I took a break from blogging to address a phase of life that rerouted my time. Happily that time is coming to a close and I have more energy to focus on blogging, which I missed more than I thought I would!
During the last year we had many changes. One of the biggest is that we moved to a REAL farm. My "backyard" farm has gone from 1/3 acre to multiple acres. We are "trying out" rural life. Our new place is part of a 45 acre farm. We lease 5 acres, but have access to the whole thing. I help with some animal care for the owners so they can get a break (a great perk that goes both ways - yeah!). So far it has worked really well. We have been here since mid-February.
The view from our back deck!
It's no secret that my passion is horses. So, one of the first things I did was purchase a horse. I've been able to get back into riding and training. My new horse is a 12 year old green
Spanish-Norman. She came in terribly out of shape, but she is looking good now and learning fast.
Her first day in Washington.
Trimming up but still sporting her winter coat, but she has since shed out much darker.
Starting to build some muscle!
We did sell our goats before we moved. There are days that I miss them, but mostly I'm glad they went on to good homes. After Felicity giving me 2 boys one year and a single the next she gave her new owners 3 (!) beautiful babies.
Felicity and her 3. Classic black and white. 2 boys/1 girl.
My next adventure is a milk cow. I was a little overwhelmed by the idea of a full size cow with gallons of milk every day, so I chose a
Dexter cow. They are small, but still give plenty of milk for a family and are a dual purpose cow (do well for both milk and meat). She and her calf will be arriving in the next week or two. She is about 3 years old with a 1 month old heifer calf. Our plan is to milk once a day and allow the calf to take the rest of the milk. The major benefit is that I won't absolutely have to milk every day. I can leave the calf with her and take a day off from milking. At least that is what the interwebs tell me.
Better pictures will come when she arrives!
Let the farming begin!
