The animals make our place lively on a scale that’s easier to see than the huzz-a-buzz at the level of the creepers and the crawlers.
Before we had any domestic animals, the farm was much quieter. We were free to travel—take a weekend in the mountains to soak in hot springs, travel overseas on extended visits, and hobnob in person with friends.
Domestic animals must be fed at about the same time each day. With so many different kinds of animals, and different ages, our feeding chores sometimes get complicated. But, our motto is “Everyone is happy, safe, and well fed” and there is a wonderful feeling of contentment around here. Secure in our routines, we draw comfort from one another and from the cycles of the days and the seasons.
The wild animals bring us a taste of the wide world, passing through. When Amy lived in the city she drew comfort from Canada geese in the city park—a sense of their lives not deriving meaning from rhythms having nothing to do with the scale of her human life. When a flock passes overhead now, she remembers her lonely time in the city and gives thanks for the chance to live more attuned to earth rhythms at the farm.
In the pages that follow we’ll share about some of our animal companions: