Down on the farm..

Last Friday my mother, sister and I made a trip to Ithaca. It's a small farming town in the center of the Michigan where my mother grew up. My aunt, and her family still live in the farmhouse that my great-great-grandfather built. My grandfather still lives in Ithaca, and the farm is a Michigan Centennial Farm now. When my mother was a kid he raised hogs and farmed the 80 acres here.

Feeding Lucy, their Appaloosa, with my Grandpa Matt.

My mother, Roxanne.

Lucy loved being brushed.

I sat on her without a saddle for a while. Every move she made I was sooo afraid I'd fall off! She was eating the whole time, which meant she wasn't walking too much. Appaloosas are very fast horses and Lucy can fly. Thankfully her tummy was full, so she wasn't bucking me off of her. Skinny jeans and TOMs aren't the greatest for riding.

The view from behind the barn. The woods to the right is where my mother hunts. Yeah, that's right, my mom hunts deer. I remember as a kid being really freaked out when she'd butcher the deer in the garage. One time she was cutting off the antlers to mount as a trophy. As soon as I walked into the garage, the brains hit the cement like a pile of spaghetti. Eeek! Scarred for life. Venison is amazing though, so I never refuse the meat family gives me.

Grandpa photo-bombing Rachael's picture. My grandpa Matt is 84 and still as lively as ever! He's a master woodworker, with a small workshop on the road, close to the house. Everyday he drives 5 miles from town, where he lives, and works on all kinds of furniture, shelves, toys, etc. Lately, he has been making a lot of wooden toy cars for kids. Since he's a Shriner, he gives them away all year round.

Lucy is so beautiful! I was told she is very temperamental, but she let me do whatever I wanted. I loved petting her face and feeding her. Horses are so amazing.

My aunt used to have a ton of chickens but probably butchered them or sold them. I remember when I'd visit in the summers, I'd spend a week at the farm. Every morning we'd go outside and get eggs from the chicken, feed them, feed the horses, and then start the day. You haven't had eggs until you've had them the day they were hatched and fresh from a farm!

My aunt Rhonda said Lucy, the horse, loves having a chicken around for a friend. Their last chicken walked around with her all day. It is no longer alive, I'm not sure what happened, so they got these two little babies.

I would love to someday have a small farm with a horse, goats, chickens, and other farm animals. Grow my food and work from home. Wouldn't that be amazing!? The problem with Michigan farms is the weather, you can only have crops certain times of the year. My mom, Rachael, and I were joking about starting a family commune. Each of us with our own house 100 or so yards apart, grow food, have kids, share everything. We'd definitely need separate houses, and mine would probably be pink.