It’s been a crazy past two years for the whole world! We have been very blessed to use the time to pour ourselves into becoming farmers and living life on the land during that time. I think Kevin and I both wanted to eventually own bees, cows, and chickens when we moved out here. Certainly, we thought that might be in the cards. Covid pushed all those dreams to the forefront, though. The pandemic fast tracked our desire to become farmers after one trip to Walmart in March of 2020. All the shelves were bare. No meat, no milk, no eggs – that gave Farmer Kev the resolve he needed to stop worrying about house renovations and start working on farm infrastructure in high gear.
Fast forward ten cows and seventy chickens later, and you have a world filled with poop and chores. It’s all good, though… even when it is hard. Four of the cows are gone now. One of them to freezer camp after he tried to kill the farmer (our A2 Guernsey bull), one of them to a full-time gig as a family milk cow for a homeschool family (Noelle, our first dairy calf born here in December 2019), and two of them into the arms of Jesus (RIP Mocha and General Grievous, the dairy calves we bought in 2021 who never thrived).
Ten to twenty of the chickens are also gone … various disasters (everything in the world is against chickens), but we have another set of chicks coming up to take their places as we speak. There is always a circle of life happening on the farm and we are just stewards in the process.
It has been an amazing real life education in fast forward since 2020. As a homeschool mom, it has been right up my alley. I’ve milked cows, grown food, learned about animal husbandry, learned about soil health, grown my understanding of so many things it would take a week of blog posts to even outline them all… and my boys have had a front row seat; not to mention grown some beefy farm muscles helping do the farm chores.
So, while the rest of the world has been playing 1984, we have been keeping our noses down and our boots dirty. I’ve not been unaware, or unplugged, though. I got voted in as precinct secretary, am in the process of becoming a county chair, and I’m planning to attend the State Delegation Convention. I may be a lowly farm wife, but I know that this nation was built by men in denim and being destroyed by those in suits.
You have to make time for saving the world, even when there are farm chores to be done.
During this past year, I created a farm page for Tiny Texas Farm that I try and keep updated for the locals who want to be a part of what is going on here (and linked within that page there is another page which shares our weekly offerings for the farm co-op we created – for those who are supporting our farm by partnering with us and buying our goods). The more I read about how our food supply is being manipulated, the less I want to rely on it: graphine oxide in food, GMO and cloned meat approved without proper labels, terrible living conditions and lack of sanitation for animals on large “pharms”. We try and promote sustainable farming and eating local from farmers you trust. I partner with other farmers out here to bring meat availability to my friends in the suburbs. You can read more about that on my Tiny Texas Farm page if you are interested. I don’t trust meat from the store anymore.
We also are always in the eggs. I am adding new chickens each season – spring and fall – that lay different colors of eggs. We sell rainbow eggs for five bucks and boxes of brown only for four-fifty. That doesn’t even cover the feed and certainly not the gas prices these days. Even so, I don’t plan to raise the prices as long as I can keep them affordable. I travel in to the suburbs in and around Austin once a week to deliver.
We are working tirelessly to ramp up the produce at the farm, also. We’ve recently enclosed the chickens on a slice of pasture so they will quit eating the garden and landscaping, and pooping on my deck. With this said, I’m hoping this year is the third garden year charm for fresh garden bounty. Chickens and gardening do not mix well (without much engineering and oversight).
Currently on the farm, we have some plant starts available. The greenhouse is brimming with my February-planted “babies”. Mostly tomatoes, gooseberries, peppers, broccolini, artichokes, nasturtiums, and some others. We will be starting our in-ground planting as soon as we fill the new raised beds.
When I started this blog back in 2005, I was a suburban homeschool mom with endless energy and enthusiasm for homeschooling my two youngsters. Those two are not young anymore. They grew out and up and into my best friends. I wouldn’t change our adventure (even the scary parts) for the world. My younger set are living a totally different life, growing up as cowboys on the prairie, and getting to homeschool in an entirely different, Charlotte Mason-esque way. There is no perfect way, just whatever God leads you to that is working for the moment. Life is a moving target… just make sure your arrows are aiming for the bulls-eye.
I know that life has changed for me and my blogging has wiggled along with me over the years. I’ve always been a bit of a random blogger and a little scatterbrained. I’m glad you’ve stuck with me and for those of you just stopping in, let me extend a very southern “bless your heart!” and I am very blessed to have you also.
At some point I may change the title of my blog to Tiny Texas Farm, but the Sprittibee link will always work. Eventually these boys will be growing on up, and moving off to farms of their own. Who knows? Maybe they will be city folk or suburban commuters? Whatever works for them is fine with me. I’ll be out here in the country on the same patch of dirt where mama and grandpa met Jesus. I used to lament that the turn onto our county road said “DEAD END”, but death is just a doorway. What better place to be when my number is punched, than out here in God’s creation? I’m not afraid anymore.
I figure, as a cancer survivor, God has me right in his palm. We will keep on farming in Podunk, Texas as many days as He has ordained for us…. and trying to make the most of every moment… and continue teaching and raising up these cowpunk kids in the process.
Thanks for coming along side us and blessing our journey! Let us know if we can pray for you or help you in any way. Sending our love – and bringing you our bounty – from the Central Texas prairie!