(Morning everyone from sunny California. Wasn’t yesterday great with our first UN-Blogger post from Sally who has been part of the Fellowship for Ages. And now let me pass the day to Di who has been a Member of the Fellowship of the Farmy since DAY ONE! Over to you Di…)
After 12 years of teaching overseas my husband, Jack, and I decided to embark on a new adventure. That adventure involved finding a piece of land in a beautiful, out of the way place back in the USA and starting a subsistence farm. We found our land in North Central Arkansas and are working on the subsistence farm part of our dream. I learned of our Dear Celi just as she was beginning her blog 2 ½ years ago from Chrissy Hellyer, a dear friend of both of ours whom Celi and I have taught with at different times in life.
Following Celi’s blog daily is such a joy, as The Farmy Fellowship knows, and I am excited to be a part of it today! Jack and I decided to take you all with us for the morning feeding, which, of course, revolves around the barn, a circa 1952, smallish, all wood building, that we hope lasts another 61 years! Please excuse the building materials. A new floor for the goats is going in soon. The right side, most of which we replaced with new wood, we converted into the henhouse.
First thing in the morning our dogs and cats greet us. Our precious cats, Boo Bop and Sweet Pea.
Dolly is our Blue Heeler, like Boo Nanny, super smart, the perfect farm dog, peering into the house at dawn. You’ll see her in many of the pictures, just as we see Ton Ton so many of Celi’s shots.
Our other precious pooch is Daphne, a German Shorthair Pointer. She must remain on a long leash when we feed, as she would tear off, following her instincts racing like a deer through the woods chasing birds, rabbits, and squirrels totally heedless of our shouts to COME, DAPHNE, COME!!!
Chickens, ducks, guineas, rabbits, goats and pigs all need to be fed. And Taylor, the goat must be milked. 
We have two mamas and one baby, all Lamancha goats, tiny ears, so friendly, great milkers, and all absolutely adorable! Cricket is still nursing Betty Boop (black baby) and will dry off naturally. We are drying off Taylor (as her babies left in the spring) and then a suitor will arrive soon to spend a month here on the farm with them and next spring, we should have 4 more babies! Very, very exciting! Our goats are providers, like Daisy is to Celi’s farmy. (Note the hammocks in the background. Hard to find time to hang in them, but most important to do it!)
We have started milking every other day for a week to begin the drying off process, and then every three days for a week. In the spring after the babies are weaned we milk twice a day. Thereafter, all activities revolve around milking/ feeding times.
Oink, oink, or shall I say SQUEAL, SQEAL? Yes, we are coming piggies! They line up waiting, jostling and squealing. Roxie, our big mama on the left, is mama to the three on the right. She, and the two babies beside her are Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, a heritage breed originally from England. GOS hogs are gentle, hardy, gorgeous critters; producers of wonderful pork and lots of lard.
Happy when eating and being scratched, these pigs, too, are absolutely adorable!
To close this post we’ll show you the very cool greenhouse that Jack built this summer. We’ll be moving plants into it soon, as cold weather is on it’s way.
We so hope you have enjoyed the visit to our farm. What a treat for me to share with you all. It’s wonderful to be one of the Fellowship of the Farmy and to share in Celi’s adventures and in the responses of all of you daily as well!
Wishing you all a fabulous day from Little Ditty Farm!
The Kitchen's Garden 
74 responses to “Welcome to Jack and Diane’s Little Ditty Farm”
I like the house that Jack built. Isn’t there a cow with a crumpled horn that comes into the scene somewhere? 🙂
Well, Jack really wants a cow to go with the House that Jack Built, but the grass on our land is just not thick enough to support one. So, we are settling for dairy goats and pigs! Along with chickens, guineas, ducks and rabbits. (Hey, one rabbit had babies today!) And dogs and cats of course! 🙂
Pity! Well, maybe a goat could have a crumpled horn, and there must be a cock with the chickens. You also have a dog and cat – what about the rat?
