Rhonda

My son and his girlfriend at the time bought 2 Arabian one yr olds. We stabled them at a local stable but it was a half hour drive one way to get there. It was a fun time with them. I learned to lunge a horse and work with them. Like you Quiltncowgirl I am not fussy and deal with anything that comes along. So mucking out stalls wasn't fun but had to be done. Then my son bought me a 5 yr old Arabian Mare and I named her Cheyenne. She would walk at my shoulder with no halter on. I had so much fun with her. Never got to ride her tho as we didn't keep her long due to my DHs health. She had been a brood mare and was only green broke. She reared up one day with me hanging onto her lead rope. She was responding to a stallion that was outside the barn in a corral. She listened to me and came back down. It scared me but I hung in there (there really wasn't any choice!!) and I overcame my fear. I was pretty proud of myself for that. When I first met her I did exactly what you are not supposed to do. My son was holding her and I came up to her face to face. I reached up to pet her nose and she shook her head because I spooked her. And her jaw bone connected with my cheek bone. It took 2 years for that cheekbone to be pain free. She knew she hurt me. She nuzzled my cheek and after that she was connected to me. She never reacted to the guys like she did to me.

Novice.for.now

I grew up on a Kansas grain farm (with livestock too) and then proceeded to do something I swore I would never do...I married a farmer. We lived on a farm for about 30 years until hubby's health forced him out of farming. I have so many memories, good and bad. DD thinks I should write a book but I haven't felt the urge, so far. The kids often refer back to something that they remember and laugh together. Of course the grandkids (live in a huge city) don't know what they are talking about.

Scissor Queen

My first inlaws had a farm. We had a huge garden, cows and chickens when I lived out there. I miss raw milk and fresh eggs.

jollyquilting

I grew up in town and now we have a little acreage. Last year we had 6 cows and and calves but had to sell them last fall because of the drought. My poor husband had so much pain when one of his cows died, that I told him we were too old to have animals again. He is in his 70's and gets too involved with his "babies". They even came up and tried to lick (ugh) his hand when we talked to them. We had lots of rabbits but the coyotes came in and thinned them out a lot.

I love the rural life and the people are wonderful. I am really enjoying our new life.

Pam B

I grew up on a farm...now my younger brother lives there and runs the farm. DH and I live on 160 acres with a stream running a full half-mile through the property. We have had a few animals...raised steers for about 20 years and had pigs and sheep as 4H animals for our children. Now that the children are grown our only 'livestock' is our Border Collie. He misses the animals, I think but, with DH traveling for work, I did not want the hassle. We do not farm the acreage...my brother does and our son soon will take it over. It is row crops...soybeans and corn.

I prefer living in the country. When first married we lived in town (about 15000 pop) and it terrified me to park on the street and walk into my dark house. Out here, it does not bother me one bit to come home to a dark house. LOL

It has been a good life...love having a large yard and not having houses so close you feel like you can touch them. We are having growth in our area. When we moved here, we were the only house for a half mile. Now we have 5 new homes built across the road from our property. Luckily, our house sits way back off the road so it still feels secluded to us....the new houses just spoil our view of what was once farmland across the road.

The downside to where we live...when we get snowstorms...DS does not always get our drive plowed out right away! And, our house is just an old farmhouse....and is really beginning to need some major things taken care of but, we are thinking about building new directly in front of where this house sits, hopefully, within the year. We are getting older (yes...at 54 I am ready to admit that) and are planning to build an updated ranch style house. It will be nice to have all the bedrooms on one floor. It would have been nice to have that this winter when my 82 year father broke his ankle...he had to go to a nursing facility for 5 weeks because neither me nor my brother had a home with bathroom/bedrooms on the first floor and his home with my step-mom was the same way. (Not that she was physically able to look after him during his rehab.)

Ramona Byrd

I was raised on a hard scrabble farm in the hills of WV during the depression. Since Grandma had arthritis in her hands, I had to do the milking of our cow, and helped a lot with her as teacher. I miss the farm even now, though it's been well over 65 years. Since then I've had plants and gardens everywhere I lived, even if it was in pots.

oksewglad

This Iowa girl was born and raised on a dairy farm, but we had pigs and chickens, too. I will not raise chickens to this day because of having to do chicken chores. My DIL up the road does and provides those fresh eggs for me!
I have three distinct images of my hard working dad. One-- steam rising from a cup of coffee and his daily cigarette in one hand looking out the kitchen window before going out to milk. The next of him walking between the two barns going about his chores at a quick clip. And the last of him standing at the north end of the barn--day is done, the cows have been let out, he pulls the door shut, latches it and rests his work weary arms across the bottom half of the door and pauses. What ever were his thoughts? It is a precious memory for me.

Airwick156

No but my mom always asked me if I was born in a barn. Does that count?

Rhonda

Doesn't she know where you were born? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Kappy

You might say I never got off the farm. Born and raised on one, married a farmer...still live on one. It's a wonderful life....hard work and all!