Thistledog's Farm

Hello, and welcome!  My name is Kay Gschwind, and this blog is an online journal of my adventures as a small farmer, from dreaming about it, to doing it.

After many long years and a few false starts, my lifelong dream of living on a small farm is finally becoming reality.  I am, as Thoreau urged, living the life I have imagined.  In 2006 my husband Derril and I bought 128 acres of woodland and hilltop pastures in south-central Kentucky; an old family farm that had been kept up but not really farmed.  Over the next five years we made occasional visits to mow pastures, maintain the roads and buildings, and do some fencing projects.   Now that I’m retired and moved from San Diego I can root myself, start a small herd of grass-fed cattle, and begin the building of Bear and Thistle Farm in earnest.

The name of the farm is a representation of our joint ancestries:  Derril’s middle name, which was his father’s name, is Arthur.  In Old English, Arthur means Bear.  I have Scottish ancestry on both my mother’s and father’s side of the family, and the thistle is a symbol of Scotland.  And so, “Bear and Thistle Farm” came to be.

As a dog person, I came to use the nickname Thistledog as my screen name, which is why this blog is called “Thistledog’s Farm.”   And you may sometimes read about a person called “Bear” in a post – that’s an online nickname for my husband, and it fits him perfectly.

I am operating solo for now, while Derril is still working in San Diego.  With cattle and horses and dogs to care for, I stay pretty busy!  So I don’t always post as often as I’d like.  But I’m working on that.  Stay tuned, it’s a wonderful adventure and I’m glad to be able to share it here!

Cheers,

Kay