The farmyard years

I am a lemonade kind of girl. When life gives me a bunch of lemons I try to figure out how to make lemonade, even when there is no sugarcoating in sight. So, five years ago when I found myself stuck in one place due to unforseen and unavoidable circumstances I decided to make the best of it. As it happens, it was a lovely place to be stuck in, far out in the middle of no-where and deep in the Finnish countryside. I already had a few summer chickens who spent their winters with a lovely neighbour, so it was an easy transition to insulate their existing coop for our harsh winter climate and keep them on when winter came. As anyone who ever spent time with chickens know, they are the sweetest beings and give such comfort to the heart and mind. Regardless of what a crappy day you are having, it is always a little better when you are greeted in the morning by their happy and expectant little faces!

With chickens already ruling the roost on the farm, it was only a small step away to get more animals... So when my darling daughter suggested getting a goat, we obviously went just to have a look. Now I ask, who has not fooled themselves with the famous "just checking it out" argument?! One little goatie with his little sibling turned into seven little goaties as they all needed a home. To me, it was happiness expanded and such fun to follow their non-stop endevours. A fence is just an invitation to break out, or as in the case of the kitchen garden an invitation to break in. Many a morning my long-suffering and overly kind neighbours WhatsApped me about the seven little goaties visiting them, but as my phone is always on silence until my third coffee the messages always concluded with "We have now brought them home and mended the fence!". In all honesty, I almost believed their assurances that they did not mind, as they got fresh eggs for their trouble and I had a steady stream of their friends and guests visiting the unruly bunch.

Yet life is never static, and rarely stays still. After five years the situation has changed, and from being in a much prolonged lock-down I find myself being flung in all directions and far corners of the world. I do try to have my cake and eat it, but turns out having someone care for the farm animals while I was travelling was manageable but more stressful than expected. To be honest, after spending such a long time trying to reduce any and all stressors I simply had to give them up regardless of my love for my menagerie. In the end I found perfect new homes for each and every one, and I am so pleased about fullfilling my childhood dream of living on a farm filled with animals during these years. Even though my wonderful farmyard years have come to en end, I'm not sad. Every ending heralds a new beginning, and who knows what the next chapter will bring?