Making the Move.
Mat Kearney is playing on my Pandora station right now. His cd was on repeat the entire
drive to our new home in the country. Every time I hear his music I reminisce about that day. My Jeep was packed to the brim and I couldn't wait to start a new life with my husband, at our new home; a single-wide, actually.
The past three years at the ranch have been the best, most challenging (and busy) years Jesse and I have experienced in our lives. We had only been
married a year when we got the call that Jesse was needed at the ranch. It was a very emotional decision that we don't regret because afterall, it has led us to our forever
home.
The Decision.
We all make sacrifices in our lives, so my story isn't different from yours. We all know how it feels to make the tough, but
right decisions.
As sheep ranchers we've learned a LOT of patience and more importantly we've learned to trust our gut. We've learned that as long as we have each other, we can get through it all. We've learned that challenges and struggles can strengthen a marriage, but it can also destroy one; it's a fine line you have to walk. We've grown so much as a couple the past three years; I trust Jesse's decisions and count on his reassurances. We make a great team and I am so grateful to call him my husband.
Jesse and I decided months ago (after years of pushing through the doubt) that this fall we will gracefully bow out of running the family sheep ranch. This Sunday will be our final
trail home. Obviously I won't go into (personal) details, but there are several factors (some outside of our control) that have led us to this decision.We have to rely on our instincts...we tried to ignore it for too long.
Saying goodbye to the
sheep, the
dogs, the beauty of it all and the
herders is hard to think about and it's a very sad time for the entire family. I am grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to experience such a wonderful thing. Fortunately, the "operation" will go to a local sheep rancher so we will see the sheep every now and again making their trails to and from the summer and winter range, and I'm sure as often as we would like. We are also sure the dogs will walk their way back to the only home they've ever known so, we'll look forward to their visits. It also looks like we'll inherit a few of the older/retired dogs, which I don't mind one bit. :)
The Future.
If you know anything about the agricultural community you know that the small farmer and rancher get the short end of the stick in everything. It's been an uphill battle for us since the day we've arrived, and because of this Jesse and I plan to remain
very active in the agricultural industry; the industry needs more voices.
We see the struggles and have experienced many of them first hand and so, my husband the entrepreneur has created something amazing for the industry, Harvest Funders, LLC. It's going be a great and wonderful resource for the ag community. I can't wait to share the final product with you.
(My fellow Ag-bloggers if you are interested in hearing more, please email me.)
{{Harvest Funders, LLC is launching November 2013}}
Hasta!
So, we are saying goodbye to the job of running sheep year round, but aren't saying goodbye to the industry in the slightest. I will continue to be a proud ranching wife and I am so proud of the hard work my husband has given and the
sacrifices he has made every single day for the past three years.
We will have a small herd of sheep of our own (that I already have names for), Jesse will convert the grazing pasture to hay fields and I'm currently trying to talk Jesse in to getting a pig. I'm not sure the direction this blog will go, but I am so glad I started this blog and documented our sheep ranch adventures!
My friends, it is with a sad heart, but positive and hopeful thoughts that I press the "Publish" button on this post. We are trusting our guts and trusting each other in this decision and looking forward to what the future has in store for our little family. It's never easy ending a chapter of your life that you enjoyed to the fullest.
Thank you for following along the past three years and I'll be back soon. Thank you to our friends and family for all the support you've given us since day one.
