Imagine waking up to the gentle bellows of cows and the rooster’s morning call. Sunlight streams through windows, illuminating a cozy home nestled amidst the lake, hills and fertile fields. This is the daily rhythm at The Wolfe Ranch, a haven of peaceful charm and homegrown hospitality crafted by us, Mark and April Wolfe. It sounds absolutely amazing, doesn’t it? It is…it really is until you walk up on a chicken that didn’t make it through the night, have to pull a calf to save the mamma at 2:30am, or fall into cow poo…repeatedly, or have to bundle up like the kid in “A Christmas Story” to go out and feed the animals because it has to be done but all you want to do is stay in bed and binge your latest series craze. Behind every serene and seemingly amazing idea or experience is a whole lot of sweat, blood, tears and grossness that no-one talks about. As my husband, Mark, would say “Ranchin’ ain’t easy”…but it IS worth it and as long as we are physically able to do so, this is the life we choose.

We began the Wolfe Ranch together in late 2016 and have been working to make improvements to the land and our home ever since. This is more than just a picturesque escape. It’s a living testament to our dedication to sustainable and natural living. We have commitment to raising livestock, gardening, and living without chemicals or with as little exposure as possible to limit the toxic load that commercial industries inundate our society with and it shines through in the fresh produce, farm raised meats, and farm-fresh eggs we consume, preserve, and share. Over the years, we have made an effort to learn skills that will make homesteading, growing, harvesting, and preserving foods easier and more sustainable for us and our family.

I began the YouTube channel as a way to provide content to my students in 2020, but soon realized how much I enjoyed content creation and how much wider of a reach the platform provided for us to share this life for whoever might want to live a more natural life along with us or for those in the future who need an encouraging word to try something new. If we can do this, then anyone can. While I grew up in a home where my parents cooked mostly from scratch, I was an army brat and grew up moving every few years, which did not lend well to gardening or raising livestock…so I started this journey at NADA, zilch, zero experience and have taught and continue to teach myself how to do this life. Mark did grow up around gardens and livestock, but like most young people, he did not take much stock in the lifestyle until the passing of his father, at which time those lessons took on a new meaning and became so much more precious.

Here at the ranch, we raise laying hens, meat chickens, pigs, and cattle. We began sustainable gardening four years ago and have since expanded the items we grow. We added four raised beds two years ago and this past year we raised all of our plants from seeds. The last few years we have really focused on food preservation and this year we have dipped our toes into herbs, tinctures, and essential oils as a means of natural healing, immunity boosts and maintenance, and overall health support and have been pleasantly surprised with the results. There are several videos on the YouTube Channel that show the progression over time. The Savvy Natural Living page is where you can find more information on just that…Savvy Natural Living. I also have a Facebook group of the same name linked in the side bar that you are invited to join as well.

Make no mistake we have not secluded ourselves to the ranch by any means. We both have full time careers outside of the home. We have three of our four boys still at home, in school, and heavily involved in activities. We are both avid volunteers in the two communities that we live between. We want people to know that they can live this life and still be active members of society, if they want to be. We embrace the spirit of community. We are proud members of The Greater Taylorville Chamber of Commerce and volunteer at many of their events. We actively support local businesses and try to lend a helping hand wherever needed. We hope that our efforts are seen by our children and that we are instilling a sense of community in them and that both Taylorville and neighboring Kincaid are positively impacted by our efforts as well. Is it easy? No. Are there haters and nay-sayers out there, sure. But we have found that few things that are worth one’s time and energy in this life are actually easy and what others say about us isn’t our problem and shows their true natures…not ours. We are learning the art of balance, prioritizing, and resting rather than quitting. Hopefully, in the end, we will have made a positive impact on the land, those we love, and the communities we choose to live in.

While our love for the land and family runs deep, we also dreamt of owning our own business where both of our talents could be utilized and that would supply an additional stream of income into retirement and beyond. We have often been told that we would be great B&B hosts as we love to entertain, share our lives, and just make people feel welcome and comfortable in our home at the ranch. But with our careers, kids, and schedule, the traditional bed and breakfast model is just not possible for us. Enter a delightful solution: short-term rentals! With short-term rentals, we have the opportunity to provide a safe, cozy, home away from home experience for visitors without the daily demands of a traditional B&B. Late in 2022, we purchased a historic building in our nearby “hometown” that was once the site of the 1920’s Kincaid Train Depot Hotel as our first venture into the guest accommodations world. With the support and help of family, we have been renovating and updating it into a three-unit, short-term rental building called “The Quarter”.

A tour of Suite A, the first unit, is linked below and more information on The Quarter can be found in the next blog post.

Thanks for visiting us here at The Wolfe Ranch, in our little corner of the internet. Maybe, one day, you can visit us in real life as a guest at The Quarter and maybe just maybe you will choose a more natural path in life as well.

Until next time… Laters, April & Mark Wolfe