Hello from central Florida..

[Kittikity]

I'm a wife and mother of three.. Marcus, 12, Joshua, 8, and Kaitlyn, 4.. I'm also a stay at home mom because Kaitlyn is a type 1 diabetic and not yet in school.. I was a dog groomer for several years which I really enjoyed and would like to do from home some day..

I've been a fan of Patti's for a couple years now and she's my inspiration for moving forward into the sustainable living lifestyle.. I was born and raised in south Florida (which one of my Indiana uncles once termed 'contrete land') but have always preferred open spaces and country life.. Unfortunately in Florida, land is expensive so we were only able to get just under two acres in an area that is urban but right outside of a good sized city..

I've always loved plants and animals every since I was little, but was only allowed a small part of my parents yard to garden in as my dad was very much a lawn guy.. (He works for a sprinkler company..) So I met my husband online and after 6 years of marriage we moved to central Florida to our small piece of land.. At first I planned to landscape the whole thing since I (like a typical city girl) always thought you had to have a lot of land to have a farm..

But with sites like this one, I learned that I could have quite a substantial mini farm.. So now my goal is to have kinder goats (a pygmy/nubian) that is good for milk and meat on most of the yard, then rabbits for meat also (a rare heritage breed called American Chinchillas), chickens, turkeys, and ducks for eggs and meat, and series of raised beds behind the house for a nice veggie garden.. With all of that, I can still use the front yard for a nice flower garden.. :D

But that's pretty much me in a nutshell.. I describe myself as somebody that likes a simple life, but not a normal one.. My husband just today described me as not just living outside the box, but grinding the box up and using it for mulch.. I smiled very proudly at that..

[Cynthia]

I describe myself as somebody that likes a simple life, but not a normal one.. My husband just today described me as not just living outside the box, but grinding the box up and using it for mulch.. I smiled very proudly at that..

that is so funny, and quite a compliment!
Good for you!
Cynthia

[gardengirl72]

Kitty,

Wow, you are an inspiration to me! I am going to steal that line about the grinding up the box and using it for mulch as well! Make sure your use rotational methods with your livestock.

Turkey's are great birds to raise. The only problem is that they are almost too friendly(until they get old and mean that is). That and they need a lot more space then chickens. It becomes hard to send them on to the table. I can't wait to see and hear more. With your climate, who knows what wonders you will create!

Thank you for joining and please share more with the rest of us!

All the best,

Patti

[Kittikity]

Yes, I do plan on having three small pastures of about a quarter of an acre each to rotate the goats in.. The main goat shed will be at the corner of these three pastures and have gates directly to each one so I will be able to rotate them every day if I want to.. The bucks will have a large pen in the corner of the back yard, away from the neighbors houses..

I shouldn't have too much trouble with the turkeys.. I'm only going to raise a couple a year for holiday meals.. Probably just raise whatever my local feed store gets in the spring..

My husband is now thinking of patenting the box into mulch line.. lol

[Kittikity]

One good thing about not having the money to do everything right away, I have plenty of time to plan things and work out the kinks..

[gardengirl72]

It is always better to start small anyway, you build your strengths better that way anyway. I started really small, four dwarf apple trees in 1996!