Back to the Start....

"Hey it’s good to be back home again
Sometimes this old farm feels like a long-lost friend
Yes ’n’ hey, it’s good to be back home again" ~John Denver

Sometimes, things just get out of control, and you have to go back to where it started. I have realized over the last few weeks that where I was wasn't where I wanted to be. When we moved to this little farm, I had no intention of starting any kind of business. I just wanted to raise our family and some food. Somehow along the way, I got derailed. 
     I said, more than once, that making soap was my passion.  I had even started thinking that I would sell tons of soap and have this huge business and quit my day job someday. I gave that idea up, then I started making clay things, and even started thinking about doing that for a living. But the real truth is, my family is my passion, and my kids will only grow up once. I have spent way too much time at craft fairs chasing a dollar, while my kids opted to stay at grannys house. I am blessed to have an amazing day job that I love and that allows me to work from home, provide for, and spend time with my family. I don't have to be a super amazing business owner. I just have to be me, after all, that is what I know how to do best. 
    So, today,  I'm starting to get back on track. I am letting go of all the should have, would have, could have. And I am breathing in this farm and this farm family. I am passionate about this farm. I am passionate about real food, healthy food, that we grow ourselves. I am passionate about teaching our kids, and learning with them.  There is no place I would rather be than right here on this farm with my husband and kids. So we are starting over, and rebuilding our barnyard. For almost 2 weeks it was completely quiet outside, with no livestock, no animals, except our 3 faithful cats. Today, we have 3 hens, some chicks, a few pigeons (thats a new adventure!), and one little piglet (also new!). This weekend we will hopefully add a few rabbits. We will go back to a slower life, and I won't miss all the trips to the craft store or the Friday night insanity of preparing for a Saturday craft show. Instead, I will enjoy more time with my family, and I will probably even take time to sit out and look at the stars some nights. I will listen to what my heart says, instead of what my head says I should be doing. And I will be the best farm mom and farm wife I can be. 

Back in the Goat Business

Just like that, we are goat farmers again. Several months ago, we sold all of our goats. We recently decided it was too quiet outside, so today we purchased 2  Saanen does and a young Alpine buck. They seem very sweet so far, and I will get to know them better tomorrow. It was late when they got here today, and we had to do some quick work on the fencing in the almost dark. The chickens are not happy about sharing the barn again, but I expect they will get used to it. Looking forward to sharing more goat adventures!

Barnyard changes

I found my spinning wheel. It's an antique Great Wheel, or Walking Wheel. I haven't had time to spin on it though, due to all the Christmas knitting I have been doing.

Also bought my first sheep, a little bottle baby ram lamb. He is sort of spoiled, but hopefully that will keep him nice as he gets bigger. We got rid of the potbelly piglets, and decided to just keep the two adults that we started with. They are lots of fun. We have also decided to get rid of most of the chickens for the winter. Now that the goats are using the hen house, we are unable to put a heat light in there, so they are on strike. We found 2 free Nigerian dwarf goats on Craigslist and they threw in 3 Pekin ducks too. The youngest doe has blue eyes, and I would love to find a blue eyed buck to add to the herd. We lost our oldest doe a few days ago. Seems like constant change in the barnyard.

We have about a quarter inch of ice on the ground now, mixed with a dusting of snow..good time for the seed catalogs to start coming in. Planning on doing some raised beds and container gardening this year. Hopefully it will mean less weeding, and easier gardening all around. For now, I am enjoying deciding what to plant, and have several new things in mind. Not sure where this year went, Christmas is only a short week away. Hope you all enjoy it with those you love.