Dream continued.....foreva and eva!!!

Dreams do come true....it can happen to you...if you are among the young at heart.....
 I am sure you have heard this somewhere before......but why do I have to be Young at heart to dream and have it come true...don't we deserve to have our dreams come true at any age? 
Its been one hell of a struggle to get where I am now and I am just beginning my dream.  I have tried and failed in the most recent past to make this dream work. but the funny thing is you need the right support and people in your life to make that work.
What most people see in there minds when the word farm is mentioned is not at all what I think of when I think of the word farm...I have never been really fond of the association with smelliness, animals and farm equipment littering the driveway.....That is the farthest thing from my thoughts and desires when I dream about this place in a state of completion.  Currently that is not far off from reality, but heck we are just starting out, and someone left this place totally neglected for 10 years before we moved in.  It can be hard to explain to some people what this place can be, and until I can get it all drawn down on paper, sometimes its hard for me to picture as well.  I just know that its going to be beautiful and people are going to flock here for relaxing afternoons...eating and drinking our food and drinks....enjoying the animals and their friends and families company......
The gardens would be fragrant and abundant with blossoms and fruit and veggies....the animals all cheerful and playful....the food to die for and the company exquisite.  Its a place I would travel to and visit if it weren't my own....the lucky part is...that it is my own and I get to be here everyday.  If you are a real friend of mine, and you follow my facebook and Pinterest posts, you can see a bit of what my style is and how this place is going to look....Its going to be a romantic gentlewomans farm, where everyone and anyone can have a memorable day.....Each day since we bought the farm has been memorable and I look forward to the memories we will continue to create here...My good friend commented on my post last night and said our dream farms are made with blood sweat and tears....so far all of those have been given to the good earth and this farm and I am sure to have much more to give.....but without this love....blood...sweat...and tears this farm would have never felt love again...it appreciates it and so do I...in more ways than one....

To all my friends....NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM!!!!!!!

PS
.If I won the extreme powerball jackpot, I would open the farm to the public a few days a week and feed the people who came to visit for free....

I am going out to hang with my goatie girls....... Ya'll have a great night!

the friendly female farmer!

Dream..DreamDreamDream.........

While sitting at a friends house on Thursday....adoring her month old baby, she told me I should write more about me "dream".  It will give people an opportunity to really know you..she said.  At the time it did kind of strike me...I dream my dream inside my head everyday....why not share it with you guys....right.  It will give me a chance to write it all down, and document my thoughts on the process of how this dream is going to become my living reality. 
Lets begin at the beginning shall we....Farming is in my blood, my father is one of 13 children raised on a big farm.  His brothers and sisters all had duties growing up, responsibilities that molded and shaped them all into wonderful adults.  Though I didn't grow up on a farm, there was always some type of farming going on...we gardened and raised chickens and turkeys and rabbits.  My mother canned and we had shelves of garden veggies fresh for a winter dinner...Always there were potatoes, and apples and a giant crock of salt pork.  I can remember being in awe, when asked to go to the basement at my grandmothers for a jar of dilly beans.....Shelves as far as my little eyes could see full of canned goods.  We lived simply and happily feeding ourselves as much as we could with what land we had....It was awesome.  I loved digging in the dirt to plant veggies or flowers, and I absolutely dance for joy when the first seedlings pop up from the earth......Its a feeling most can not surpass..the feeling of rebirth and growth...
So when I think of farming I think of where this farm is going to be and how its going to look.....and most importantly...what is going to happen here at this farm....We have some amazing ideas for the farm.....and this will be the journey from start to someday finish of at this very moment what we refer to as "no name farm".....
Hope you will stick with me and come on this journey with me....I look forward to having you along...
Thanks Aimee!
the friendly female farmer...

Away...far far away!

Like who wouldn't want to be at this very moment.....the temp was a balmy 6 degrees on my way to school this morning, our house I am sure wasn't over 50 in our bedroom and the wind just insists on blowing across the large fields directly at our very drafty antique farm house. 
Yessa I know its Maine in the wintha....but jeesh.  I was just going to say I love my state, but I am not sure LOVE is the right word to use at the moment.  I have been away from the blog this last week, simply because of a crappy weather induced attitude.  I have a hard time being cheery, or "friendly" for that matter, when the temperature dips below the 0 mark.  How can I feel good when the blood pumping through my veins is running the same temp as the water in the frozen drinking buckets in the barn.....ITS Damned cold!  I was snappy and rude and just plain ugly.  I needed to bitch, which I did to my husband.  And get over it....so its cold, what can you do to warm yourself up?  I could think of a few things....(cheeky smirk )
I think the main question is, why did I let the weather get to me so badly?  For lots of reasons, but the one that sticks with me the most is that I tend to get fixated on stuff and can't seem to let it go.  This goes for positive and negative things....I really need to STOP...and smell the roses.  Enjoy your life a bit more and stop worrying about if the dishes are put away or the water buckets are filled.  If I am feeling a bit overwhelmed then rearrange the schedule a bit to accommodate what I consider a necessity to happen before I can relax.  This semester at school....my last semester is going to be a lot about stepping outside of the box, allowing the comfort zone to slip away and see what can be accomplished by trusting in myself.   I think this should overlap into my mainstream life as well and hopefully I will learn to RELAX!!!! 
Sorry for being away, I appreciate you all taking the time to read my musings....
I am working on my schedule to fit all this coolness in on a daily basis.....
Have a great and productive day Ya'll.

the friendly female farmer!

