When we decided to move from the Sacramento suburbs to a more rural community-oriented area to raise our children, we searched far and wide before narrowing the search to Placer County. On a hot summer day at the Placer County fair in Roseville, it hit us like a sack of potatoes.

Standing in the middle of a small animal barn, I looked at my wife Terri and asked her if she saw “misfit” or strange acting kids. After a good long look around, we both saw nothing but hard-working, well-behaved (for the most part) kids from babies to teens, and we knew it was the place to raise a family ...not in the goat pen, but somewhere affiliated with agriculture, but where?

We found our property a few months later by accident. We built a barn and were off to the races - though we didn't have anything to race, raise or feed for that matter. It was like the TV show Green Acres, without the pig!

The learning curve has been very slow and tedius. We joke that "the good life” should be called "the good only if you can afford to pay someone to do all the work life.”

Our goal was to raise our children in a wholesome environment, away from all the junk you get in the city. We want to teach them where their food comes from, how it is produced, farmed and raised, and what country manners are. We want to raise our children to appreciate the earth that God gave us to live on.

Now, years later, we have a fresh crop of mandarins every year. Along with that, we have been working on making our own wine, which will soon be available. We also have bees, so soon we will be offering our fresh honey right off our farm. Call or stop by during spring and summer time to taste our family and friend orchard of peaches, pears, nectarines, and apricots!