Photography used to be a favorite hobby of mine that began when my parents gave me my first nice camera for Christmas years ago. That camera lasted from my 11th grade year until one fateful day during my senior year of college when I just happened to be on a study tour…in Italy… touring the Vatican–you know, nothing special to take pictures of there or anything. It gave me an error code that I knew no “turn off and back on” would fix. So I spent the rest of the study tour sulking through the streets of Florence, Rome, and Assisi, lamenting the National Geographic-worthy pictures I surely would have taken…sigh.
I looked into getting that camera fixed, and was told that it would be several hundred dollars to get it looked at with no guarantees. At the time, working my little retail job, that just wasn’t an option, so I reluctantly hung up my camera strap and started using my smartphone for picture-taking like the rest of the world. I have missed photography immensely, but life took on a new momentum, got busier and fuller, and now 6 years have gone by. This year when Christmas rolled around I knew exactly what I wanted, and my hubby hooked me up! Now I’m having to re-learn the ropes of settings and features, and I’m back at square one trying to figure this thing out, so bear with me! But, for the purposes of this post, I had some help from my longtime friend with her own photography business, Joy Conway of Joy Conway Photography. She did an excellent job capturing our likeness in the freezing cold when all 3 of us were some degree of sick, and one of us was really grumpy and way overdue for a nap…I won’t say any names though. Thank you, Joy!
Where have my manners been? I started this blog back in July, and I’m just now getting around to introductions in January! My mama raised me better than that! Without further ado, meet the Farm Fam!
Farmer Man: So this is my preferred picture of him, but below this one, you will find his preferred picture of himself because, and I quote, “It’s the real me.” *Insert eye roll* Farmer Man is the best sort of man–God-fearing, strong, loyal, fiercely honest, an Eagle Scout, a VMI (Virginia Military Institute) grad, hard working, soccer coaching, laughs-at-bodily-functions, helps anybody he can, animal-loving, handy, terribly funny, generous, good-food-appreciating, innovative, entrepreneur-type, family man.
“The Real Me” Farmer Man…
Farm Baby: She was a real champ for this photo shoot–it was freezing, she was overdue for a nap, and she had croup. So there were 2 modes for pictures: happy and grumpy old man. See below for both…
Next we have the furry members of our family, affectionately known as “The Mutts”. (I took the following pictures of the animals…so we’ll take a break from awesome photography for a minute.)
First up is Katie: Our seven-year-old Border Collie, and the Original Gangsta when it comes to our pets. Farmer Man got her before we ever met. Katie is a real character. Her hobbies include finding, staring at, pawing, and ultimately biting electric fence…until of course she gets shocked, squeals, runs away for a few minutes…and then starts the whole process over again. She is also terrified of cameras for some reason, and you can see some video of her antics here. She is oh-so-sweet, always up for a cuddle, and crazy as a loon (where does that saying come from anyway?). There is no shortage of entertainment with Katie around. Here she is looking sheepish and trying not to make eye contact with the camera…classic.
Leroy: Our 5-year-old Border Collie is Katie’s son. He is just as unique as Katie, but while she’s off looking for ways to get electrocuted, he’s running from his own shadow. Leroy is loyal to the bone and a total scaredy cat of pretty much everything…except cameras and Farmer Man whom he loves like nothing else in this world! He tip toes around like he’s been beaten every day of his life, but the worst he’s ever gotten has been a verbal scolding, so we’re convinced it’s a temperament thing. Leroy’s fur is silky smooth, and he’s always up for pets and cuddles…as long as there are no sudden movements. (Sorry you can see up Farmer Man’s nose in this picture…no bats in the cave, though!)
Katie and Leroy are kind of a package deal. They go everywhere and do everything together, and they like it that way.
Diesel: The latest addition is our 2-year-old yellow lab. I begged Farmer Man for a lab puppy for a couple years, and he surprised me with Diesel Christmas of 2015. Farmer Man found him on Craigslist, and he’s the prettiest yellow lab we’ve ever seen. Farmer Man was skeptical about labs because he thought he was strictly a Border Collie kind of guy. Now he’s a total sucker for labs and our blonde beauty in particular. Being around them is like being a third wheel in their mushy, teenage love obsession for one another…it’s kind of hilarious…and nauseating…
The cows, calves, and bulls: We raise Black Angus cattle, so the vast majority of our cows are solid black. However, we have the odd ball every now and then that has white features on its face and/or belly. Those are my absolute favorites because they’re so darn cute! (See here for a picture of an adorable white-faced calf!) While we were dating, Farmer Man always told me, “Cows are nosey animals.” I never knew what he meant by that, but I found out when we went riding around on the 4-wheeler together. The slightest sound or change–any discernible difference that they perceive–they will immediately get up close and personal to figure it out. Our cows are cautious and very protective of their calves (that can become casualties of coyotes if left unprotected). We have only had a handful of cows that were brave enough to let us pet them. Cows are herd animals, so you don’t typically see them far off from the rest of the group unless there’s something out of the ordinary is going on. After spending time working with cows, Farmer Man comes home, gets a smile on his face and says, “I like cows”, and y’all…he really does. (Click here for videos of cows, calves, bulls and farm happenings!)
VA Farmwife: Well, that’s my bunch that I love to love. I’m a twenty-something, Jesus-following, family-loving, Amazon addicted, gray-hair-having, introverted, coffee-obsessed, clearance-shopping, stay at home mama with a Masters in Professional Counseling, a lack of enthusiasm for cooking, a deep love for writing, a passion for seeing people helped, and a love-hate relationship with fitness and chocolate. I’ve had a nomadic life so far, living in Iowa, the jungle of Papua New Guinea, Alabama, Mexico, South Carolina, North Carolina, and now beautiful Virginia. There are those (including myself at times) who never thought I’d be one to get married–especially to a farmer of all things, grow roots, have kids, or live in the middle of nowhere, USA. But now that I’m here, I wouldn’t change it for the world, and I sure do love this VA Farmwife Life!
Thanks for joining our farm fam on this wild ride!
