Six years ago my husband, Brian, convinced me we needed to start a small farm by purchasing cattle. Next, we needed a horse, chickens, mules, a pig, a goat, and of course a tractor. Year after year the animal count grew.
Today our small part-time farm encompasses 35 head of cattle, 4 horses, 2 ponies, 2 mules, a goat, 10 chickens, 4 dogs, 3 children, and 2 cats. Our farm is primarily for the enjoyment of our family with the cattle being the only income source.
The animals provide a fun element to my studio when kids from the city come out for a session. The reward for good photos is always to see the animals. Basically we have a petting zoo. Let me introduce you to the animals.
Let's start with my favorite of the animals here, horses. They are just so intelligent and beautiful to watch. Brian grew up with horses and wanted our kids to have that experience. Layne (15) rides Rebel, one of our first horses; he is a gorgeous paint horse. Buzz was the original and our oldest horse. He is so gentle that Declan (4) has been able to ride him since he was only a year old. Loralai (11) got a pony named Valentine for her fifth birthday but outgrew her quickly. Valentine gets to enjoy her life while Loralai rides her new horse, Lady Sybil. We house a lovely, spirited buckskin for my extra-not-really-mine child, Andy. Her name is Dolly and she's been here a year coming at the same time Lady Sybil arrived. One more little Pony runs with the pack named Bullseye. He occasionally pulls a small wagon for the kids.
I cannot tell you much about the cows except there are 2 bulls and 20 mammas with 13 young ones. Brian knows when they were each born and who from and all the things. He started with an old tractor and upgraded about 3 years ago.
Now the chickens are pretty fun. We have a coop where we gather fresh eggs, and no this isn't money-saving but they taste so much better. The gathering is quite satisfying. At night they go in the pen to roost, and during the day they roam the yard eating ticks and other nuisances.
We milk our goat and make cheese and soap ... I'm just kidding haha! I have no idea why Billy Bobby lives here. My father-in-law gave Layne some chickens, but when Layne went to pick up the gift of chickens, Papaw had traded them for a goat. Welcome Billy Bobby to our farm. He is mean too! Maybe he can mow the grass this summer.
Copper is Layne's 13-year-old Beagle. Lucky and Charm are Brian's raccoon-hunting dogs, and Lucy Belle is our snuggly golden doodle who is our first-ever inside pet. She was rehomed into our family at the age of 9 months in 2019. Elsa is our cat who survived being raised by a 2-year-old mean princess and traveled in a carriage driven by the princess for the first years of her life. I'm not even sure what the other cat's name is honestly.
Another farm aspect is the good-sized garden Brian plants each spring. Talk about another satisfying element! Being able to pick and eat fresh tomatoes, cucumber, okra, peppers, squash, and more is oo la la! I tried to grow some stem flowers, tulips, and such. They did ok, but I'm not a good gardener. My next exploration of things I will probably quit is sourdough bread making. I think it's perfectly fine to try things out whether they last or not, you are working your brain and gaining experiences. Never view it as a failure but only an exploration!
Hope you enjoyed this tour of our little farm life. These images I took after finishing a session last week just brought me so much happiness and awareness of how blessed I am.
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