About

Hi, we are Curtis & Kristin Swartzentruber and Hatching A Plot is the place where we will catalog our journey from city professionals to Vermont homesteaders.  We’ve both been interested in food, sustainability and gardening for awhile now.  After living in Chicago for a number of years (10+ for Kristin, 8+ for Curtis), we were fed up with city life for a number of reasons.  After a process of selling our condo that seemed never ending, we were finally able to pack up in August of 2011 and move to Vermont.

We are currently renting a great house in the village of Bristol with a huge backyard garden and an old barn.  While we look for our dream property, we’re already continuing on the path of growing and making as much of our own food as possible.  That means all kinds of things, from homebrewing to charcuterie, bread baking to fiber arts, simple construction projects and planning for our first big garden.

The name Hatching A Plot takes a phrase everyone knows, but puts a new spin on it.  We like the idea of “hatching” since we want to raise chickens and of course plot can refer to a garden or land used for all sorts of things. There is also the idea of figuring things out, of being a lifelong student and taking small steps each day in the purpose of a larger goal. We hope you enjoy keeping up with our journey.