My birth name is Elisabeth but most people call me Lisa.  I have also been called wife, ex-wife, nurse, sister, daughter, friend, student and teacher. Second only to “mom,” Untah is my favorite designation.  I am very proud of this unusual title. It is a family name, but not from a long lost relative or a favorite grandmother from Sweden.  It is a made up name.  My oldest daughter was the only grandchild for many years. She and my sister Cathy were talking and laughing over funny ways to say each other’s name.  My daughter blurted out “Untah” and it became the substitute for Aunt.  My second daughter continued the habit of calling my sister Untah.  When Cathy’s girls were old enough to speak, I, too was blessed with the honor of this name. We would always know who was being beckoned because of who was calling out “Untah!”  When my brother married and had children, my sister became “Untah Cathy” and I became “Untah at the Farm.” I smile when I hear my nieces and nephews call out “Untah at the Farm” as they run to the phone so we can catch up on life’s events The closest pronunciation I can provide is “Un” as in the French word for one.  “Tah” rhymes with “duh”.

My family says I live on a farm.  Farmette may be accurate, but it is to fancy.  Property makes it sound like we don’t live here.  We are in a rural area on 16 acres, with 2 dogs, 2 cats and have plans to add goats and pigs. My garden measures 1500 square feet.  My husband hunts deer. I freeze and can wild and organically grown foods.  We have 2 dozen hens for eggs.  We have three roosters. One was given to us and is friendly and beautiful.  Two are from a clutch of eggs hatched this summer. We raise 24 meat chickens every other year. We are the closest thing to a farm my family knows.

Real farmers get up before the sun and milk, plow, till, move cattle, feed, water, harvest and check the weather…on the radio and in the sky.  They worry about crop yields and often live of off unit prices many years behind the cost of living.  Real farmers count on milk checks, depend on futures exchange and pray a lot.  Real farmers care about their animals and land.  Their accountants and ag consultants are on speed dial.  They drive pick up trucks and tractors. Though I share many of the qualities of a real farmer, I am not one.  I have the utmost respect for real farmers and am humbled to have them as neighbors.

All of that being acknowledged, we live at “Untah’s Farm”.