The LO-O-O-O-NG Story

We (Jim and Adele) bought the first 120 acres (ca. 49 hec.) in 2007 with the intention of providing a 20-acre (ca. 8-hec.) parcel for each of our four children. We had originally looked for a much smaller piece of acreage in western Washington for ourselves. Then we spread out our search area to include central and eastern Washington. Soon, after talking among themselves, our oldest kids asked us if we’d consider being neighbors with them on a large piece of land. Before we knew it, we had found the land we fell in love with.

Sitting at about 2000’ (ca. 610 m.) above sea level, our property is mountainlike and green much of the year. With a mixture of thick and selectively logged timber, a large pasture, and a 5-acre pond, the land has wide open spaces for recreation, work, and living a life we love. While secluded and remotely-located, our place is just 25 minutes from two towns, each with a hospital and shopping areas.

Along with finishing the entry road and bringing power and phone in, one of our first projects was to site and develop a family campsite, where we’ve enjoyed several family camps with all or part of the family together. Some of our favorite family times have been spent around a crackling campfire, listening to pine trees rustling in the wind and enjoying the company of one another. We set up a nice playground with sturdy equipment for the little ones and are in the process of bringing power and water up to the campsite.

Each family unit selected a 20-acre parcel to call its own. Each couple (Jim & Adele, Jeremy & Katrina, Sarah & Pete, Bethany & Tommy, Christina & Nick) will develop their land as they like. The five pieces are clustered so that cabins and homes could be fairly close, but there is still enough space between for privacy. Additionally, there are 20 thickly-forested acres at one end of the ranch. We plan to leave that in trees for now, and develop a wildlife refuge area of food and shelter plants around the pond to encourage the deer, turkeys, birds and other animals to stay around. In 2008 Sarah and Pete bought an additional 20 acres next to their first 20, bringing the family spread up to 140 acres (ca. 57 hec.).

Why is a couple in their mid-50s embarking on such a project? The answer is that we are doing something we enjoy while helping our kids create a lifestyle that they value for their families. We feel blessed to have this opportunity and we do plan to enjoy the journey! Both of us have been happiest living a rural life that includes outdoor projects, livestock, and gardening.


When we’ve thought ahead to our “retirement” years, we couldn’t imagine anything we’d like more than living on some acreage with animals and gardens that require daily physical activity and provide fulfillment and entertainment. Yes, we’ll be replacing one kind of work with another, but we are both putterers who like projects. Even Jim can’t imagine golfing every day. One thing we will do is line up relief caretakers for our place, because we enjoy traveling--and though we love all four seasons, we also like to escape to warm places in the fall and winter!

For our children, grandchildren, and generations to come, we want to facilitate a lifestyle close to nature, with wholesome homegrown food and the outdoor activity that goes with it. We will not live long enough to see the realization of many of our family’s plans, but we’ll enjoy being part of the implementation of some of them. We hope that many generations of family members will choose to hold onto the land. If not, the foundation we lay will support the dreams of other families in the future.

We’d always planned to be very involved in our grandchildren’s lives, but this charge goes beyond what we’d imagined. It means being more deeply and closely involved than we’d expected—more time together, more side-by-side work and play. At this point (2009) we have eleven grandchildren—eleven young people to influence and nurture— eleven future families. For us this puts a different spin on “home missions.”

So we’ve adopted a viewpoint expressed in the movie “Far and Away.” As a middle-aged couple stakes a claim in the Oklahoma Land Race, the husband says to his wife, “Let’s pretend we’re just starting out, instead of ending up.” Bravo--what a great way to think!

There’s also another aspect to this adventure of ours. God clearly had a hand in this part of our life journey and has directed our steps. From the day we first contacted the real estate agent, things have gone remarkably smoothly. What took us to that little corner of the state? As a family, we are not strangers to following our “gut feelings” without knowing all the whys and wherefores and stepping out in faith in a direction we feel is right. We do sometimes wonder how and why everything worked out the way it has with this land. It was more than just a desire on our parts to provide a wholesome life for our family. Does it have something to do with the food supply chain? Will this lifestyle be an asset in the future economy? During challenging times, will we give encouragement to and receive strength from the many local Christian families we’ve met and connected with?

Our adult family members have a conglomerate of complementary interests and skills that include development, agricultural, and marketing aspects. For years several of us have been studying, researching, and experimenting with various parts of the “homespun” lifestyle. As a family we have raised beef cattle and horses and planted many a vegetable garden. We’ve preserved produce and savored homemade goodies from daily bread and cheese to apple butter and salsa. Our learning phase has incorporated reading of technical references, internet research, hands-on experience, personal mentoring, and several classes and workshops offered by the Washington State University extension program.











So what will we do at the ranch? Here is the plan: Jim and Adele will move there first, in the spring of 2010. Some joint family projects will be developed on Jim and Adele’s central parcel. Included in the plans are an orchard, a livestock barn, and renovation of the existing pasture. We plan to raise some beef, pork, chicken and eggs—enough for the family plus a bit more to sell. A vegetable garden and fruit orchard will get top priority. Horses for riding and some fiber animals (sheep, goats, and/or alpacas) round out the first phase of our plans. Jim and Adele will start small with personally manageable numbers, and as other family members move to the ranch they can add to the menagerie as they wish.

The name “N Lazy A Ranch” is a family legacy. A century ago, Jim’s German immigrant grandparents homesteaded in Nebraska and chose N Lazy A as their ranch’s cattle brand. The N was for their last name and the A was for family matriarch Anna. Now Grandmother Anna was anything but lazy—she was an astute businesswoman who expanded her family’s land holdings to more than eight sections. The “lazy” actually refers to the position of the letter on the brand—a lazy A is lying on its side. We are the proud keepers of N and A branding irons and some relics from the original N Lazy A.

A surprise bonus came along with the purchase of our land. Some good friends in western Washington--our “realtors for life”--helped us with the purchase paperwork when we bought the land. They thought the property looked pretty nice, and the owner was considering selling one more 40-acre piece of land. Long-story-short, Larry and Lynn, friends from Everett, will be our next-door neighbors in eastern Washington. We look forward to lots of good times with Larry and Lynn in the years to come!