It was sad winter my oldest son died *. I had just moved into a 100 year old farmhouse that needed lots of work. It seemed like fun project at first. Once we started it was daunting. My boys and I were all feeling lost and overwhelmed.
A friend of mine called about a Craigs list post titled Please SAVE Faith Lily. I'm a sucker for a sad story, I had a barn and no animals. I worked from home and shared the house with my middle son Dave. Faith was a 4H lamb destined for slaughter. Faith's first mom, a sweet teenager named Melanie , begged for someone to adopt Faith and pay 4H for the milk she had consumed
No one called and Faith was destined to become Easter dinner. The universe knew we needed each other but I was a little skeptical. I had never even been close to a lamb. At My friends urging Faith came home.
A reporter from The Philadelphia Inquirer saw the Craig's list post and followed the story. Faith was featured in a full page section of the Easter addition. It came as a big surprise. I didn't even bother to put on make-up. I was pretty sure it would be a tiny article with Faiths photo. Thats when everything started to get a little bit hectic. All sorts of people wanted to find homes for all sorts of critters.
No wallowing in bed crying, a baby needed to be fed. Faith need to be fed every 2 hours just like any newborn . She was kept in the house and wore diapers. She often hung out on the sofa with the boys. She slept in playpen in my room. I made her a little robe for the chilliest nights in our drafty home. She looked like a live stuffed animal. It made me smile just watching her.
No one called and Faith was destined to become Easter dinner. The universe knew we needed each other but I was a little skeptical. I had never even been close to a lamb. At My friends urging Faith came home.
A reporter from The Philadelphia Inquirer saw the Craig's list post and followed the story. Faith was featured in a full page section of the Easter addition. It came as a big surprise. I didn't even bother to put on make-up. I was pretty sure it would be a tiny article with Faiths photo. Thats when everything started to get a little bit hectic. All sorts of people wanted to find homes for all sorts of critters.
No wallowing in bed crying, a baby needed to be fed. Faith need to be fed every 2 hours just like any newborn . She was kept in the house and wore diapers. She often hung out on the sofa with the boys. She slept in playpen in my room. I made her a little robe for the chilliest nights in our drafty home. She looked like a live stuffed animal. It made me smile just watching her.
Faith loved to play and entertained us with her antics. She got into lots of trouble. Her favorite food was dog food. She would sneak around trying to get it. Faith gave us something bigger than sadness to focus on. It was amazing , who knew lambs had such personality. Dave and I shared Faiths care , working our schedules around her endless bottles and diaper changes. He even took her on a few dates when I couldn't be home. I was transported back to the early mom years it was magical.
Faith grew and eventually moved to the barn but she never stopped trying to come into the house. Faith was a blessing in so many ways. Every animal that has found a home here since is because of Faith. She helped carve out a new life for me as a farmer and my home as a sanctuary for the unwanted. I don't eat my animals but my chickens do produce some pretty delicious eggs , so I guess we are actually a real farm.
The newspaper article gave our address. That spring we were inundated with rabbits, kittens Easter chicks and ducklings. It seemed nearly everyday someone would call about another homeless animal.
My time was taken up building pens, finding homes and learning to care for each new addition. It felt good to have a purpose. Luckily my local feed store had classes on animal husbandry. I got the book Barnyard in the Back Yard at their recommendation. It's well worn now along with a Merck Vet manual , experience and the internet taught me the rest. I'm still learning something new everyday.
My son grew up married and had children of his own. He still comes by to help every now and again. He talks about getting a little farm of his own. The grandchildren love to visit Nazzys farm. I used to run a preschool here, my students still stop by to see the animals. I now have a family of chickens, ducks, 2 ornery geese, turkeys, a peacock, rabbits, a 3 legged chihuahua and his 4 dog friends, 2 hilarious goats, the world famous Pablo the pig ,
1 miniature horse and one lovely sheep. In addition to my furry feathered family, all sorts of animals come through here for rehabilitation and move back to the wild or to a good home. It gets a little crazy sometimes but I wouldn't change it for the world.
* This isn't my forum for talking about my two boys death . This is my happy farm blog. If your grieving or just interested in hearing the story vist my grief blog Agoodmourning@blogspot.com .
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