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Millennial homesteaders on a plant-based hobby farm in Upstate New York

Chickens

Ethical and Humane Ways to Add Chicks to Your Flock

Silkie chicks hatched by broody hens

Chicks are Coming! | April, 2017

baby chick

Welcome to the Sunshine Farm Baby Chicks | April, 2017

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🦙 I fell in love with Alpacas when I found @azurefarm. How could you not with pictures like this?! And then I discovered that Annette and her husband Jared were also plant based, just like us, and starting a garden, growing fruit trees, caring for chickens, and living out this homesteading life. I have thoroughly enjoyed connecting with others walking similar paths, it makes this life feel less isolating, and is an encouragement on the hard days. • • Annette and Jared live on a gorgeous property in Georgia, their modern farmhouse is dreamy, their animals are all adorable (they even have turkeys names Giselle and Tom 🤣), and Annette makes incredible resources and printables for homesteading and farming. She also shares plant based recipes that always make me hungry! • • If you’re looking for a feed that will inspire you and make you swoon, head on over to Annette’s account, Azure Farm, and you’ll fall in love just like I did! 💫

To me, Instagram is not just a place to like pretty pictures, but an opportunity to follow, get to know, be inspired by, and connect with real people. And I want all of you to feel like you know me, just as I want to know you! • • I’m Jenn, I’m officially in my mid twenties (25 wohoo!), and I have a huge mix of passions, interests, and identifies. I don’t like fitting in boxes at all, and I’ve always been one to go against the grain. I mean, how often do you hear of a 25 yr old vegetarian homesteader? 🤣. I grew up in Southern California, and always dreamed of having horses and a farm. When I was 21 I married my best friend and moved to Upstate NY, where it’s cold and there is lots of snow. We bought this little horse farm and are quickly turning it into our own little homestead, with gardens, an orchard, a food forest, and lots of companion farm animals that bring us so much joy. • • I’m a huge animal lover, which has impacted my life in many ways, including my diet and lifestyle. It’s also what inspired this Farm dream, and every day I am reminded of how much happiness animals bring me, even a simple snuggle with a cat can lift my spirits on a hard day. My love for animals led to a plant based diet, which then led to a HUGE passion and excitement for all things gardening and growing food. I’ve fallen in love with permaculture, organic growing, and everything that comes with it. On this account you will see all of that, from our sweet bunnies and adorable chickens, to our adventures gardening, making maple syrup, and creating a life on our little sunshine farm. • • That’s a little insight on me, now tell me about you! I want to get to know all you beautiful people. 💫 PC: @loveandadventurestories

This little fluff always knows how to make me smile. • • This is Sage. She’s a total adventure kitty, and can often be found climbing trees, hunting for mice, and lounging in the hay loft. You always hear her before you see her because she loves to call out to you. She’s a precious little one and is so loving. She’s known as a “torbie” which is a torti/tabby combined coloring. We adopted her and her sister Basil about 6 months ago. Cats are wonderful, we have FOUR of them. 🙈 • • Do you have any cats? Barn or indoor? Tell me about them. 💫

The Monarch 🦋 • • The beautiful butterfly you learn about as a child. This colorful little caterpillar will one day soon become a monarch. And monarchs love, and even need Milkweed. We have it growing all over our property, and every time I see it, I make sure to protect it. I saw this milkweed plant from a distance and walked closer to check for a caterpillar just like this. I was overwhelmed with excitement when I saw this little guy. • • This moment of excitement was such a reminder of the joy all around us. It wasn’t until last year that I began to appreciate nature, the nature that is right in our backyards. I used to think of nature as hikes in the mountains or visiting national parks. But it’s everywhere, all around us, and I care so deeply about protecting it. • • Lately I have found myself advocating against the use of round up or weed killer, or cautioning people about the use of broad spectrum pesticides. Before going out and pulling weeds, using sprays or chemicals, let’s stop to think about ways we can protect our earth, as they say, it’s the only one we’ve got! • • So tell me, what are you doing today to protect our planet? & the butterflies! One thing we’re doing is planting a lot of flowers and leaving a lot of our native “weeds” for the pollinators.

