Land o' the Leal
Small Farm.
Big Heart.
“Land o’ the Leal” is a Scottish poem and folksong, but the phrase itself refers to heaven – land of the loyal or faithful.
Laugh at us, learn with us and hopefully enjoy the stories from our adventures at Land o’ the Leal Farm.
Recent Posts
What's Going On?
At the beginning of this endeavor, we read books and blogs, watched YouTube videos, spoke to farmers and cyberstalked how-to-homesteaders. We did our research and one piece of advice came through loud and clear – start slow. One thing at a time. Pick something and do it well before starting something else.
So we immediately forgot that advice, got in over our heads, started too many things, acquired too many animals and have learned that everyone else was right!
Cows
Other Animals
Garden, Orchard and Food
Our Story
It all started with a little bull...
I’m going to try not to blame our out-of-the-blue purchase of a cow pasture on COVID, but in August of 2020 we acquired 15+ acres containing nothing but flies and cow pies.
We lived in a typical, suburban neighborhood and we knew nothing about farming (well, I knew nothing about farming – my husband seems to have been born knowing how to do this). Being animal lovers, we had stumbled upon a website called cowmatch.com (I’m not kidding – it’s real) and I fell in love with a little bull named Judah.
From the uprooted
Family POV
While I was delivering my first child, my mom and Ace were buying 10 acres of empty farmland that would quickly become their ninth child. Obviously they didn't buy the land because of me, but it was COVID and my mom wasn't allowed to be in the hospital with me, and she has been known to cope with big life changes by buying pets. During my childhood, the worst she could do was buy a dog, but now that she lives on a farm, a child going off to college or a stressful time at work has the potential to turn into a miniature pony or even a bull. Highly risky, but we'll have to leave it to Ace to reel her in.
While I personally would not want to live in such close proximity to farm smells, flies, and braying donkeys, I know that my parents thoroughly enjoy their farm life. I love that I can visit the farm with my little boys, and take photos while they pet cows and "get eggs from chicken booties," and then go back home to my cathartically functional air conditioner. The change in their lifestyle was drastic and sudden, but I wasn't surprised. My mom is a chronic adventurer and my step dad's spirit animal is Daniel Boone. Every time I call home, I hear about a new calf or the tragic loss of a bird to a coyote - it's never dull. Even though I have never lived at the farm, when I walk in, it feels like home. My people are there, busy and flourishing; they just have a few dozen new (stinky) neighbors.
The Adulting One
One could say my parents “sold the farm” when they bought the farm in 2020. Relocating from comfortable suburbia to an unplumbed barn would not be the first choice of many, but my parents could never be filed under “Most People”. My two youngest sisters were ousted from their castle (this is not an exaggeration; my step dad had literally transformed their room into a castle, complete with turrets, towers, and twinkle lights) and put to work in the muddy fields of their new farm. Needless to say, my sisters loved it. I was a little concerned about how well my mom would adjust due to her boujee-r tendencies, however she made an uncomplaining transition from Prada pumps to cowgirl boots (so long as the boots were cheetah print). The entire family took to farming with remarkable finesse. From animals to orchards to one browbeaten bathroom, the fam has learned to navigate many challenges on the ole farmstead. Witnessing the vast array of personalities amongst the farm animals is exceptionally entertaining. A few examples: Debbie Harry is the world’s sassiest, and most spoiled, donkey, Sherman Tank is a 900 year old, toothless bulldog who snores while he’s awake, and Jedidiah is a Highland bull who is, in my stepdad’s rather earthy words, “tetched”. Every time I visit the Land-o-the-Leal, I am introduced to a new member of the family (except for the roosters and angus cows; they’re dinner).
The Rerun
For a few days Mom and Dad were talking about moving, but I didn't take it seriously. But then all of the sudden we started looking at land and homes. One day went to go see some land. We wanted to look around at it, but we did not know if there was a bull on the land with the cows we saw. So we called the agent and he said there was no bull. Almost as soon as we walked into the field a man drove up on a side by side and said, "What are you doing? There's a bull in here!" A few months later we were building a barn on the land with two bedrooms and only one bathroom (big mistake!). At first we were sleeping on a mattress on the floor and using stacked boxes as a dresser. Almost all of our toys were in storage. The next thing I knew, we had 2 bulls, then a donkey, then 2 goats, then 2 more donkeys, then more cows, then a miniature pony, then a horse. Oh and of course, chickens and free range bunnies. Now, here I am on a farm, living in a barn. I miss my regular old house very much, but I do love our farm.'
The Dreamy One - age 10
We have two goats, four dogs, one cat, three highland cows, six angus cows, four donkeys, two horses, one hundred chickens, twenty chicks, and four bunnies. It is quite a hard job with all those animals. But we somehow manage. I even look forward to feeding the animals.
We used to live in a big neighborhood with lots of friends. We used to go riding on our golf cart with our friends. We had a big backyard with a trampoline. And an old bulldog, a golden-doodle, and a sheep herding dog. We thought that we had the best life ever, going to church with friends, going to school, going to gymnastics and going to restaurants. But our parents began looking for houses for sale. We started going everywhere looking at houses. But then we came to a cow field. When we went to look at it no one was there. Then our dad climbed over the fence and began walking around. Whenever he thought it was ok he helped us all over the fence. Then suddenly an old man came up on a thing that was bigger than our golf cart and it was red. Then the old man said “What are you doing there’s a bull in here!” Then the old man let us ride on his side by side~ which was the thing like our golf cart. Then he took us all over his land. When we went home we went to bed but our parents were having a long serious talk. The next thing I knew we began packing up all of our things and a barn was being built and we started moving our stuff in the barn. Then my dad hired our brothers to work with him. Then he hired one sister to take care of us for the day because we had quit school and were doing homeschool. Homeschool is a lot more fun than regular school~ you can eat when you want, you can drink anything you want, and you get to play with your animals. It 's been a fun but rough road of farming and who knows what's in the future but if you ever want to start a farm I hope you have as much fun times as we do.
The Literal One - age 9