Robin Proctor shared her homesteading expertise with FSLM for two years. Now, we take a closer look at her day-to-day and her favorite spots in and around her home.
By Phoebe Warren

As the first light of dawn breaks though the horizon, local homesteader Robin Proctor is already outside and ready for another day of hard work. She has had her morning coffee on the back porch, tucked her overalls into her red Muck boots, and set off across her property. The air smells faintly of damp earth, and in the distance, she can hear all 16 of her chickens demanding breakfast from their cozy coop; all the chickens are named, and Robin can remember each chicken for her distinctive personality and feather markings. Her garden also waits for her attendance, stretching out in tidy rows. Inside her kitchen, two jars of sourdough starter, named Lancelot and Guinevere, wait patiently in their designated spots. Running around her feet the entire time are her faithful farm dogs, Deacon, Buddy, and Frank. For Robin, every day is a new chance to learn, grow, feel the soil in her hands, and listen to the ever-changing melodies of the earth.

Robin inherited a wealth of gardening knowledge from her father, Bobby Choate. She was living close to her parents when she made the decision to quit her job and become a stay-at-home parent. “I relied on [my father’s] garden for all our fresh veggies,” she said. The decision to homestead wasn’t some new and novel revelation to her; rather, it was the way she was raised.

“‘Homesteading’ is just the term we hear today. Before that, we were just ‘country,’” she said. “A garden was more of a necessity than a luxury. It put food on our table. Processed foods were expensive. I clearly remember going to my best friend’s house, Carla. She had a microwave and Twinkies. I think I ate the whole box of Twinkies. Canning, gardening, making our jelly, and butchering a cow for the freezer was just a way of life for me. I sometimes question whether this is ‘homesteading’ or just living a cleaner life. But I try to avoid the labels—it leaves room for failure and a Twinkie.”

When her father passed away a few years ago, Robin wanted to preserve the plot of dirt that held not only his garden but also so many precious memories. Her husband, Danny, loaded up their tractor and drove over to the property, where he scraped as much of the topsoil as possible onto a trailer for Robin to place in her own garden. “I will forever believe there is a little bit of magic and a whole lot of my dad in my garden,” she said.

How does one pursue this lifestyle, in which the garden and animals provide a great portion of meals, and everything within reason is utilized or preserved? Robin explained that the most important thing to realize is that homesteading requires hard work and commitment.

“Cows are a tremendous amount of work; their favorite pastime is breaking barbed wire fences,” she said. “Calves are always born on the coldest, wettest nights. Chickens are a lot of work. A garden doesn’t take a week off from growing. It’s a lot of bending, pulling, tending, harvesting, and preserving.” She emphasized that it truly takes help from others as well to keep everything running smoothly. While Robin has been affectionately proclaimed “the chicken whisperer” by Danny, she said that he is the one who keeps the cows in line best.

The biggest task of Robin’s day is getting all of the animals watered and fed each morning. In addition to her beloved chickens and dogs, Robin also has eight cows, one bull, and three donkeys. She will also clean out the chicken coop and collect fresh eggs.

The next order of business, depending on the season, is to thoroughly check her garden for crops ready to be picked and to weed the garden if needed. In the off-seasons, she might check on seedlings sprouting in the greenhouse. This year, she is preparing potato eyes to plant. Robin doesn’t just grow fruit and veggies; she also researches medicinal and culinary herbs to grow in her garden. She has had particular success with lemon balm and basil. She also harvests dandelions growing wild on her property, making them into a dandelion salve that combats numerous skin issues.

Even when Robin has an over-abundance of crops from her garden and greenhouse, nothing is wasted. “My freezer is stocked with peas, corn, bell peppers, and okra,” she said. “I make fresh pesto from the basil, and I can homemade pasta sauce, stewed tomatoes, and chopped tomatoes. I rarely buy jams or jellies. I can pear preserves and finally am able to preserve muscadine jelly. I smoke and candy the jalapenos and make sweet and dill pickles.” Robin also makes seasoning salts and homemade cleaners with her home-grown herbs. She has multiple uses for her lemon tree, including a delectable homemade limoncello.

When there is no more produce to reckon with, Robin turns her focus to her homemade sourdough bread, which she loves to gift to others. “I think about how long people have been making bread,” she said. “I love participating in one of the oldest food traditions on earth.” Though the process had initially intimidated her, she can now regularly be found in her kitchen working on her next batch of bread. She has made loaves of smoked jalapeno and cheddar, lemon zest and fresh dill, rosemary, and everything-but-the-bagel seasoning. She also makes sourdough crackers. Her kitchen has evidence of her hard work all around it, from fresh eggs on the counter to loaves of homemade bread cooling on the kitchen island.

garden and jelly photos submitted; all other photos by shane darby

When she is able to take a break, Robin enjoys cozying up in her living room for quiet reflection or having company over in the entertaining area of the home. The interior of the home is all brick, stone, and dark wood. Robin and Danny fell in love with Jackson Hole, Wyoming, renowned for its dramatic Teton Range scenery. They wanted to recreate what they loved about their vacations there, in and out of the mountain resorts. A lodge-styled living area, open kitchen, carved wooden furniture, and grand stone walls brought their vision to life throughout the home. The effect is a luxurious space that feels rustic but refined.

It is important to Robin that she passes down her knowledge, just as her grandfather and father did before her. She ensures that her grandchildren get involved when they come to visit. “They love helping me pick things that are ready to be harvested—and a few things that aren’t,” she laughed. “I want them to know where food comes from and the work it takes to have it.” Her grandsons, Lawson and Townsend, enjoy feeding the donkeys and eating warm muscadines off of the vine. Her granddaughter, Grace, will now FaceTime her and ask to see the chickens before any kind of conversation is had.

Robin finds immense joy and beauty in the landscape surrounding her and in the home she shares with Danny. Her heart belongs here. “I love sitting in my swing under the biggest oak tree on our property, watching the geese pair up and the cows grazing across the pond in the pasture,” she said. “I love the smell of a tomato plant when you put it in the ground, the smell of a fresh cucumber still warm from the sun, the aroma from the basil plant that is brushed against when searching for the first pink tomato, and the smell of the garden after a gentle rain.”

Robin loves to sit in the swing under the oak by the pond and watch the animals go about their lives. photo by shane darby

Her favorite time of day is at the very end. “All creatures have been fed, eggs collected, and the girls are all back in their coop safe and snug,” she said. “The sun is setting, and the day is done. I thank them for the eggs. I tell them goodnight and that I love them. It makes all the hard work worth it.”

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