Sarah Shipley listens to her son, Hank Shipley, read her a story involving a car accident. Sarah was a nurse until she was in a car accident that left her with brain damage and lots of chronic pain. Because of this she had to quit her nursing career and turned to farming full time with her husband Clay Shipley (not pictured) who was already farming at the time at their property in Timberlake, North Carolina. Now, she may be a farmer by trade, but she’s a mother by calling. Her days start and end with her children. 

Sarah does the chore of uncovering the flower beds. Growing flowers was a hobby until recently when they had to scale back other aspects of their farm such as their beef sales due to a beef allergy Sarah contracted. Now that they have sold their cattle, they have so much land and Sarah says they often struggle to maintain it and know what to do with it next. 

Colton Shipley, Sarah’s eldest son, goes to feed the chickens and collect eggs as part of his morning chores on the farm. “ We started farming because my husband was given this land from his grandfather and I had a new passion for living by the land and then raising our children in a different way than we were raised, to teach them life skills that we never had,” Sarah said. 

Hank Shipley gets distracted from his chores and plays on old wooden pallets.

Sarah tends to her seedlings in her part of her “redneck greenhouse” as she like to call it. In reality it is a small closet in their garage they have converted to a working greenhouse where they start the growth of the flower seedlings till they are ready to go into the ground. 

Sarah Shipley works in her other “redneck greenhouse”, a plant box with an old window and glass door laid on top.

Sarah shovels mulch into a wheelbarrow alone with her property sprawling behind her. Farming can be a lonely job for her as her husband has to take handyman jobs to support their family and is not home during the day.

Sarah puts fresh mulch in the flower beds while wearing her wedding bands. “Clay [Sarah’s husband] has seen me through everything. My accident, all my different careers. We’ve grown a lot and it may not seem like it but I really need him,” said Sarah. 

Sarah Shipley has a bible study with her children at their kitchen table. Her faith is something that she holds very dear and wants to pass on to her kids despite their distaste for the activity. “I mostly do everything for the glory of God. He gave me a second chance and I just have to do the best I can with the life He’s given me,” said Sarah.