I am raising the two Dexters (Alex and her daughter Txiki) to be the mothers of my mini beef herd. 
On the left here is Aunty Anna who is part Hereford – she will be a beef mama too.
And out to the left is Difficult Bobby who is being raised for beef and in the foreground Bobby T2 (the Hereford with the white face) he is being raised for beef as well.
On the left here we have Bobby T – he is in the beef herd.
(Unpictured are Naomi and the Dexter bull Carlos the Tiny – who are shacked up together at the West Barn.) You can see here how stocky Txiki is becoming – she will be a good beef Mama I hope.
Of course Sheila is a pet who is being raised for lots of smiles.
So that is the makings of my beef herd. These animals will hopefully make a small income for the farm alongside selling trained house cows. Though not for a long time. And I must start making more boring money to pay for the increased feed bill on the farm. Luckily I grow all our people food and that SAVES a lot of money.
Which brings me to an idea that has been percolating in my brain lately. For a while now I have been asked to review items on Amazon. The different companies get in touch and send me the items through Amazon for free or the cost of shipping. I have begun reviewing and subsequently owning some interesting items – small ones so far like travel cups and pruning shears, etc. and this generates more of this business.
There are actual sites that one can join and with some work and elbow grease start getting PAID to review items. Like any platform this will take some building. And reviewing products of interest to us would slot nicely into my Sunday day off from farm blogging. A day that you know would be Sunday Reviews (I need a catchier phrase than that) and you could choose to tune in or not. That way it is kept separate from the farm days. I might earn a little money and you might read about some interesting stuff but it will not impinge on our normal business. It would be fun I think and as all I need is a hundred dollars a week to pay the winter feed bill I think it is doable.
It is just a review – however already I am finding interesting items that I am using every day that you might be interested in reading about.
BUT FIRST. This business is all about numbers – how many likes you get and the numbers in your social media pool. It is cold but there you are. I need to build my social media network a little more. This is an easy way for you to help if you choose to. So, if you are on twitter or pinterest or facebook join me or if you have any friends who might want to join the blog that would be good too. Look above and you will see the JOIN US page – this will have my links.
Looking to an Online Business that might be a bit of fun too (I love to write reviews) and pay a little seems a good option but I have to have done my homework before I jump in so naturally any useful information would be welcomed.
And now it is time to bring the cows in and get ready for the milking.
I hope you have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
40 responses to “Beefy Mamas”
For me, half the fun would lie in seeing what you’d chosen to review. It sounds a clean, dry and not too strenuous way of making a bit of extra cash, and a very good idea.
Thank goodness – I was not sure how you all would react – it would only be on that Sunday and not interfere with my real blog posts.. c
I really love the Pushmi-Pullyu in the first photo! And I am so glad you posted this because, 1) I looked at your cow photos a day or so ago – I’m in Shanghai at the moment and have no idea what time it is there – and couldn’t figure out who most of them were when I used to know the names of every one of your flerd! and 2) as a marketing prof, I’ve thought for a long time that, with the number of blog followers you have, you could make a pretty penny with just a little more monetizing, so I encourage you to post reviews for us like-minded followers and anything else that comes along and suits your/our personal values. PS, my student assistant here in Shanghai chose the Anglo name Celia and is so happy to know that I have a friend with the same name…
Oh thank you – I have to go into this venture well prepared as Reputation has a lot to do with the offers , if you have any other ideas i would love to hear them.. c
Brilliant first photo … look how big Txiki is. Poor Bobby T away from his Momma, at lest he has a playmate 🙂 Laura
You’ve got some very beautiful cows …and Sheila, of course 🙂
Good luck with the reviews Cecilia. I know that with your determination and hard work philosophy, you will be making those 100$ and more every week very soon.
Take care
G
Love the idea of the reviews, Cecilia. Also–what about Instagram? I can’t remember if I’ve seen you on there. It would be a natural for you with all your wonderful photos!
I agree. I use Instagram much more than Twitter!
I do have instagram but forgot about it ! Ha ha ha -can you search for me? I will bring it back into the fold.. c
I’ll go look for you and see if we can bring you back! I am on Instagram a lot these days and I think a lot of others are too.
Would kitchens_garden be you? If so, I’m your first follower!
I can’t remember – let me see! ha ha ha
OK it appears that my name in there is ceciliabuyswheelergunther – I need to get some continuity with my moniker!! c
Found you!
Good luck with the reviews. I am unfortunately not on any other form of social media, but if there is a way of endorsing you without fb or twitter, count me in.
Love your beef mama and continue to follow Sheila with great anticipation. I joined your new site and can’t wait to see what you’re up to. Hoping this turns out to be fun and reaping $$$$$.
A new enterprise! How exciting!!!
Just checked your Twitter page. My you are lovely and elegant in your twitter photo! Love all the contrasts.
Personally, I hate reviews but that is me. I find them very time consuming to do and often very biased in the writing (especially when it relates to food and wine).
Do i say well done? It seems to me that you work all the hours that God sends and now you are filling in your one time of relaxation…please Miss C do not overdo it…that would be a big disaster if you became ill. Anyway i will say congratulations..another poker in the fire to top up the income cannot not be ignored….but do look after ypurself…
Sundays are actually my busiest days as i am working alone but with the review sunday i can write it ahead of time – it is not in real-time like the blog.
I love reading well-written reviews, and appreciate them for the information they can provide about items I might not otherwise consider purchasing. Sometimes, when I’m having a not so good day, I go trolling on amazon for some of the more “interesting” reviews. The ones obviously written by comedians writing “laugh out loud, tears streaming down your face” reviews for some of the odder items. Amazon also has some very carefully thought out, well-written, “ought to be writing professionally” written reviews. I’ve found I really like it when reviewers do two things in particular: 1) They occasionally revisit an item after a period of time to let us know if their original opinion is still true and how the item withstood extended use and 2) When they find alternative uses for items. I would think the farm would be a rich environment for this. This wouldn’t necessarily be true for all items, but a farm environment may be rich for alternative uses 🙂
Great pics: the cattle look in tremendous shape, though I thought your beef mama looked more like a beefy beef papa! I do get asked to write reviews on Amazon sometimes, but no-one’s ever suggested they pay me! Good luck with them.
love,
ViV xox
allgood ideas- looking forward to seeing what pops upon Sundays!