My 33 Goats Part 2

This is the story of my 33 goats.  This is the story of how I came to hold the dream of my urban homestead I call Zinnia's Way.  It is a documentary in 8 parts.  Welcome to Part 2 - Building the Dream.  Stay tuned for subsequent episodes.  Hopefully, at the end of the 8 episodes, you will gain a deeper understanding of why I feel called to do what I do here.  Hopefully, you will find some inspiration in what I have strived to build at Zinnia's Way.  Thanks for tuning in!

Part 2 - My 33 Goats

I began to put my dreams into action.  The most logical place to start was chickens.  1. Because they were small.  2. Because I had wanted them for so long. And 3. Because fresh chicken eggs are just delicious. So...we got some chickens.

And then of course we needed someone to protect the chickens and we needed someone to catch rats that might eat the eggs that the chickens had laid.  So, we got a cat and a dog.  Our little homestead was beginning to take shape.

The next spring we planted a small garden in a raised bed and planted a pear tree too.  We already had an old apple tree that came with the property, but the Japanese beetles were so bad that we never got to harvest any apples.  So...we got some ducks to eat the Japanese beetles.  And besides, baby ducks are the cutest things.  But we soon found out they weren't cuddly.  All of our ducks always turned out to be very skittish.  Our chickens on the other hand were pretty friendly although still, none of them really liked to be cuddled like we had heard stories about.

So, you already know, that in addition to being an urban farm girl, I am also an artist.  Sometime around the year 2012 I stumbled across the idea of uniting Art and Agriculture.  

I had read on the internet about some art galleries that were having annual art and agriculture shows out in California.  This concept excited me so I began creating collages that portrayed images of the ordinary, everyday beautiful farm life that so inspired me.

What you might not know is how I set out to explore this.  What you might not know is that writing down your dreams and goals can have a powerful impact on your life.

It is said that writing down your goals makes them feel tangible and helps you to intellectually engage and emotionally connect with the result of the goal you want to achieve.

Writing down goals signals to the universe that we are ready to receive and activates our subconscious to look for opportunities.

Writing down your dreams and goals ignites an entirely new dimension of consciousness, ideas, and productivity to the powerhouse that is our subconscious mind.

So, as I was envisioning and creating my dream homestead, did I write down my goals?  You betcha!

In 2013 I wrote out my goals and my hopes and my dreams.  I wrote out my prayers.  I began praying them, every day.  I was determined to live the life that God had created me for.  For several years I did my "prayers" every morning.  I prayed these affirmations faithfully every day.

They were intended to help me manifest my dreams.  And I suppose they did, but I always saw more.  In my mind the potential of my farm was always growing.  When I looked around, I felt that my vision had not yet come to fruition.  So, I kept writing.  I kept planning.  I kept hoping.

The dream of Zinnia's Way, my urban farm, was being born.  I was so excited.  But I didn't want to stop there.  My vision was always bigger.  It always included more.  I wanted to share my vision with the world.  I wanted to make myself useful.  I wanted my endless hours of work on the farm to mean something.  When I thought of Zinnia's Way, I saw a sanctuary.

In 2014 I entered a competition for Climb 365, a Junior League initiative which I thought would be a wonderful opportunity to bring the idea of art and ag to Greensboro.  If selected, I thought I would be able to share my philosophy of love with the world.  I thought I could springboard my urban homestead into success.

But I wasn't selected for their project.  The video I submitted to enter the competition was lame.  I got sidetracked by my puppy getting hit by a car and being killed.  My video was weird and it didn't show the true vision that I was trying to put forward with my Art and Agriculture conception.

But I was trying, right?  Or was I?  Looking back, I see how many self-limiting beliefs I had.  I was so self-conscious.  Was I just subtly sabotaging myself?  Or was I being as brave as I could be at the time?  I wouldn't give up.  I would keep trying.  I just had to try harder...

How about some baby goats?  And a new puppy?

Stay tuned for part 3.  Coming soon!