How many more mornings on the front porch?

Brrr. The cold is coming, or should I say .... I think winter has arrived. The front porch is a bit cold this morning. The northernly wind isn't helping either, because it's actually about 45 degrees out there. Yeah, my friends in the Northwest are laughing because I'm complaining about 45 degrees. To be fair though, I'm not really complaining. Winter has been coming each year since time began. Some people are happy, some not so much.

Growing up mostly in northern states, I always lived with cold weather. Dad hated it, he always requested that we were stationed somewhere in the south, we always got northern bases. Glasgow, Montana; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Loring, Maine. Can you say Brrr? You have no idea! And back then, girls had to wear dresses to school, only dresses! Of course, you were covered head to toe in snowsuit, wool socks, snow boots and a warm hat. Dad tells stories of us girls coming home from school and the only thing you could see were our eyes. It seems like we always walked to school too, we never rode a bus on base.

We were overjoyed with the fact that when dad retired, we were moving to Kentucky. That's a warm state! Oh, my - warm weather and close to family all in one move. (I moved ALOT growing up). And we were stationed in Maine at that time, one of the coldest places I remember living. I barely remember seeing grass the entire I lived there. So, to move to the 'bluegrass' state was awesome. Of course, dad only lasted about nine months in Olive Hill before they decided we couldn't make it in Kentucky and the next move happened. North, of course. To Woodbridge, Virginia - right across the river from DC. Yuck. Hated it.

Don't get me wrong, I loved going into DC. Even as a kid, I loved it. And in the 12 years I've been back on the East coast, we still haven't made it to DC! But, Woodbridge didn't last long either, that's where the house fire happened and we ended up in Idaho after that. Closer to my mom's family, since she was so broken up from the fire. (We jumped from our balcony in the middle of the night).

Again, back to snow country. Stayed for almost 30 years before I made it back to Kentucky. I always said I would, I never figured it would take that long! We arrived on Halloween day in 2002. That first Christmas, Dave was outside with no coat on and he thought he was in heaven. I remember him calling relatives back in the west and bragging because it was so warm. Of course, I can't remember a Christmas since then when he was outside without his coat, but he did experience it once! Ha ha ha.

With the anniversary of our arrival coming up next week, I find myself sitting here and wondering where we'll end up next. When I moved to this farm three years ago, I thought I would die here. I guess I still could, but it's not looking very likely, unless God has other plans I'm not quite aware of as of this writing. It was a dream come true to have our own home. A place we could share with all of our visitors. Heck, I tell people to stop and sit on the front porch even if I'm not here. It's so beautiful.

Our original plans for the farm was for everyone to watch along - and come out and help - as we turned three acres into something wonderful for the county. There would be benches & fountains throughout the gardens, dedicated in memory of loved ones or pets, a lovely walking tour around the pond. And the critters. You could even adopt one and then come out and visit. Each came with an adoption certificate, a picture and a window cling. Plus you could come anytime and pet, feed, help care for it. Or just come and visit it.

We've worked hard the past three years. We've put up fencing, kept the pond cleaned up for all the little fishermen that come to visit, kept our gates open for people just to stop by. We've planted gardens - both flowers and vegetables. We've done as much as we could with the few donations we've received. You see, we just have a donation box. Some people leave money in it, some just thank us for showing them around and they leave. We've never complained, because the smile we get on our faces when little ones see the alpacas and feed them is priceless.

But, we don't have a pumpkin patch. We don't have a corn maze. We don't have a bouncy house or huge slide. We can't offer alpaca rides, just visits. During the summer months, we can show you the various ways we grow vegetables and produce. During the winter months, we can show you how cold a farm can be. Of course, most babies are born in the winter - so we do get the occasional visitor to see babies. But, all in all, winter about kills us.

So, again, I am hating winter. Or the thought of it. Feeding the critters takes alot of money, money we don't have this year. It was such a rainy year, most weekends kept people inside and not out visiting farms. We aren't sure what direction to go - sell the farm or try one more year to get this agri-tourism business off the ground before making such a decision. That's where the crowdfunding idea came in.

Crowd-funding is a new-fangled way of asking for help. You just aren't asking your friends and family, you are literally asking the world for help. It's embarrassing to do, when you consider some of the other causes are trying to save someone's life, or build a church in a foreign country. How can we even ask for help in keeping our farm? But, we gave it a shot. After all, between all of our facebook friends, relatives and then the thousands of readers we have through All Things Country, asking for $1.00 each wasn't asking for too much. We've literally given it away free for over eight years. Surely some of our readers will donate $1.00 to us.....

We're just asking for a chance. A chance to survive through what I fear to be a cold, cold winter. One that require even more food for critters, more heat to keep them all warm. And a cold winter basically means no visitors at all. So, we resorted to begging. That's what I feel we are doing. Again, embarrassing. But we had to try. And although there are 8 days left to contribute to our cause, the amount of donations we've received has been very eye-opening. I don't know if people don't understand the concept, aren't seeing the links, or really just don't want to donate $1.00 to us. I'm a bit confused. But then again, when am I not a bit confused?

Well, I guess I'm not getting anything done sitting here rambling on, so I'll just wish you the very best that this Wednesday has to offer you. Keep warm, winter is coming!

Blessings,
Pam

My front porch is your front porch, won't you sit awhile?