Four years with you. • • In the past four years we’ve built a life together. We’ve made dreams into realities and we’ve walked through the process of growing up, together. Working our first 9-5 jobs, owning our first home, losing our first pet. Successfully completing a first renovation. There have been many firsts in the past few years, including ones we didn’t want or ask for. • • There’s no one I would rather walk through all of these hills and valleys with. Happy anniversary my love, here’s to many more firsts, and all the adventures that will come with them! • • Oh, and happy summer! PC: @loveandadventurestories

Potato flowers are seriously underrated. Did you have any idea they were this beautiful? • • They’re so beautiful! And there is nothing like homegrown potatoes. So full of flavor, so filling, and so much better for you! We’re growing a lot of potatoes this year, they are a huge staple in our diet, especially since we have a plant based diet. We eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and prepare them in so many different ways. Another awesome part of potatoes? They store really well, so they’re a great homesteader staple for those trying to live more sustainably through the winter. • • Potatoes, like many other crops often grown on a large scale, have a bad reputation. People think of them as unhealthy, similar to soybean, corn, and wheat. We need to realize that it’s not the whole foods that are the problem, it’s the way we’re growing them, processing them, modifying them, and spraying them. How can we combat this? Growing food on a small scale in our own backyards, or in our community gardens, at our schools and churches. There is so much space to grow! Let’s start using it, and grow all the potatoes! 🥔

What does your family look like? • • Mine looks like two people and a whole lot of animals. It also looks like in-laws and parents coming to help on the farm, or visit from California. Neighbors who are ALWAYS helping us by loaning equipment or offering a spare hand. Friends who come on hay day, to help load hay into the loft. It even includes people we’ve met through this online community, who visit the farm to bring by flowers, plants, and seeds. Of course there are many moments where things aren’t happy. As you all can imagine farm stressors lead to all kinds of arguments and sass. But these cats sure do bring a lot of happiness to our farm! • • My friend Annette at @azurefarm started a sweet hashtag to celebrate family life on the farm, #happyfarmily . This is what my family looks like, what does yours look like? • • Would love to see my friends @thewhitneyhomestead @bettertogetherwife and @forgottenway_farms jump in with this hashtag! PC: @loveandadventurestories

On this day four years ago. • • We were just two days away from being husband and wife. Walking on the beach dreaming about where our lives would go and how much things would change. Neither of us had any idea we would be where we are now. • • Marriage is a commitment to leave behind a life where you only consider yourself, your own personal dreams or wishes. Marriage means you now care deeply about the goals, dreams, and desires of someone who may be much different than you. Someone who may have dreams that even contradict your own. That’s hard! • • It’s not easy to always be on the same page, especially when it means taking big risks and leading a life that is so different than the norm. A life where there is no “binge-watching Netflix,” but instead 5AM morning chores, spending months replacing a barn roof, waking up every couple of hours to check on a struggling baby chick, or using every ounce of daylight to plant seeds and watch them grow. • • How lucky was I to find a man, a partner, a best friend that has been fearlessly jumping into this life with me, on board 100% for all of the changes and challenges that it has brought. • • Marriage is hard, but it is so sweet. What does it mean to you? PC: @felicityamoroso

This little lioness loves the garden. She explores the plants on the prowl for little bugs and things to chase. She especially enjoys when I’m planting or weeding, because I’m low to the ground and she can get extra snuggles. She rolls all over the wood chips, giving herself little back scratches. Most of the time I’m a little annoyed and concerned for my plants, but at the end of the day it’s pretty nice to have such adorable company. I guess it’s only fitting for Basil the cat to love the garden. • • Any guesses on why we named her Basil? Guess in the comments below. 😋

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