Country Girl at Heart Farm Bed and Breakfast

12/14/2023

04/28/2023

Thank you for everyone that has supported Country Girl at Heart Farm B and B! We had a great run for 10 years but we are now closed. Keep those fond memories of your visit with us🫶🏽

10/12/2019

12/03/2018

One of my best friend’s husband at just 60 years old passed away this weekend and it not only is very sad for her, her family and everyone who knew him, but a time to reflect on our own lives for a bit. She lives many states away but recently was able to come visit me for 3 days - a miracle! It was a very unusual visit as most of it was spent with us quietly visiting, talking, having a cup of tea with our phones turned off, reminiscing, laughing and having fun just shopping or eating out. I will never really understand it as we both have very busy lives, but for the grace of God, fir one brief moment in time, we were able to stop to smell the roses all around us and were able to make a strong decision Not to partake in any of the varied and constant commitments that usually fill our time. We were there just for one another! An unexpected vacation if you will, but more than a vacation we chose that each ONE of us was the most important agenda for those three days. We heard the phones ring but didn’t answer them. We heard the mailman ring the door bell signaling that a package had been delivered, but we chose not go get it. We knew that we were receiving text messages, but We chose relating to one another was the top priority, and it was all good! We actually paused sitting silently as we enjoyed the moment, we sipped our tea with no uncomfortable “pregnant” pauses, and we laughed at each other actually enjoying the other one enjoying herself. There was no purpose, no measurable outcome, no agenda! So my reflection is spend quality time with the ones you love and really pause to look at them, with no agenda and really talk with them and enjoy the time you both have been given together!

08/05/2018

OK OK OK! So I owe Porch a huge apology! I didn’t know! No one told me! Porch is a Rooster! Here I have been calling the poor guy her, she, sweetie because for several months I didn’t really take a good look at Porch. All I saw was a little bitty thing walking around my garden with me or following me out to do animal activities in the morning. Well, at the end of July I heard this great big c**k a doodle do come out of his mouth and I realized Porch is a boy! A Rooster! He was very put out when I caught him to take a closer look and sure enough he has a comb on his head, he has a little waddle under his chin and he does have strong feathers on his shoulders and tail. But when he crowed, that cinched it! And I was shocked! I have since apologized to him and thought I better update his world to you. I hope you see him with new eyes!

05/13/2018

All About a Little Chicken ~ So let me tell you about my little porch chicken. Recently two lovely guests discovered a little chicken was under the Side Entry porch instead of out in the barn with the rest of the flock. I wasn’t very concerned because occasionally a few chickens and even a rooster will wonder off from the barn and poke around the B&B looking for different treats in the grass. But I realized the following day that these guests were genuinely concerned as they again informed me that the chicken was still under the porch, to which I asked, “Is she alive?” “Oh yes,” they exclaimed. On the third day they sadly stated that she was gone, and we all wondered if she had met her end. So now I not only had a mystery on my hands, but a full blown hunt for this porch chicken. And to make matters worse my sweet guests were checking out that morning! We usually have Guest Breakfast at 8 AM and go directly outside afterward to feed animals and gather eggs, but I was a little distracted this day as I searched for the little chicken who wasn’t there to say goodbye to my departing guests. I came back into the B&B to see them taking out their last suitcase before saying goodbye to me, and I was happy to declare that I had found their little porch girl. Not with the flock, but at the far end of the Retired Dairy Barn. I encouraged them to drive up to the Dairy Barn before departing for home to say goodbye to the little chicken that they had come to care about. I have since named her Porch! I am pleased to report that in her own way she has become my friend, as she observes me from afar when I garden, stands in the driveway when other guests are leaving now, and happily waits at my heels when I feed the chickens and ducks their breakfast. What a lovely experience to get to know her, and all because of two wonderful guests who took the time to care!

04/30/2018

Day Old Ducks: You probably remember that I told you I don’t have duck nests ready for my flock yet, but I have a plan in place! It just needs my time, some talent and tools, and I’m really excited making some nests for the Henhouse possibly as soon as this week! Occasionally the ducks actually do lay their eggs in a pile in the corner of the Henhouse and faithfully set on them. But there usually is a lot of activity with guests daily gathering eggs from all the hen nests, and sometimes this upsets the mother duck who is trying to be faithful for 28 to 35 days that she has to set on these eggs before they can hatch. Because she has no privacy, if she gets too nervous she will hop off the nest and most of the time she will abandon the eggs. Now you probably also remember that I gather duck eggs off the lawn and out of the pastures whenever the ducks just randomly leave them wherever they drop them! These eggs I put into a preheated incubator which has water in it for humidity and I watch them for 28 to 35 days! Well, these little cutie pies all hatched yesterday! The two fluffy yellow ones are Pekin and the two little black and white ones are Swedish. It’s amazing to see that they already know how to swim!!! This video is actually only a demonstration as they would actually drown if we left them unattended in the water. They don’t really swim by themselves for any length of time until they are fully feathered, in about 6-8 weeks! Cute aren’t they?