Hi there. A lovely post, almost like being at the Farmy. I love that red barn. And those kitties, and dogs… and goats….and,.. and, …and….everything.
Thank you Viv! Celi’s farmy and ours do have a lot in common! Only I wish we had even a fraction of her barn space!!! And her rich fertile soil too!!! Wonderful to meet you! And see you in the farmy comments lounge! 🙂
I love that you have an entourage as you go about your work, and a gorgeous Farmy Cast of characters too 🙂 I’m sure there’ll now be much thinking going on about how we’ll all acquire at least such a wonderful greenhouse. Great post, thank you – it’s wonderful to see and understand where other Commenters Lounge people live, how and their connections. EllaDee, Sydney, Australia 🙂
HI EllaDee! You are so right! It is wonderful connecting with people from all over the world! By the way, I LOVE Australia! I lived there 6 months and was trying to figure out all kinds of schemes so I could stay there! But, that didn’t happen and other wonderful things ensued…coming finally to me on my own farmy! How is that for fabulous? 🙂
It’s a wonderful thing to hear someone LOVES the country of your birth 🙂 I had a fortnight holiday in the U.S., in California, a decade or so ago, and thought, I could live here. But as you say not to be. I think I would love Arkansas 🙂
Di, this is delightful, to meet you and see your farm. Being an artist, I just love that barn – and the spotted pigs. I can imagine a painting that includes both. It’s so interesting to see other people’s pigs too (never thought I’d say such a thing but Celi has educated me well through her blog). Greetings and thanks from New Zealand.
Hi Juliet! Do you know that everyone I have ever met from New Zealand has been the nicest person ever? That’s the truth! Just look at Celi, and Chrissy, (who brought Celi and I together) and lots of other Kiwis I’ve met along the way, and now you! Celi is a great educator, that’s for sure. But another of the wonderful things about her blog is the comments lounge where so many others educate us as well!!! It fabulous! See you in the comments lounge Juliet! 🙂
What a great farm you have! You and Celi have so much in common. Although I’d love to get my hands on some raw dairy, it’s those pigs that caught my attention. I wish more farms would jump on the heritage pig wagon and more of that rich, fat-laden pork, was available to us all. Your new green house is fantastic! It’s multi-colored trim will look great when there’s plenty of green inside. Thanks for giving us the grand tour of your little piece of heaven on earth,
You are so welcome Chicago John! So glad you enjoyed the tour! You are so right about the pigs. We now need to figure out how we can work it to get the pork to market. There are so many rules and regulations about meat these days. Right now we are planning of selling the piglets to those we also want these wonderful pigs. In Dec. we will get to try the half GOS, half American Spotted Hog that we bred and raised. The meat should be yummy! So happy that Celi gets away to visit you in Chicago. What a treat for her, and for Our John, especially the ball game! See you in the comments lounge! 🙂
Thank you Diane for sharing your farmy life with us! I live in Oregon with lots of farms around me, and so many times I pass this one farm that I always say would be my “dream” place to own and work… But seeing people live the dream and sharing it (and I know it’s hard work for you!) is wonderful! Thank you. 🙂
You are welcome! It is hard work, but great fun too! With the two of us we also have time for other things, but mostly projects involving the farm. I’m not sure just how Celi does it, mostly by herself, although Our John is involved whenever he is home. That Celi is something else!!! Happy November!!! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your farm and life with us. I enjoyed your post very much.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Nice to meet you, Di. Thanks for sharing your farm, your life, and all those hungry mouths with us. 🙂
Love your farm and all of your animals. The kitties are so sweet. I’ve always thought that if I had a farm, I would have goats, even though I know they can be quite naughty! Thanks for sharing!
Jack & Diane, from ISB? If so, let’s do lunch. We’ll be in Russellville, AR January 28th ish for about a week, visiting Marcia’s brother. Would love a tour of your farm and catch up since we last saw you both.