We started out with a couple of heifers, lambs, pigs, chickens and wide open spaces while working full time off farm.
It was five years before we sprung for a drilled well, lifting water out of the cistern with buckets at first to water the heifers.
I can still remember the feeling of kneeling to dip my bucket below the ground’s surface and rising with clear, cold, fresh spring water.
Later on, a sump pump drew gallons of water much easier for daily chores. We were living between the modern world and the early twentieth century trying to connect our children to the land.