Yeah, yeah, I normally post the midweek mixtape on Wednesdays, but this morning I woke up really thankful for my farm, my Eddie Ray, my Christian, all the other critters, and my drive to learn enough to be where I am today with this whole 'farm' deal. I read a few of my old posts, that I have linked at the bottom of this post, and found myself really proud of what I have done out here. It's been a LOT of work, dedication, and refusal to accept anything less than I feel I deserve, and that old distant dream of being able to drink coffee on my porch while gazing out across the land to see my animals, well, that became my reality.... <3
(my very first experience milking a goat!!!, 2010)
(my very first calf roundup!! 2011)
(trying to hand feed Taco the cow so that she can be handled and milked one day)
When I started this blog, I was 33 years old, with no farm, no farm animals, just the normal cat + dog type thing, and I was just becoming increasingly interested about where my food came from and how to be more responsible about what I was eating...... Back then, I was so afraid to eat an egg from a free range chicken, that I fed one to my dog first! It wasn't USDA certified, so I was skeptical!! This little place was born on a little piece of land that I shared with a friend from high school. We started this on ONE ACRE, and then by the end of the first year, we each had our own farm/ garden things going on - he was raising turkey, boer goats, and selling eggs & milk on several acres, and I was figuring it all out across town on a little three-acre plot. I tend to do better if I am thrown in - or throw myself in to a situation where I have no choice but to figure it out....I did well, I think ;)
(my very first experience milking a goat!!!, 2010)
(my very first calf roundup!! 2011)
(trying to hand feed Taco the cow so that she can be handled and milked one day)
When I started this blog, I was 33 years old, with no farm, no farm animals, just the normal cat + dog type thing, and I was just becoming increasingly interested about where my food came from and how to be more responsible about what I was eating...... Back then, I was so afraid to eat an egg from a free range chicken, that I fed one to my dog first! It wasn't USDA certified, so I was skeptical!! This little place was born on a little piece of land that I shared with a friend from high school. We started this on ONE ACRE, and then by the end of the first year, we each had our own farm/ garden things going on - he was raising turkey, boer goats, and selling eggs & milk on several acres, and I was figuring it all out across town on a little three-acre plot. I tend to do better if I am thrown in - or throw myself in to a situation where I have no choice but to figure it out....I did well, I think ;)
My, how so many things have changed... I will be 41 this summer, Christian & I have been growing some of our own food and flowers, actually have our own farm, complete with goats, horses, chickens (and we all eat their eggs! ;) !), a dog, and cat. Although some of my interests here at the blog have changed over the years, there are a few constants.....
~ my love of photographing animals
~ my desire to live more sustainably
~ my obsession with raw goat milk
(hooked since the day I milked my first goat ever!)
(hooked since the day I milked my first goat ever!)
~ family - we are thick as thieves. Tight. I am so lucky in this regard...
~ coffee. pour over. hooked on 1000 Faces for over a year now.
~ thrifty vintage finds.
Although I have become increasingly aware of the lead used in older ceramics,
vintage toys, etc., so I have been sticking mostly to clothes....
which I have recently began purging so that I can have
room for a few new-to-me things...
Although I have become increasingly aware of the lead used in older ceramics,
vintage toys, etc., so I have been sticking mostly to clothes....
which I have recently began purging so that I can have
room for a few new-to-me things...
~ my amazing friends.....
I have really great friends that love me through the times when I
don't have time to see anyone due to the rescue work,
one of my many fun 'me-time' projects, or the farmwork.
I always find windows of time to devote to my friends eventually,
there are just some realllllly long stretches in between sometimes.
I have really great friends that love me through the times when I
don't have time to see anyone due to the rescue work,
one of my many fun 'me-time' projects, or the farmwork.
I always find windows of time to devote to my friends eventually,
there are just some realllllly long stretches in between sometimes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These days, a typical weekday is spent at my nine-to-fiver still (yep, M-F), but now afterwards I am involved in the animal rescue in some way or another. I took on becoming the volunteer coordinator, and almost burnt my self out during my 33 day straight run with no days off, training new recruits, setting a solid schedule, and still having to take care of my own farm and animals! It was tiring, but verrrrry successful and worth every minute of it. I now only am scheduled for three days a week, but this week I am there a bit more...It's a very important week. SEVENTY dogs are participating in a huge adoption event, so there is much to be done....
My purpose in doing this blog from day one, was to learn about farming, food, sustainable living, all the while documenting it for others to hopefully show anyone that if I can do it, anyone can... I overcame my silly fear of bees, fresh eggs, and raw goat milk! We haven't used paper towels since 2011! We got rid of our plastic coffee maker back in 2012, along with Tupperware, and since have eliminated our kitchen of most vintage dishes (most contain lead, unfortunately), we use mostly glass dishes, and never anything with a 'nonstick' coating - that's what a good seasoning on a pan is for, am I right?!?! I have become better informed over the years, and now try to make better, healthier choices for the most part, because the first 33 years was a free for all with fast food, no exercise, and late nights!
I hope you enjoy reading as much I enjoy typing it all out here.... If you would like to read one or two older posts from this blog, I am linking one HERE and HERE.
Hope you all have a great day and I am looking forward to making lots of blueberry goodness in the next few days after picking blueberries with Jeannie (my secretary) yesterday at a neighbor's house!
xo!
-s
No comments:
Post a Comment