About
From Urban to Rural In One Very Big Step
Blue Line Farm and its associated media empire are the current life’s work for Ben and Cath and the current lot in life of their wonderful children. Blue Line Farm itself is a 20 acre one-time horse farm in SW Michigan. Currently, the farm is about 15 acres of woods and 5 acres cleared.
Ben and Cath have *never* lived on a farm. Nor was it some obsessive dream…until recently. Cath had season tickets to the Lyric Opera. Ben had a big time IT job downtown. Still, we both decided that it was time to close the chapter on our wonderful time in the city of Chicago. Having decided to make the plunge though, we’ve thrown ourselves into it wholeheartedly.
Watch as we stumble through all the joys of country living. From raising chicks in the TV room to plunging waist deep into the bowels of an old GMC pickup, we’ll document it all here so in case YOU decide to go from Urban to Rural, you’ll at least have our poorly written FAQs to guide you!
We welcome everyone to post their comments and even send us the occasional email.
Ben,
Your hot tub is simply the best. Forget chickens and get back in the tub! No matter that we didn’t have suits ….
Are you (and Cath and kids but not chickens, cows or cats) free Labor Day for a ’round at the beach and pool this time at our Michigan shoreline in Holland?
Write soon,
Ginger
Wow, this is a pretty cool website. I like all the articles and learning about what’s going on. I guess I could just call, but it’s so my generation to keep updated through the internet.
Hi Ben and Cath,
I think it is so great you moved to Blueline Farm! Cath – it reminds me of the commune I lived in during the early 1970’s — all about the land and the animals.
Ben, global warming is real, of course (just ask the polar bears in Alaska), but I don’t think we can say it caused this warm December. We’ve had many warm warm Decembers in the midwest.
Cath, I’m glad you got out of the Chicago publci schools! I hope your new position is better. I have to believe the kids have better manners and more motivation to learn.
I’m really glad to hear Emily is doing well. She seemed so fragile back in Oxford. She must be much stronger now. My younger son Louis just finished his first semester at Miami U-Hamilton. They sure grow up fast.
No mortgage payments and o debts sounds like heaven. That’s the way to go! The last time I was in that rapture was back on the commune.
Ben, I’m glad to see you are an officer for the county Democrats. I’m currently reading Barak Obama’s new book. I’m really impressed by his clear writing and his 10 years of teaching constitutional law. I wonder what you think of him.
All is well here in mythical Oxford, Ohio. I still love teaching and once in a while I think I’ve got it figured out. Then I go to class and …..
Cath, what is your address — I’d like to send you a card.
Alan
I was looking for something on the internet (can’t recall what anymore) and ran across your blog…Great reading – really! I can appreciate so many of your comments although I’ve never lived in Chicago or owned a farm, LOL! ITA about the Shop Allegan First Bumper stickers and personally have 4 with NONE of them on my car.
Do enjoy snow now that global warming has caused us more issues (snow, ice, heat, rain, snow, ice, etc, etc) or should I just say – “Welcome to Michigan” applies no matter how long you’ve actually lived here
Have a great week
I recently heard this trick of the “death pop” you mentioned. So far, it hasn’t worked – could you forward along the exact mix you make? We are having a hard time keeping our chickens and ducks! I don’t think I am making it strong enough…
Thanks!
Kriszta
Ben,
It was great meeting you, drinking beer, eating pancakes and talking board games with you over the weekend. At the end of the week, Costaki asked, “so kids, what have we learned?” I answered, “that you can kill raccoons using Pepsi as bait.” Thanks for the tip!
Mike
Greetings from North Carolina!! I just wanted to tell you how much fun I had meeting you at the zoo yesterday. I think I know the kids names, but I don’t see them mentioned on the web site, so I will leave them out. I’m the volunteer whom you met in the aviary. Thanks for coming by. Thanks for your questions. Thanks for your songs and dances. I hope you have a safe trip back to Michigan.
Sincerely, Susan
I have heard that back during the late Sixties or early Seventies there was a hippie commune in Allegan Co. Was it Blue Line Farm? Was it somewhere else?
Thanks for your help.
Michael Reed, Kalamazoo
As interesting a story as it would be, Blue Line Farm as not a commune in the 60’s. It was owned by a nice used car salesman and his family at that time (I believe).
We named it Blue Line when we arrived from Chicago.
Hi Ben — My husband and I decided to leave Buffalo, NY (we moved from GA to NY in 1991) to live in the country in Delevan, NY. Population 1250. We have a bank, a bar, a laundermat, a convenience/gas station, a post office, and a pizza place. That is town. It takes up a whole 2 blocks. We have to drive over an hour to get to the nearest mall, work is almost an hour away, and the closest stores in town about 3 miles away. We live in the woods, sort of, our house is on 10 acres of woods with a stream running through the backyard. We don’t have as many animals as you, but our daughter has been bugging us for more. We only have a dog, cat, birds, fish, and a rabbit. That’s all we can handle. Winters are rough– 1 foot of ice on my roof right now and the snow on top of that is 2.5 feet. Occasionally I have to shovel off my roof, and it is nothing for us to get up to 3-4 feet of snow in a day. We have well water and when the electricity runs out, we have no heat OR water — this means no toilet flushing either. It is a harder way of life, but so well worth it. Good to see you living the good life. Cheers!
Melinda-
That’s a lot of snow even by West Michigan standards. Drive over from your snow belt to ours sometime. We’ll put some Highland beef on the grill!