Welcome to the Faulk Farmstead!

It's official: Today is my fresh start, back into the world of blogging! Sounds so dramatic, eh? In reality, I shoved my blog to the back burner of my very full stove because life had simply become, well, too busy - but oddly enough, it's because of everything I have put on my plate that I feel the urge to get back into it!  Today! 

Let's rewind a bit, shall we?

Almost 1 year ago, to the date, our family was given the opportunity to fulfill a dream I had been pondering for quite some time - to accrue some acreage, have enough room for hubby to get his dream shop, and for me to have a garden, a few chickens, and a milking goat.   Simple requests I have, right?   Well, as they say, if it is meant to happen, it always finds a way....

I suppose it all started when I began thinking of how I could become just a little more sustainable.  Because, ya know, I can't be too lofty with my ideas, right?  I thought, "Hey, I could get a couple chickens one day, have some fresh eggs, and ooh, I do love goat cheese, so, maybe a little milking goat too?  And of course a garden!  Yes!  That would be a great start!"  After coming to that conclusion, even though those things weren't feasible at our current house, I delved into research - online, books, whatever I could get my hands on.  I was that pathetic person that had a bookshelf of homesteading books, living in a small neighborhood lot, no farm animals, and only lettuce thriving in my raised bed out back.  Yup, I was a poser.  And I think that was when my husband started to think I was crazy (Don't worry - I passed that bug on to him as soon as we moved!).

Once we moved to our new home, however, we were full speed ahead (After all, I had to make up for all that research time and my personal library, right?)

So here we are now, on our little 5 acre plot, with the house of our dreams.  Unfortunately, we don't have that dream shop built yet, but what we have accumulated is our own little menagerie of a farm.  Yes!  I said it!  A FARM!!!  (Sorry, I still have to pinch myself sometimes). 

Ready for a Roll Call??

First it was the chickens - we thought 7 was a good number to start with, it IS lucky, after all.  Well, I will tell you from experience - NOT ALWAYS LUCKY.  Our Great Dane/Hound girl, Sage, decided she needed to put 3 of the 2-day-old chicks out of their misery a bit early.  Tragic, yes, but this was when I first saw that my husband had contracted the "bug" - He immediately went out to purchase replacements while I was at work - but not just replacements.  I came home to a grand total of 22 chicks - in my spare bedroom.  22.  (Deep down, this girl was smiling SO BIG) Out of our 22, only one ended up being a rooster - not bad, huh?  We have a nice variety too - Americaunas, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, and some Golden Sexlinks.

Next came the goats.  Yes, I know I said I wanted a milking goat, but apparently they do best with another for company.  We decided on the Nigerian Dwarfs for our farm for a couple reasons - they don't get too big, and they produce a lot of milk for their size - averaging a quart twice daily!  That's a lot for a little squirt!  As I said earlier, if it's meant to be....  We ended up with 2 four-month-old Nigerian Dwarfs doelings - for free!  Ah, the joys of knowing someone who knows someone.  We are beyond grateful.  Totes and Magotes have provided constant entertainment on our farm - they are by far the goofiest animals I have been around!

Then there came the sheep - we purchased a breeding pair of Barbados Black-belly sheep - for the purpose of breeding for meat. They were also youngins, at four and five months of age. 

Our most recent addition (and I swear our last - for awhile!) is our calves.  At 4 and 5 months of age, we acquired a castrated Jersey (for meat) and a Holstein heifer (for milk one day!).  Although I didn't have the chance to thoroughly educate myself on the cattle (as with the other animals), I think we are learning way more as we go along! 

Whew!  And did I mention that all of these animals have been acquired only in the last  months?!  The best part?  It has been just as fun and satisfying as I thought it would be...