In December 2024 she went over to one of our friends’ farms for a 45-day date with a Black Angus Bull. This would give us a due date of mid September through end of October. We had no idea if she got pregnant during that time, we just figured we’d wait and see what happened.

As Beekeepers, we have the privilege of harvesting honey 2 times a year. Usually in late July and October, but that really varies based on the temperatures and state of the bee frames. Uncapped honey is not at the ideal moisture level yet and will likely crystalize quickly in the jar. The bees know when it is ready, so we just follow their lead and only take the capped honey.

This morning as our girls were doing their regular morning chores, our oldest came in to let me know that all 5 of our boy goats (the Little Boys and Sam) were not in their field and the gate was open. This is bad. Especially as our front gate didn’t close properly last night!

Our first chicks were raised in the barn—that was terrible. It gets dirty really fast, they have very little natural light, they have no access to grass or bugs, they get pasty butt really easily, and they are in the barn so not exactly easy to remember they are there. The second round (the 4-H birds) we decided to do more research and make it easier for us and less stress for them. Brant and our youngest build this little outdoor brooder box and it is wonderful!

I often laugh at the life I now live. If you had asked me 20, 10, or even 5 years ago if I would A) own a farm B) homeschool my kids or C) make my own yogurt from raw milk, I would have probably laughed at you and said something sarcastic like “yeah, a farm would be cool, but no way that’s going to happen.” Well, now I do all that, and more than I ever imagined. Today I’m talking on the phone to one of my childhood best friends (like since we were 2.5 years old in ballet class) while moving baby goats and listening to the rooster crow—it’s really quite comical!

Our journey to southwestern Tennessee started long before any boxes were packed and U-Haul trucks were loaded. Many “wouldn’t it be nice to…” conversations were had before we finally realized that we don’t have to ask permission to pursue our dreams.