“I’ve always been a farm girl at heart. I love digging in the dirt, it soothes my soul.”

I grew up in Baltimore and lived in a row home — hardly the country-life — but I counted myself lucky since our home was at the beginning of the “row.”  This meant we had a front yard, a side yard and a back yard — were land-rich compared to our neighbors. My Mom loved to garden and we always grew big, juicy Maryland tomatoes (the best ever!), beans, and strawberries.  I attribute my love of gardening and grubbing around in the dirt to her.

In 2008, I started raising “backyard” chickens in our small yard in midtown Coeur d’Alene. At the time, very few people were raising chickens within city-limits, so I started blogging about my experiences in 2009. Since that time, the popularity of keeping chickens has exploded and backyard coops are popping up all over the city. I love writing about the follies of chicken-keeping and our “girls!”

My gardening passion is heirloom tomatoes — there is just something about growing a tomato variety in your garden that was also grown by Thomas Jefferson. I love the the varied shapes, colors, and sizes, but most of all, I love the delicious taste. This passion has grown into a hobby-business of selling heirloom tomato plants and vegetable starts at the Kootenai Farmers’ Markets and from our small garden in town.

In 2017, I completed a “bucket-list” goal by becoming a certified Idaho Master Gardener. After the first couple of course sessions, I realized how little I actually knew about gardening and wondered how I had managed to get anything to grow at all!  One of the best things about being an Idaho Master Gardener is sharing my knowledge with others. Gardening really is an occupation of trial and error and enduring optimism. As one of my favorite gardening quotes points out:

There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments!

 — Janet K. Phillips

I hope you will follow along as I share my experiences and tips on keeping backyard chickens and growing a successful garden.

About Candace

Candace is the owner of Godwin Marketing Communications, and a marketing professional with more than 20 years in the business. Helping people to grow their businesses and find creative solutions to their marketing challenges is what Godwin Marketing Communications is passionate about.  Her business philosophy is likened to gardening.

“I believe marketing is much like growing a garden — you have to start with a plan; deciding what to sow, when and where.  It takes some grubbing in the dirt and a lot of cultivating relationships.  It’s attending to individual needs of prospects, overcoming the setbacks (slugs of all sorts) and reaping the mutual benefits with satisfied customers.”

She received a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness degree with minors in Advertising and Journalism from the University of Idaho. Candace is also a certified Idaho Master Gardener through the University of Idaho Extension.