Whats the big deal about picking a farm name????

Ha....its no big deal? Right, right?  How hard could it be to figure out what to name your farm.  Some farms are lucky...they already have names, no need to change it because its probably been named that for hundreds of years, and I heard that changing a farm name is bad luck. 
It seems our farm doesn't have a previous name, at least no one that knows of the people who lived here has said anything to us.  We have had lots of visitors impressed with our undertaking of reviving this old beauty, and no one has mentioned the "name". 
When we first moved in, we had the horses.  Instantly I thought...."Oh, wouldn't Black Horse Farm be a cool name for this place." It was, until our horses had to be sold due to financial difficulty after my husband injured his back.  So now no more Black Horses on our farm.  No more Black Horse Farm.  I figured I might keep the name because who knows I might have another team of shires someday.  But isn't it kinda weird to keep the name when those animals who represented the name are no longer yours?  Shouldn't we think of something else to name the farm?  So now the brain wracking begins....whats a cool name? Has it already been used?  Does it sound cool and catchy?  Would you want to visit a farm with this name?  Oh the joys of figuring out what to name your farm....Its a chore just like shoveling the manure is....and I have a block...NOT for shoveling manure..I wish, but for name this dang place....
My husband says the name will come to me as soon as I am not thinkin to hard about it...I hope that's true...I would hate to stay "No Name Farm" for to long..........
Feel free to suggest suggestions.....
the friendly female farmer.....

If I had a million dollars.....

For some reason today I can't stop thinking about what it would be like i I had a million dollars.  I am sure there are lots of you out there that now and again think about this.   How could you not, fantasizing about being filthy rich is fun!  I always feel refreshed in a weird kinda way when I daydream about being rich.  I know all the things I dream about can be accomplished, and will be in due time.  Some how escaping into a dream world of finished goat milking parlors and commercial kitchens makes me energized to find a way to make this happen without winning the powerball. 
Everybody says they wouldn't do much different than they did before they won.  Is that what you say?  Is that what I say?  Yes, I wouldn't change a thing really. I would just renovate the farm like I dream about in my mind.  Oh so many little things to do outside and in.  Gardens to put in and fencing to do.  The barn to reside and floors to pick out.  Its so nice to think about this farm in a state of completion instead of in the midst of chaotic renovation. I like the idea of the farm being fixed up and welcoming.  In that state we will be able to concentrate on actually "welcoming" our friends, family and guests with warm hospitality.  More than anything we want to share our farm with everyone, but its just not in public showing shape...It takes money to get to that stage and right now the only check book that is overflowing is the one in my dreams.....Oh the power of a daydream...It can leave you inspired to success.......
I hope you all dream about what you would do with your millions....
Nighty NIght Ya'll.
the friendly female farmer.

Pooped...in more ways than one!

Seems like for a good part of my life I have been shoveling shit.  I have shoveled all different kinds of shit, from cow shit to horse shit, rabbit shit and chicken shit...I have even shoveled my share of political bullshit....and as I reminisce on this endeavor I must admit each and every time I shoveled shit...I was totally snookered at the end of the day.  Its hard manual labor, it requires strength of mind and body and the ability to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 
Ask me how I feel in a few days after I have taken more than 100 loads of goat shit and hay to the manure pile via my own legs and a wheel burrow.  Right now the muscles in my back ache and my upper arms are like lead weights....but dang it all I can still lift my wine glass.  There is definitely something to be said for working your butt off all day...It was a lovely day to be working outside with the animals.  The snow fell steadily all day while I wheeled load after load to the manure pile...uphill only one way....LOL.  We enticed the goats to enjoy a bit of the weather with supple apple branches. Living on a farm and working that farm as your lively hood is an amazing challenge and undertaking.  Its a decision I have not taken lightly...The risks are numerous, but the rewards are just as numerous and the interest and knowledge about small farms is growing rapidly.   I know what a success this farm can be, it will require lots of financial investment, sweat...blood and I am sure many many tears....but in the end..it will be because we took the time to shovel all the shit...
My friends I wish you a wonderful snowy night with those you love and adore....
Thanks for reading...
the friendly female farmer!

Cinnamonamaimin Rolls...At least thats how I used to say it!

 There is just something about cinnamon rolls that makes people so happy.  I can totally understand of course because I really love them as well.  The process of  making them isn't my favorite task however.  Not that there is a lot to it, the mixer does all the work and the woodstove to proof them, it just takes forever.  Especially if you do them totally from scratch like I have this morning....I have been up since 4AM and am now just getting to the rolling out and sugaring part.  So after another 90 minutes they will be ready to bake...I will be sure to post pictures..someday when they are done! :) You all have a wonderful morning...
the friendly female farmer!