Change...

This is a rough post for me. In fact, I've put it off for a few weeks and held my tongue. Come October, the B&M Farm may be no more. There are a couple reasons behind this but lets just suffice to say that it is what it is. And, a lot can change in six months. Or at least I hope it does.

Dad was in desperate need of some "Hurricane Time" so he came down on his days off and helped me with some of the chores. First task was gathering up the herd to go on a visit to Farmer John's. 

The discussion began as having John take them to help eat down his pasture and then bringing them back. And then there was discussion of him buying the five Boer mamas. A couple days later he decided that he also wanted the two Alpine mamas. A few more days later he asked to buy the entire herd - mamas & babies. And just like that, a deal was struck and my herd was gone.

Mama's first

Then the babies

We had quite the rag-tag crew helping us get the goats all herded in the trailer. Of course there was me, Dad, John & my boys but we also ended up with Casey (in the neighborhood...) and The Boys' friend, Cowboy. Not to mention those two pesky dogs.

Unfortunately for you, my readers, this was a smooth loading - no escapes, no head-butts, no stampedes.

So just like that, I am down from 19 goats to just 4. Well, really 3 because Mama doesn't quite belong to me. Yet.

Why keep the remaining 4 you ask? Well, my heart was totally broken and I couldn't give them up. Especially my Lia who is more like another dog that goat. She actually comes when I call her and will walk on a leash.

Alas, the saddest part of this day isn't over. You may remember our noble steed, Stubby.

Stubby was in pretty poor condition when Dad received him - not of malnourishment or anything, just old. I mean, really old. Stubby wasn't expected to make it through last winter, let alone this winter. The poor old boy was having a hard time walking and eating. Dad took one look and him and gave me the look. Through teared eyes I nodded that I understood and we loaded Stubby into the trailer for one last ride.

So all in all, it was a pretty shitty day for me. My herd is gone, my horse is dead and I don't know what the future holds. I wish I had the answers. I wish I knew what decisions to make. But I don't so we'll take this day by day.

Howdy

The longer I go without posting on this blog, the more people come out of the woodworks to tell me that they read it. To be honest, I'm flattered...

But I was just kind of, sort of, umm, I guess, you know, just wondering - who's out there?

Comments & new followers make me super happy. Just a friendly

"How-do-you-do"

hello, my name is _____

"I think you're crazy"

can I send you some money so you can buy more animals to write about

You know, simple things like that...

So I'll start:

"Hello, my name is Tricia and I like to pretend I'm a farmer"

How B&M Farms Began

It's actually a bit of a long story, but here we go.

My parents have a beautiful home and 2.5 acres in Hurricane, UT. The economy took a dive and dad had a hard time finding work. He was able to score a job in Salt Lake City working for UTA doing the matienence for their buildings. Since mom is so awesome and hated to be away from him, she moved up there too.

Problem is, they needed someone to take care of the place - you know, the house, gardens, flowers, lawns and oh - the horse, 11 goats, 9 chickens, 5 cats, and a dog.

Enter Ryan and I. We own a home about 15 minutes away but have been chomping at the bit to get back to Hurricane. This seemed like a perfect opportunity for us to start working towards permenently returning. So we put our place up for rent and moved to the farm.

Not long after moving in my younger brother Andy and I were talking and he said he was interested in moving his family out of Las Vegas back to Utah. I told him that there was room in our house and it grew from a single household to a dual-household.

You may be asking yourself how that works - and you're not alone. Most people raise their eyebrows and ask if we're kidding [what I really think they mean is "you must be stupid"]. We each pay rent and split the groceries and utilities. It's that simple. There is enough respect between us that it just works.

Now, I realize that it is a long shot by calling what we have a Farm. An assortment of animals & a little land isn't much but it's enough to get started. A few years ago I started getting really interested in gardening. Our soil was really bad at our home and I was determined to get something to grow. After working on that and making some headway, I realized that I really liked working with my hands and getting dirty. I liked being able to grow my own food and preserve it. And you know what, I wasn't too bad at it.

The next step was to acquire some chickens. Living in a cul-de-sac with pretty strict HOA requirements told me that this was a no-no. But I didn't give a fig what they thought and would deny having them if asked. Our first hens were (and still are) Lucy, Rosie, and Betsy. These girls pop out three beautiful, brown eggs everyday. You haven't ate eggs until you've ate one fresh from a chickens, well, you know...

But I still had dreams of having an actual farm. When mom & dad made their offer I jumped all over it without realizing what it would entail but I didn't care. I would have land, animals, and a better place to raise my kids.

This blog is a place for me to come and write down the daily events of what goes on around here and the steps we take to achieve our dream of running a farm. It's not going to be easy but I'm really excited about the upcoming journey.

Welcome to the Farm

Hey everyone, welcome to B&M Farm. This blog is a place where I can come and share the ups and downs of starting a small farm. Everyday is a circus around here so check back often and tell everyone you know.