Nathan and I purchased a 100-acre farm in February of 2009. We had a three-month closing date so we didn't gain possession until June 1, 2009. The people we bought the farm from had a horse boarding business that actually attracted us to the property and we decided to give it a shot. Our farm was really beautiful...we had 15 acres of pasture, 15 acres of forest (you should have seen the trees in the fall.... beautiful) and the rest was farmland. We grew hay on 15 acres (feed for the horses) and the remaining was rented to a local farmer. In addition we also enjoyed various other farm animals in our pens and outbuildings. We had chickens, ducks, dogs, barn cats, and horses obviously and a pregnant Saeen milking goat named Matilda (Tilly for short). I also put my farming skills to test and put in a HUGE vegetable garden. Nate and I really did live my "Little House on The Prairie" dream for a short time. I was able to learn and experienced so many new things related to farming and country living including canning, milking a goat, building fences, and of course animal care and feeding. It was a very wholesome way of living and at first this was perfect. We enjoyed looking at the stars at night, weekend bon fires, family & friend BBQ's and wide-open spaces. I'm not one to toot my own horn but I think we actually took quite well to this new way of living...that is at first. Heck at one point Nate and I were talking about a five and ten-year plan for the farm (kinda funny looking back now). However in late October a few things changed. With winter approaching it started to get dark a lot early, I became pregnant and started feeling nauseated and tired (try scooping horse poop out of the stalls when you are pregnant and sick...needless to say Nates chores increased at this time). And we found that life was just not as spontaneous with all the responsibilities at the farm. We always had to be there to move and feed the horses. Our Saturday mornings consisted of doing a full turnover in the stalls which included taking multiple wheel barrow trips filled with horse crap to our fields for compost. Owning a business and dealing with the boarders was very draining to say the least. On top of that Nate worked in London and the long drive was starting to ware on him. By Fall I was returning to the farm after my workday and it was already starting to get dark outside. The community clinic where I exercise my profession as a Nurse Practitioner kicked the crap out of me when I was pregnant and by the time I was done for the day I was dreading the ride to our "dream home". Animals had to be fed and chores had to be done, and the dark, creaking barn was unnerving. In 2010 we sold the farm (may I note that the first couple through purchased our place...halleluiah) and moved back to London, where I enjoy my neighbors and the hussle and bussle of city living. Ok so I guess I am a city slicker...My dream of raising my kids on a farm has changed to the occasional visit to the farm...and I am ok with that!
So I just started to add some pictures to this post and it hit me that I have too many detailed memories about this place. I am going to blog some more about my memories of the farm in future posts. So stayed tuned for some more pictures.
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| Our winter pasture...this pasture got really muddy in the winter...Once I got my boots stuck in the mud...too funny! |
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| This barn was my most favorite and also the place I spent a lot of time...below is a peak of the inside. |
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...unfortunatly I can't find many pictures of the inside of this barn...these are the stalls for the horses that boarded inside...we had 5 stalls in this barn. The dogs and the goat stayed in this barn as well. |
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We stored the hay in this older barn...other spots in this barn included the run in from the winter pasture, the chicken coop, storage space and Nathan's workshop. |
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Our little home...Our long term plan was to build a home. This home was actually really cute inside but came with lots of problems! Jorge, Kevin and Nate built a huge front porch with a roof and railings...but we moved before we could really enjoy it (thanks guys...you are the best!).
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| This was our living room |
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This is our back yard
Another view of the back yard
This is one of the summer pastures...Note my niece Jessica...yes I snapped the picture quick then got her out of there...she is a firecracker and we could not take our eyes off her at the farm.
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