Who knew that a donkey could capture your heart? I sure wasn’t expecting this ornery, spunky little donkey I purchased for $35 from a guy who rescued donkeys to become one of my favorite farm animals. Everyone at the auction barn told me not to get donkeys, but I actually purchased two donkeys from him, Gypsy and Fiona, and then Gypsy had an unexpected foal, Nellie, about seven months after I purchased her. Those three have brought me lots of smiles over the years. I’m thankful that they became a part of our farm story and, even though Gypsy died unexpectedly about a year ago, Fiona and Nellie have a really strong bond and are still bringing me lots of smiles.

After about six years of some really good and some really hard distractions for our family, I am making efforts to get back to focusing on some things that bring me immense joy. Things that make my soul sing. Things that make me smile even when I’m alone. Things that make me feel lighter at the end of the day instead of weighed down by worries.

Writing. Reading. Decorating. Creating. Talking to friends. Spending time with our animals. Taking pictures of our farm. Setting up cozy nooks in our home. Looking at old magazines.

As many of you know, we just celebrated our 10th Anniversary on Green Acres and the learning curve has been steep for the entire ten years. We are trying to simplify our life here so that we can enjoy it more in the day-to-day grind of caring for over a hundred farm animals. It’s definitely way past time to embrace the simple things on the farm and quit trying to do it all!!

This year, I am planning to spend more time with individual farm animals, like Fiona, so I can take some fun pictures of them to share with all of you.

Stay tuned……

The Head Hen