Bye Bye Bye

It's the last day of 2019 and in typical fashion, I think I need to write. It's New Year Eve, yet another day in the life of the universe - and us. If the calendar didn't tell me otherwise, it'd be another day, just  like all our brand new days God gives us. Every day is special. The calendar tells me it's an extra special day, one when we get to start a new year and reflect on the year we just lived. Each time this comes around every year, I do enjoy the variety of reflections that people compose. Of those who died this past year, those who made huge impacts in our lives, and the myriad of other lists from 2019. It's a great reminder of how much has really happened this year and far we've come. Answer: a lot and a long way.

I learned that marriages continue to change and grow - and never stop changing and growing despite my best efforts. I learned that I've learned so much about caring for farm animals and land. I learned that watching my daughter continue to mature into her 20's is like a movie I enjoy watching every day, over and over, and can never see it too many times, with sequels. It's like Ground Hog Day meets Freaky Friday meets The Little Mermaid meets Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory where we're always looking for the gold coin somewhere. Since I don't watch movies, my selection to choose from is very limited to use for examples, but that might have just covered it pretty well.

And you my friends, are living your wonderful lives with your special stories all your own. That's the best part about life, that we are free to live our lives. This is where I (we) have the military/special forces to thank. Veterans, reserves, active duty and those enlisting as we speak - everyone who touches on this endeavor. Thank you for allowing us to be free and for the sacrifice you've made, and continue to make. It is our most precious gift.

So many people around to love, so many good people in this world. So much love on our little farm. I'll share some random, yet favorites from 2019:



Sweet Maybe. 2019 started out with the addition of a new friend for her (oh, and me):





Sugar JuJu came to us a little broken, yet with a big heart that allowed her to slowly gain trust, and settle into her forever home. These two sweeties (Maybe and Sugar) have a close bond, and Maybe's happy nature has shown Sugar what it's like to be settled and loved. The big success story with Sugar this year, was when she allowed David to pick her up. Sugar's Circle of Trust is growing, and now two people on this earth can reach down and pick her up. Her opportunity for growth is wide open now.




2019 was a first for baby goats being born here. I've never seen such cuteness in my whole life. The miracle of life never ceases to amaze me. Chia is the best mom we've had on the farm (besides Belle), and Petunia and Dotty are just two of the most fun, kind and spirited goats we've had. They are a tight knit group, as these three goats share a pasture with the mini horses and will remain the only goats we have for awhile. We found that goats and mini horses attitudes are much the same. They know what they want and are not afraid to ask for it. They make wonderful pasture mates.




My 12 year old self got those pony's I've been wanting. They do well with each other, and have settled in nicely here. I adore their genuine beauty, their fun personalities, and their Nah's make me smile, every time.




My girl Ginger looked good in her tutu. She's our oldest chicken, and well respected by the flock. She's a rhode island red that although not a winner at the State Fair, she's 1st Place in my book.




Oh, and Lauren and I biked to Oklahoma.....among other long bike rides and rallys we did (she's fun!). We had so many biking experiences together this year. Priceless. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

We increased the size of the pond (meet some scary people along that journey), bought and sold animals throughout the year, gave some away, and did our fair share of right sizing. So many changes, including the start-up of the experimental chicken farm, which has gone from 24 hens now down to 19. Turns out, (so far) two of the supposed hens are roosters. Rude. These chickens are so big already, that the roosters were like having mini dinosaurs walking the earth again. So, when you crow, you go. The Sheriff was right all along. An exception was made for Post, our lavender splash silkie rooster who since silkies are small chickens, has a pass to stay around. He's very non-aggressive, too. You're a nice guy, Post Malone, you stay.

We did  things like putting up more run in-sheds, and purchased another mower so that during the growing seasons, we can both tackle the mowing and double the fun. I had my fair share (and more) of health concerns that have luckily all settled down. I think I met my deductible 3 times over this year. The silver lining is that there's great dr's who made sure I was good all along the way. And I am! They got me back up and running, working and living my life - and I'm so grateful for them, insurance and health care in general. Dear Lord, I'd prefer that next year I can take a year off from health scares. I understand, if not. But when you're passing out the cards for 2020, can I Pass Go and head straight to Boardwalk, please.

One of the main topics of conversation in 2019 was the possibility of retirement in about 5 - 10 years. When you get this close, it's fun to talk about, much less make sure all your ducks are in a row. And as much as I want all the white ducks up at the feed store for my new pond, that's not the ducks we are working on. It's kind of like going on a vacation that requires a lot of planning and strategy. You know, the anticipation of it (every day is Saturday, except the Sundays), sleep in til you want, then play the BTB card (back to bed) after breakfast. We are in the anticipation phase, which is actually a lot of fun and brings about a stirring in your soul of  'is this really going to happen in my life?'. We have no date planned, and are still fully capable of working - and still enjoy work. But it's a "vacation" that we anticipate to have in our future, sometime down the road.

To round out the year, David found the ram he was looking for. Our 4 ewes will be sheep mamas in 2020 - or at least that's the plan. His favorite farm animal? A baby lamb.



There's Deuce! He's smaller than the ewes right now, but old enough to do things. He has a little white diamond on his forehead. The ewes seem to like that about him. Welcome, and let's have some baby lambs in about 5-6 months!

To round out 2019 in a happy fashion (besides a new ram for David), we found that after separating Frank from the other silkies (because his back feathers are all missing)......



That Frank is actually Frankie. She laid an egg in her little separate accommodations. And the next day, another egg. So, she's not a rooster after all, and after growing her feathers back, she'll be released back with the other silkies. Since we are still trying to figure out who's who with these 8 silkies we adopted, we ended up giving away one of the silkie roosters who was in contention with Post. So the silkie count is down 1, to 7. We are thinking the only rooster in the batch is Post, but only time will tell that for sure.

The chicken math continues 13 + 19 + 7 = not quite as crazy of a number of chickens

So many things happened in 2019 with you, with us, with the world. We are but a tiny blip on the earth, and grateful for that. I can't wait to find out what 2020 and the good Lord brings to us all.

Blessings,

Cyndi