Say hello to my furry farm friends

June 09, 2020Trimarni

I'm a 28-year vegetarian and based on the pictures I share on social media, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I love animals. I can't help myself when I see a dog, cat or farm animal - I just have to say hello. Truth be told, I've been known to have great conversations with my furry friends (#noshame). I even rescue spiders and ants from our house so that no creature is ever harmed.

While there was a lot to do around the Jehovah Raah Farm during my birthday trip, I couldn't wait for the moment when I could be with the animals.

Located in Candler, North Carolina, Julie (the owner) uses the fiber from the animals to spin into yarn. On the farm you will find Alpacas, (Suri and Hucaya), Angora Goats, Angora Rabbits, Shetland Sheep, Scottish Highland Cattle, Llamas, Honey Bees, Road Island Red Chickens and Black Spanish Turkeys - all freely grazing around their little piece of heaven. Julie even taught me how to spin fiber into a wall hanging on a large floor loom.

As you can imagine, my phone is filled with pictures of animals from the farm but here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

tags birthday, farm, jehovah raah

Celebrating my birthday at Jehovah Raah Farm

June 08, 2020Trimarni

For my 38th birthday, I went off the grid and to a farm.

A week or so birthday my birthday, Karel and I saw on social media that our friend Dane and his wife Celia celebrated their anniversary on a farm. I didn't consider the idea of visiting a farm, but I couldn't stop looking at the pictures of the cute farm animals. Oh do I love farm animals.

A few days before my birthday, Karel mentioned that we should go to the same farm to celebrate my birthday. What a great idea! Yes that's right. This trip wasn't my idea. It was all Karel.

It wasn't more than an hour after Karel mentioned it on an evening walk with campy that I was on the phone with Julie (the owner) to book our trip. The entire process of booking our stay was rather easy - I called her and told her when we wanted to come and that was it. We paid the $125 for our stay when we arrived. Originally we wanted to stay on my actual birthday of the 31st but she had someone visiting that weekend. So we decided to stay Monday until Tues as a belated birthday gift.

Julie was incredibly thoughtful in the days leading up to our visit. She texted me to make sure I was well taken care of during our stay. I mentioned to her that I was a vegetarian and she wanted to make sure I was ok with a hide that was in the Sheppard's croft (the guest house on the property) or else, she would be happy to remove it. She wanted to give me fresh eggs and asked if I ate eggs. She made us fresh cinnamon raisin bread for our arrival. She even asked me about my favorite colors (all shades of pink) so that she could gather yarn and fiber for a weaving project.

Over the years, I’ve learned that experiences are better than things. Experiences become part of who we are. We then become a sum of our experiences. Self-identity should not be tied to possessions but an accumulation of the people you’ve met, the places you’ve been, the lessons you’ve learned and the experiences you’ve had.

Experiences provide genuine connections which make them worth so much more than any object. Sharing our experiences allow us to bond with others in a deep and meaningful way.

I wasn't sure what to expect from our farm trip but we were certainly off the grid with no internet. I welcomed this temporary change and embraced the full experience of farm life.

Since I took a bunch of pictures, I thought I'd break down our farm trip into different segments. The first is a look inside our stay at the Sheppard's Croft at Jehovah Raah Farm.