If you buy a city girl a farm she’ll want some chickens.

The chickens will be cute and produce delicious eggs.

Because they’re so low maintenance, she’ll want more animals.

And soon she’ll get two lambs who don’t need shearing and keep the weeds down.

Then she’ll get a puppy, why not – it won’t be so bad, and he’ll be so much fun!

But after some chickens get killed and she hears rumors of coyotes she’ll feel the need for-

A donkey! The donkey will help scare away intruders, and also eat more of the grass.

Well, now that there’s protection she’ll want another lamb. After all, they’re so easy and cute!

Once she hears the donkey braying and sees it’s lonely, she’ll want another donkey.

So, she’ll find a friend for her donkey and then maybe the first donkey will hee-haw less.

Now that the donkey has a friend it’s time to start looking for a pig, summer fair is soon.

And after she gets a pig, she’ll realize more eggs would be nice, so she’ll start looking for another coop!

I have always loved the series of books that started with “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and when I was buying yet another animal for the farm, I realized that I have become the mouse.  For now, the animal additions seem neverending. When it all started with the chicks I was overwhelmed with the amount of work involved while they grew in their brooder boxes. But, with each animal addition, I’ve gradually gotten used the time and effort involved to keep the animals on the farm happy and healthy.

These days I make a morning dash out to the animals in the morning to give food, check water and unlock the chickens. I’ve learned this is best done before changing into work clothes (yep, I’ve got a day job) so that when the dog jumps on me with muddy paws or the straw sheds all over me I’m not ruined for the day. In the afternoon I do another round of the same but add in donkey poop scooping twice a week and egg gathering. The time I’m able to spend with the animals in the afternoons is all determined by the time my human children need from me. Many days I’m helping with homework, doing laundry, playing baby dolls with my daughter or getting some chores done. You can see why the gym I’ve set up in the shop hasn’t gotten much use! The weekends are my catch-up time to go to the feed store, give extra time and attention to the animals and clean up from all of the dirt tracked in by the dogs all week. It’s busy, sometimes expensive, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

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