04/27/2018

ROOSTER TIME: Let me tell you about my roosters! I just love the c**k-a-doodle-doo in the morning and I’m so thankful to live on a farm where I can hear it regularly! In fact there’s one really good looking guy who I have named Handsome Buddy who struts all the way around the Bed and Breakfast at 5:30 in the morning and has a little gaggle of girls that follow him as well. Even though I don’t want my guests to wake up that early, I just think he’s really neat that he has decided to be such a faithful daily alarm clock, sort of like telling the world “I own this place!” Then we have another great looking rooster, Timmy, who is such a survivor! Somehow his leg turned up lame about three years ago and even though I did a little surgery on him he ended up holding up that leg and hobbled around on 1 foot. I know this about him because my youngest daughter, who was anti-animal at that time, strutted into the house one day and told me that bullies were after her boy! When I questioned her about what she was saying, there was an explanation that she had been feeding him separately because the other roosters were picking on him! So of course those were the roosters who ended up at the poultry auction! You might want to come to the Farm and see these majestic specimens of our flock!

04/26/2018

Yep I was beginning to think I’ve been blocked by a few people then I read this. I ignored this post earlier, because I thought I was seeing all the posts my friends were posting. Then I checked the timelines of several friends that I hadn’t heard from for awhile, and I discovered that I have been missing all of their posts.😢
Here’s how to avoid hearing from the same 26 FB friends and nobody else. This post explains why we don't see all posts from our friends. Funny, thought if I followed you on Facebook I would see what you post. Not anymore 🤷🏻‍♀️
Your Newsfeed recently shows only posts from the same few people, about 25, repeatedly the same, because Facebook has a new algorithm. 🙅🏻‍♀️
Their system chooses the people who will read your post. However, I would like to choose for myself, Therefore, I ask you all a favor - If you are reading this message leave me a quick comment, a "hello", a sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my news feed‼️
Otherwise Facebook chooses who to show me and I don't need facebook to choose my friends! 🤬
Do not hesitate to copy and paste on your wall so you can have more interaction with all your contacts and bypass the system. That's why we don't see all posts from our friends.😮
Thanks for the heads up from those who already copied and pasted the above. Hold your finger down anywhere in this post and "copy" will pop up. Click "copy". Then go your page, start a new post on your page, then put your finger anywhere in the blank field. "Paste" will pop up and click paste.

04/23/2018

NATIONAL PARKS WEEK Within two weeks of moving to Kentucky, there was a knock on the door and two men stood there asking if they could lease 60 acres of my pastures for a grass-finished beef operation. I wasn't on the Farm at the time as i was foraging for food at our local downtown market, but I was amused to hear this when I returned as I didn't even know at that time that I had 60 acres of grassland! The younger of the two men returned that week to explain his intended operation and I was again amused that he explained it in such depth as I already had a bit of knowledge about farming from all my research before moving. I also found it curious that he and one of my daughters struck up a conversation about how they each had a serious desire to go to as many National Parks as they could in their lifetimes. So in the next several months, my 4 daughters and I made plans to visit Mammoth Cave National Park which is about 1/2 hour away and enjoyed a marvelous tour, learning about the structures within and above the caves. This is National Parks Week and the whole country is celebrating the wonder of each one across our land. This week highlights the amazing natural and cultural resources of the national parks. As I Googled for info, I was impressed with the descriptions of the parks from Yosemite's scenery to Sequoia's colossal towering redwoods in California, from Big Bend's cliffs and mountains in Texas to the north chasm wall of Black Canyon in Colorado, or the elk, bison and prairie dogs of Theodore Roosevelt Park badlands in North Dakota to the incredible views of the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the beaches, lakes and forests of Acadia in Maine. But, there is really is No Place Like Home, as i marvelled at our own Mammoth Cave National Park which is the largest known underground caving system in the world of chambers and subterranean passageways. I felt very accomplished at having experienced this national wonder here in Kentucky! And, BTW, those two lovebirds planning their national parks futures right here on my back porch went on their first date to Mammoth Cave National Park, are happily married and raising their now 2-year old daughter!

04/20/2018

The Derby! A long time ago I was part of someone else’s life, not my plan per se, but I came along-side the life of a horse! It was 1972 and I was at the Saratoga Springs New York Raceway with a couple of my friends and two dollars in my hand. I’d never been there before and was never there again. I didn’t know a thing about betting, but was excited to be in a big crowd of people who were all excited about horses. It was an easy pick of who I was going to bet on. It was a big red horse who was as handsome as he could be! My friends chided me and tried to discourage me from betting on the favorite, but I was determined as I made my bet. Then everything seemed to go into slow-motion as the horses lined up at the gate nervously stamping and snorting , the bell rang and they were off! The crowd roared as we all rose to our feet and cheered. To me the race lasted just a few seconds, as I was focused on the big red horse that was coming down the stretch way ahead of all the others and easily crossed the finish line 1st! It actually was quite a blur as we all disbursed and I collected my few measly dollar winnings. A few weeks later everyone in the world knew the name of Secretariat, my winning horse! Many years later Secretariat would go on to win The Kentucky Derby! And then the Triple Crown! And several years after that I moved to Kentucky with my whole family. So there you have it, I have been a part of that horse’s life! As the Kentucky derby approaches again this year on May 4th and 5th, I am reminded once again of that special day at the races in 1972. It wasn’t just any race, it was thee race of a lifetime! And I admit it, I wonder if I was there just by happenstance? Was he there just by chance? Or were our paths meant to cross many times! 🐴🏆🏅