What does Heritage mean ?

Heritage, in terms of animals and produce, means rare and old breeds/plants. The kind your grandparents grew up eating. They do best on pasture, and produce rich, tender and juicy flavors. Studies have shown that meat raised on grass is higher in omega-3 oils, are rich in vitamins and minerals, and contains less fat and cholesterol. Grassfed beef is also higher in cancer fighting Conjugated Linoleic Acid, Beta Carotene, and Vitamin E. Consider this : "within the past 15 years, 190 breeds of farm animals have gone extinct worldwide, and there are currently 1,500 others at risk of becoming extinct. In the past 5 years alone, 60 breeds of cattle, goats, pigs, horses and poultry have become extinct."
Why ? The answer is mass production. Nutrition and taste has been forfeited for profit.

The Plan

Our long term goal (hopefully within a year) is to move to a farm and raise heritage meat and produce. We've been learning about this for a year now. I guess you would call us grass farmers, since our animals would be raised on pasture. The ultimate goal is to be able to provide people with the option of buying food that not only tastes good, but is healthier than what you would buy in the grocery store. We still have a lot of work to do, as far as creating a business model. We are narrowing down the breeds of animals, and we think we will have beef, poultry, and pork. Plus eggs and a milk cow.
This dream started when we bought a half side of grass fed beef from a farmer. We had read about the nutritional benefits and were shocked. The more we have researched, the more shocked we became at what has happened to our food supply.
2 years ago, this was not on our radar at all....however, the more we learned and researched, the more we knew this is what we wanted to do.
Buying the horses was actually part of our preparation for this. We wanted to learn about big animals and feel comfortable around them. We've made great contacts, and people have helped us in so many ways with advice/knowledge/experience. We never would have met those people if it hadn't been for the horses !
So that's the plan, Stan.

Halloween

Happy Halloween ! This year we had 3 sick kids and one sick hubby. We didn't decorate, buy a pumpkin...nothing. But we did go trick-or treating. Hubby stayed at home being sick. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon around here !

China

We are going to be adopting a Waiting Child from China, rather than from Taiwan.

We have a lot to do now....assemble another dossier, update our homestudy (which was about to have to be done anyway), and wait again.

2 More Birthday's !

Happy Birthday to my dad and sister-in-law ! For 4 years we couldn't figure out who our youngest son looked like. Then my dad sent a picture from when he was a little boy. Can't believe how much they look alike !

Happy Birthday !

Happy 10th Birthday, Matthew ! He wanted a cowboy hat for his birthday !

Introductions

Last night Moonshine and Hunter were introduced to Dakota, and tonight we introduced them to Mooney and Badger. We've been taking it slow with Hunter and Moonshine so they can settle in at their own pace. We have ridden them the last 3 nights with our other horses next to them and they have done great. As a matter of fact, Badger seems to be suddenly shaping up and acting better for some reason. Maybe Hunter and Moonshine are setting a good example for him !

Besides Badger, Hunter and Moonshine have a lot of personality. Very loving. Moonshine wrinkles his nose into me and just stands there...his nose getting heavier and heavier as he relaxes. Hunter also lets Moonshine eat first - he actually backs away, waits and then eats after her. No fuss or anything. Hunter is a patient guy !

Moonshine and Hunter are also walking right to us when they see us now when we come to get them.

I didn't take any pictures tonight since we were busy with 4 horses, but I've added a picture of Badger that I took on Sunday after his bath.