Is it a farm or a hobby? Am i a housewife or a farmer?

    Some of you may know I have been spending a lot of time with some amazing people at South Pork Ranch in Chatsworth IL. I have learned so much and have left feeling inspired each time I leave. I spend most of the time there listening and asking questions but I have been forced to do some real thinking when the tables were turned and  I was asked these two questions.....

"Is it a Farm or a Hobby?"

To me its a farm, I mean why would I live here if it wasn't right? Its 3.5 acres with a pretty farmhouse and a beautiful barn. It has gardens and fruit trees and is complete with a chicken coop. Its a farm.....but I knew I couldn't say that with confidence, something inside me was telling me "Its not a farm unless it pays the bills" Its not a real farm because my animals are pets. I love them and coo over them. I give them baths and tie bows in their hair. I would be laughed at if I said that out loud.
I had a lot of thinking to do. I want it to be a self sufficient farm. I want to grow or raise everything we eat and cut out processed foods. I want to get back to a more natural way of living and help others do the same. So for now it may be a hobby but you can bet it wont be for long.

"Just say it, you are a farmer"

Its true I am both a housewife and a farmer. I haul hay and carry buckets. I gather eggs and muck out stalls. I manage a variety of animal's well being and health. I grow, can, dehydrate and freeze tons of produce. I make homemade bread and know how to fry a chicken. I can keep up with the boys on Saturday and walk out of the house Sunday morning in heals and curls.
I am both a housewife and a farmer and I can say I've never been happier.

I am so grateful for the time I spend growing and learning on South Pork Ranch. I cant think of a better way to spend the day than improving yourself in some way, and ill do just that as long as they will have me.

Idealistic vs Realistic

One of the main characteristics I describe myself with is "Idealistic". I don't do anything without having a 1950's or sometimes earlier view of it. When we first moved to the farm I thought it would be the coolest thing to have our chickens be able to free range. 

 

 

 I imagined them clucking around the barnyard at a soothing, relaxing pace.

I would walk out to the coop, basket in hand to gather eggs and they would come running when I called. Of course there would be chicks all in a row following a broody hen

 

 Well let me tell you what "Realistic " looks like!

A flock of chickens may pass under your kitchen window in a very upset cackle of arguments on who gets to stand closest to your Rooster. God forbid one of your chicks turns out to be an additional Roo, if this happens there will be crowing contests between the men of the group. Those boys have very strong opinions on which hens belong to them. Every once in a while  OK several times a day you will be startled by a squawking hen running for her life with a Rooster hot on her tail. Have you ever seen a Rooster run? Its like a mini velociraptor!

  Now if one of the girls spots a tasty worm there will be a graphic fight where it could get ripped into several worm portions.

While I do walk out to the coop swinging my basket ( and skipping ) sometimes reaching into a occupied nest box can be painful. Those girls do not like their fluffy butts lifted and their eggs stolen. ( here I thought they were going to give them up willingly) Out of six nest boxes only one will be "just right" and they don't wait patiently for it to be vacant. She will squawk and squawk to tell her friend to HURRY UP!

 

Its not all crazy antics though, some of the ladies really do like attention and I adore the "singing" my Rooster gently coos to his girls. I love watching them peck around the yard and laying in the shade of the fruit trees. Of course there is the delicious eggs too...that's a plus!

 

The Chickens are by far the most entertaining group on the farm and while its nothing like my vision I wouldn't trade it for all the eggs in china....or is it tea? Well you know what I mean

 

 

 

How did i get here?

This time last year if you asked me if I would be living on a farm with chickens and chores id say you were CRAZY! Yet here we are. How did this happen to me? Well we have to start at the beginning and believe me its a long story......

When I was a teenager ...OK more like a tween a big black horse stepped of a trailer and stole my heart. Haus (pronounced Hoss ) was nothing like the Quarter horses and Arabians my parents had. He was different, He was special. He was also mine. Haus had been a professional show jumper and hurt his knee so he was sold at auction. This could not have worked out better for me. I loved him instantly. I spent my summers leading horseback rides through the woods that surrounded my parents farm......and when we could get away ....we ran.....and we jumped.....secretly. It didn't matter to either of us that id be in big trouble for being so dangerous. The time I spent flying through the woods on his back, soaring over my "jumps" with branches smacking me in the face were just that. ...dangerous but those memories are something ill cherish forever.

What does this have to do with me moving to a farm?......I'm getting there. Be patient

At sixteen years old I left my Fathers farm and soon after Haus was sold....Lost. I remember the day I found out he was sold. I cried. A parent has the right to "get out of the horse stable business " and "downsize" their farm and even though I had a life of my own I was still heartbroken. Haus was always supposed to be there. I imagined him running the fence when I pulled into the driveway....never forgetting who I was.....I know cliche huh?

Life went on I got married to my best friend and we bought a historic Victorian to restore. I dove in and dedicated my life to this house. Words can not describe my love for this home. I recorded the whole journey at www.TheKonczalVictorianHome.blogspot.com. It was like I lived and breathed that restoration.

When Dave and I joined a new church we met Robin Jackson, who turned out to be an amazing friend. An amazing friend who happened to have two horses. I started spending a lot of time with her on her farm.
I bet you can guess what happened next.....I got horse fever
All those "Horse Crazy" feelings that were simmering below the surface came boiling over with these words....

 "Well ya know Shannon if you got a horse you could keep it here and Robin would have someone to ride with." ~ Kathy Webb

 

 

That's all it took. I was drowning in horse ads and searching for that perfect horse. I was driving myself CRAZY......SO what did I do? I called my dad. What he said to me was enough to stop my heart

" Well if you are going to buy a horse you should just track down Haus. I think I know where he is."

Its all a whirlwind from there ...I contacted the lady who had bought him and within three weeks I was on my way up to wisconsin to pick him up.

When I saw him for the first time in over ten years I cried.....and I called out to him and he answered. ( In a way only a horse lover would understand) I climbed up on the trailer and reached in to pet him...couldn't even wait for him to be taken out of the trailer.

 

Well here is where it all comes together folks....

 

 

I had Haus at Robins farm for only three months before finding out that the farm one mile down the road was for sale.....Robin took Dave and I down there to check it out and when it came into view I looked at him and knew we were moving. I could see it in Dave's face and feel it in my heart. Never in a million years would I have left my Victorian, I spent five years giving it all I had but one look around this farm and I was sold. Mentally i was already putting up fences for Haus. After all he was going to live out his life with me and it might as well be on a beautiful farm of our own.

 

To tell you the absolute truth this was a big surprise at the time but as I look back I could see it coming. We were growing tired of the traffic in front of our victorian and I had been longing for more garden space plus our town had a restriction on how many chickens I could keep. I was doing more and more things that were conducive to a homestead. Plus the drive to Robins farm to see Haus was 25-30 min and I wanted to see him everyday ...all day....out my own kitchen window.

 

Now I can .....and ill tell you a secret....sometimes when I cant sleep I slip on my boots and sneak out to the barn just to give that big black horse a kiss on the nose and a peppermint :)

 

"Every horse should have the opportunity to be loved by a little girl at least once in their life, Some are lucky and find her again"