So where to start. I am a Stay At Home Mom, and I have been pretty much for the last 15 years. I have worked part time a couple of times, and even did home daycare at one point. I have loved being home for the kids and it has been a blessing. My children are all in school at the moment, so pretty much I am home taking care of the animals.
I have 3 little girls. B is 14, She loves animals, barrel racing, drawing, crafting, horses and one day plans to be a Vet. She is doing pretty well in school, and is a really good girl. A is 10, she loves singing, dancing, music and animals as well. I don't think she has a plan yet on what she would like to be when she is grown. She is extremely smart and does very well in school. V is 6, my baby. She loves to sing and help her mommy in the garden, and around the house. She is a sweetheart, the baby of our family and pretty spoiled.
Shawn and I have been married for 17 years. We have been through a lot in that time and we are still going strong. We met in Germany. He was stationed there in the Air Force, as was my father. We got married soon after meeting. Our first date was on Jan 24th, 1999 and we were married on Apr 9, 1999. What can I say, when you know he's the one, you know it. Shawn was in the Air Force for just under 18 years when he was discharged for medical reasons. It was extremely hard for us. The military life is all I had known. I won't get into that, as that is a novel in itself.
We moved down to sunny FL to be near my parents, and my children would grow up around their Grandparents. I have always wanted a farm, and a horse. I never thought it would happen.
After Shawn got settled in the civilian world, and in a job he enjoyed the search was on for our home. I wasn't looking for much, but one of my must haves in our new home was I needed to be allowed to have chickens. That was my goal. I wanted a fireplace, but my must have was my chickens.
We found a nice doublewide home on 5 acres. Perfect for our family, big enough for us, woods around us, quiet peaceful, and you guessed it, zoned agricultural so I can have my dream of a small farm. One day we would like to build a small home on our property, but this will be many years down the road, and I am truly happy where we are now. Most of the land has trees so it will take time to get it cleared out and fenced the way we want it, but we plan to do a little at a time.
I have had chickens for about 2 years now. I started with 6, bought chicks from a breeder nearby, and right now I have 12 older chickens (Including 2 roosters), 10 older chicks (almost big enough to join the large flock) and 11 small chicks still feathering out. I get about 8 to 9 eggs a day right now, and whatever money we get from eggs goes towards feed. I also have 3 pekin ducks.
I have also started my hand in goats. I have Nigerian Dwarf goats, that I plan to breed and use for milk. I have 3 Does: Reese, Brooklyn and Callie, and my wether Biscuit and buckling Gravy. I believe Reese has been bred, and I haven't noticed the other girls going into heat in a while now, so am wondering if they have been bred as well.
My dream of having a miniature horse came true, as we found one that we fell in love with. Her name is Elizabeth, (Lizzy). We were told there was a chance she was bred, but started to believe she was just fat, when one day I was surprised to find a gorgeous foal laying at her feet. Remington was perfect. He had my heart the second I realized he was real and I wasn't dreaming or seeing things. Unfortunately his time with us was way too short. He had problems right away, we called a vet out, was given a clean bill of health and within hours he was barley alive. They thought Dummy Foal Syndrome. He spent 5 days in an animal hospital, when we brought him home he was outside with his mom during the day and in the house with us at night. She was refusing to nurse him, and he was having trouble latching anyhow so we were bottle feeding.
His last morning alive he was too weak to even hold his head up. I rushed him back to the animal hospital, he was seizing on the way. It took them a couple of hours to get him stable, but he had another seizure and they were unable to save him. My heart still breaks with the thought of him. I love him so much, and just want him here with me. I have videos and pictures of him for memories, but that is it.
To round out our little farm we have 3 dogs, 1 indoor cat, 4 outdoor cats, 3 turtles, a hamster and a rabbit.
We plan to get piglets in the next couple of months, which I actually got to see born recently, and we are bringing home a horse the girls can ride this weekend. So that is my introduction. I hope to have some things to share as I try new things, get more animals, and enjoy this journey we have started.
No comments:
Post a Comment