Looking back on my life, I never dreamed I would be capable of or have the opportunity to be where I am right now in 2024.
Before we moved to the farm, we had numerous short family holidays to bush blocks and had been looking for our own place for 10 years. A place where we could have a few head of cattle, a dairy cow, chickens, a garden and a great view! A place we would holiday at for some years before moving out to at a later date and enjoy a relaxing country life.
Fast forward to the reality of 2024.
- Having never touched a cow before four years ago, we now run a breeder herd of over 100 animals as well as a small dairy herd. Full disclosure, Dominic does most of the icky stuff and things that require some strength.
Surprisingly I have come to love cows! There is so much more to them than manure and flies.
- We grow and butcher all our own chicken meat. Here I do the icky stuff.
- We grow bulk garden crops of potatoes, corn, onions and tomatoes, then preserve the harvest using methods like canning, freezing and refrigeration. It doesn’t always work out every year, but I keep trying.
- When needed we euthanize and butcher cattle. From skinning them and removing their innards to trying to identify specific meat cuts when butchering for our own use.
- Many meals are cooked with only food we have grown, reducing our dependence on the supermarket and eating more seasonally.
- I am working physically harder than I ever have before in my life and I’m over 50!
Physically, I’m not the strong athletic type – I’m the swan around in floaty draperies, reading books and eating Turkish delight type!
Emotionally, I’m not tough – I’m persistent and if I believe in something I will do my darndest to do it, but I am a worrier, and I stress.
My point is that I am not the perfect TYPE of person to thrive in this life, yet we are doing good. I would hate to move back to the city, I love it here.
One big factor in all this is Dominic. To everyone out there if you are looking to have a tree change, you all need a Dominic (You can’t have mine I’m keeping him!)
He works harder than anyone I know, plus he can usually find a way to achieve the impossible, AND he is an optimist.
Your journey won’t be like our journey, but the point is, if you really want to do it but think you can’t – THINK AGAIN.
I know that if I can achieve these things so can you. I’m no wonder women.
READ, RESEARCH, and do your homework.
As Joel Salatin from Polyface Farms says, “…do ONE enterprise and get it running well before you add on others. Let other enterprises complement, not compete with each other.”
Be open to change, keep your relationships strong and remember, nature ALWAYS has the last word.
You’ll cry and laugh and find joy in so many things, the detail of a flower or a glorious starry night sky. If you are anything like me you will also yell and throw things, maybe even want to give up and walk away at times. This makes the achievements that much sweeter, when you prove to yourself that you can do this – especially when it doesn’t come easy.
Here’s some advice from a cow:
Be out standing in your field.
Eat plenty of greens.
Take time to ruminate
It’s ok to be a little moo-dy
be utterly amazing!
Side note: Below is a little video I created a year ago showing how to make Mozzarella Cheese:
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