Reference photos from when we got our homestead

I promised photos, so here are a few from when we first got our homestead. Just look at those weeds! We didn't have the tractor then so we paid a guy to come and shred all 10 acres.

Here are a couple of "after" photos. It looks a lot better now :)

 Yep, that's a Mexican Eagle in the field. We have them all over.

That pile is barbed wire left from the previous owners. We sent it off due to it being unusable and very rusted.

Here is the beginnings of the chicken coop. It has grown out now and we have a separate coop for our handicapped chickens.

Here is the pen for the handicapped chickens. It's a 10x6 one that fits them well. The one hen in the middle is Henrietta. She's not handicapped, but our rooster attacks her and so we put her with the other two girls so she is safe. She acts like their guard.

Both coops now have covers over them to keep the hawks and such out and to give the chickens shade.

Well, that's it for photos for today. I hope you enjoyed the tour, as it is. Until next time :)

Join me as I become a FARMER!

1/19/20 Saturday
  Welcome to my little South Texas farm on the web! I am Anna, an almost 53 year old wife, mother, grandmother, chicken rancher, and soon to be farmer and cattle rancher. My husband of 24 years, whom I will call M here, and my 26 y/o son I moved here a year ago last November. We have been steadily working to get our 10 acres set up so we can eventually get a few cows and a bull. Currently, we have 11 chickens, 1 rooster (who can be a real jerk to the ladies), 3 dogs, and 6 cats (3 of whom are outdoor "barn" cats, though we have no barn as of yet).
 We came from living in a small town on a ranch belonging to an elderly couple of distant relatives of mine. After he passed away 3 years ago and making sure she was able to do for herself, we have ventured out on our own dream of having a mini farm. My husband is disabled, so my son and I do most of the farm work, though my husband is the builder and planner. I have 4 other children who live in the city about an hour away. My oldest daughter is J, she's 33, followed by my 27 y/o daughter H, her husband SP and my granddaughter T. She's 5 and a real fireball. H homeschools her and she's going to be a heartbreaker when she grows up. I, the son that lives with us is my right hand. He is a hard worker and loves his video games and reading. I spend a lot of time watching him play at night. I probably should be sleeping, but it's fun and helps me relax. My next child is S. He is 23 and works as a general manager for a nationwide pizza chain making a good living and has just bought his first house. Last but not least is B. He's my baby, if you can call a 21 y/o, over 6 foot tall guy a baby :) He is a mechanic, works long and hard, gets injured a lot and is really making his way in the world. His girlfriend is M and her little one is G, who is 4 and a real chatterbox. They live around the corner from H and SP and T. Our family is close, and we see everyone a lot and talk on the phone every day. Holidays are all spent together and I hope it stays that way. Family is the most important thing we have in this world and nothing should change that.
  I have a lot of plans for the future here. I want to get our back 7 acres set up for the eventual purchase of 4 heifers and a bull. That means we need new fencing set up in two paddocks, I need to disk and seed for good grazing grass, and we need a barn. I bought a small tractor last year so I could shred (mow) the front and back acres but now I need a disk and a rototiller to attach to it so I can get all this done. I can't believe that just a few short years ago I was a city girl who had never done anything remotely "country" before other than having a small garden. Speaking of gardens, I am planning one for this year. It is planned out to be a 20ft x 20ft area by my studio building, but will probably get a lot larger than that. I need raised beds due to the soil here being mostly sand, and also due to us having a ton of moles in the yard. Also, sticker burrs (aka sandspurs). I positively HATE those and would burn the whole yard if someone (M) would let me. As it sits, we have to get a bunch of fertilizers and pre-emergent weed killers to get rid of the darn weeds. But, that's life in the country, so we do what we can and keep pulling the stickers out of everything and everyone.
  I've yammered on for a while now, so I will end my post for today. Hopefully I can get some pictures up soon so whoever reads this has some frame of reference. Have a great day y'all!