I didn't start out in the country, not born on a farm...I was born in Chicago. But, my mom was from a farm and my dad's parents were farmers in Italy.
I guess it all started with my love of animals. We rescued everything that was injured in the neighborhood. My favorite outings were to Brookfield and Lincoln Park Zoo and to a huge pet store called Animal Kingdom on Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. In those days, pet stores had fewer (if any) regulations. They had a baby elephant there and a tiger and all kinds of amazing snakes, birds, fish, dogs, cats and anything you can imagine. They rented out the bigger animals, some were regulars on tv shows. My parents surprised my brother and I with a pet monkey that they had purchased from Animal Kingdom. We named her GiGi and she was a Capuchin monkey. My favorite books were always about animals. I think my first words were animals sounds...my mom would always read a Golden Book to me about farm animals and what sounds they make. She was really good at making their quacks, moos and cock a doodle dos. I would always jump up and down with my hands under my arm pits making monkey sounds.
I wore red cowboy boots with everything much to the dismay of my grandmother...we lived in a two flat, grandma, grandpa and aunt upstairs. Mom, dad and me downstairs. My mom was a professional dancer and wore what would be considered 'kind of out there' for the time. So, it was fine with her that I wore whatever clothing combinations my little heart desired. Most pictures of me until I was five were underwear, undershirt, cowboy hat and boots and my Roy Rogers/Dale Evans watch.
My parents, like many, eventually moved to the suburbs. As I married and had kids, we moved further and further out into the suburbs because a growing family was able to buy more house for less, the further out you were from the city. After a few moves we were in the country with a bit of a longer commute to our jobs in the suburbs.
First it was buying dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, chameleons and other smaller animals 'for the kids'. But as we acquired more animals and became more interested in growing our own food and sitting out at night and gazing at the stars, we made the decision to become 'as self supporting of our life in the country as possible'.
We found that we needed less with the busy life that we were leading in the country, so we were spending less. Cleaning barns, mowing much larger land, gardens and animals that needed daily care. We were always reading books and later, on line looking for information and ideas from experienced individuals about raising chickens and other animals for fun and profit.
I am a lifelong crafter (sewing, quilting and anything else I decide to learn and create) and soap maker. I was on Pinterest constantly gathering ideas that I could add my own spin. So, I started to make things to sell at various stores and online.
My husband is a full-time contractor, and he still needed to work larger jobs, to support us, but was finding time to make furniture and smaller items that he could sell.
It took a lot of years and a lot of hard work to really become as self sufficient as possible, earn money doing what we loved and live on a farm.....but, we did it. And, it took a lot of heart to do it. Hearts that were large enough to take in (rescues), care for and love all of our animals, indoor and out. Hearts that felt like they were going to break when any animals would die or decisions had to be made to do what was best for them. A heart that looked for ways to improve our land, water and air quality in whatever small ways we could. Always thinking with our heart about how to leave less of a footprint on this wonderful earth for generations to come.
I think that is what a country heart really is....
