Both my husband and I were raised on farms, and farming is in our blood. It is something that is very near and dear to our hearts. We always knew that when we were able to buy our own property that we wanted to farm and homestead as much as we possibly could. Now that we have our property we are excited to get our little farm started!
My husband has always had a love for the outdoors and the farming way of life. As a young boy, he helped both of his grandfathers raise cattle, set tobacco, and keep up the everyday work on their farms. His dad also raised cattle and they had horses as well. He often talks about spending the summer at his grandpa's helping out, and how he remembers getting up early to a home cooked breakfast before the sun came up and then going out to spend the day out on the farm. Most of his fondest childhood memories are centered around the time he spent with the cattle or on a tractor!
My childhood farming was quite a bit different. My grandfather on my mom's side raised sheep when I was little, and I can remember lambing season coming when it was extremely cold and there was a couple of feet of snow on the ground. I remember my Paw Paw bringing in orphaned or abandoned lambs and putting them next to the wood stove to get warm, and then having to bottle feed them until they were old enough to be weaned! I also remember shearing time, when a friend of my Paw Paw's would bring his boys over to shear the sheep. I was probably 6 years old, when my Paw Paw decided that he wasn't able to raise sheep anymore, and sold off the flock.
My dad also farmed, but his was quite a bit different! He had horses when I was really little, and then sold them all for awhile. When I was about 10 years old, he bought some more as well as some goats. He remarried and his new wife was just as much of an animal lover as we were! Through the years there was a menagerie of animals there, including goats, sheep, ducks, geese, rabbits, and of course the cats, dogs and horses, among others! As a teenager my passion was the horses and I spent every spare moment with them! I miss having the horses, and maybe some day, we can have them here on our own farm.
When my husband and I first started dating and got married, we lived on my grandfather's (dad's side) property. We helped him raise hogs, horses and cattle. We spent many hours putting up hay, feeding animals, or cleaning stalls! We also bought a couple of bottle-baby calves of our own and raised them while we were there.
Some of the greatest moments of our lives were spent while working on a farm! I just wanted to share some background as to why this adventure is so near and dear to our hearts! I promise that some stories from the past will be shared at a later date, but I wanted to just touch the surface as to our pasts in farming!
Thank you for reading and please share your own stories in the comments!
Hubby came in this evening with a present for me! He had been to Lowe's Hardware to take a weed-eater back that had broken and was still under warranty earlier in the week. Turns out the weed-eater couldn't be fixed! Since he had already bought a new weed-eater he decided to get a store credit which he used to buy a dumping garden cart! 
I have been wishing for one since we moved, and now I have one! It made out of the black poly, and can be used either as a wagon or hooked up behind the mower. This is going to make it much easier to haul feed, leaves, brush, ect around the property! I am so thankful that I have a hubby that loves me, and spoils me!
The day after I shut the Easter eggers out of the little coop, I moved the three Marans chicks into it and took the dog crate and the heat lamp out of the big coop. This gives them more room, and also makes the big coop less cluttered! It opens up the nest boxes in the big coop so that the new layers can get to them and we won't have eggs laid everywhere. I am thinking that with this young trio, I have 2 pullets and a cockerel.... I was really hoping for 3 pullets, so I am a little disappointed. I will probably try to hatch some more of the Black Copper Marans next year after these girls start to lay!
When we bought our land, it was wooded with set white pines that had originally been planted for Christmas trees years ago, but were grown up and fairly thick! We cleared about an acre for our house and yard. Eventually we will cut all the pines out and will replant some hardwoods sporadically throughout the property and fence off for pasture. 
This weekend we worked on getting the chicken run built before winter really sets in, and the other food sources become scarce for the predators! I personally don't want every fox, raccoon, coyote and other predator in the area to see my chickens as an easy meal!
