Chapter 2: Homesteading - The Funny Farm

After having our first child we moved to a 12 acre parcel of land with a fixer-upper house three miles down a dirt road. This was a enormous change for my husband who lived in large cities for most of his life.

Neither of us had any experience with farm animals or homesteading. Despite our lack of experience I was intrigued by the idea. My curiosity gave birth to what we lovingly called, The Funny Farm. For our 10th wedding anniversary my husband gifted me the first farm additions - three chickens he named Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. He built a chicken tractor that he repurposed from old pallets & tin to house the birds. We use the tractor to this day to house any new chicks in our flock.

I was inspired by reading the book Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich. She described watching the animal's antics as "farm TV." I learned by watching our chickens how to enjoy the simplest form of entertainment, nature.

Meet Our 1st Rooster - Dinner