Well, I grew up on a farm so had all the experiences of helping out around the farm as a kid. We still live near my parents and I have a very hard time living in town. When my husband was in the military (16 years ago), I looked at the map before we even moved near the base. I looked for the most rural small towns I could find that were close enough to the base and that is where we rented! I still was so homesick for the country though! Of course, it didn't help that we movd all the way across the country and I didn't see my family much for 3 years! We have 20 acres now and love it. We just moved here not long ago, so I don't even have chicks yet. I had them where we lived before but when they got old they went to my folks to 'live out' their days scratching in the dirt, as I knew we were moving and I couldn't take my coop. Husband is building me one this Spring so I can get more. We have 2 dogs, 5 cats and 1 very old horse at the moment. We hope to get some piglets to raise over the summer for meat. I guess you could say farming is in my blood, although with 20 acres we would probably be considered hobby farmers now. But I do have a life long background in farming. Karen

I continually get the following message for several days. There's a temporary problem with the service. Please try again. If you continue to get this message, try again later.

I am not sure if I got this story right, it's been a while since I heard it. But it is true. There once was a little boy, maybe eight or nine, who wanted to be a gymnast. He spent hours on his jungle gym and monkey bars, building his strength and training himself to do things. That was his only goal, to be a famous gymnast like Olga- she was his hero. (I forget her last name. She won a gold medal in the olympics, I think.) However, he contracted a disease that weakened and eventually killed him before he turned eleven.His parents, naturally were heartbroken to watch him suffer, but even more so in understanding that his one dream would never come true. One year after he died, they happened to look at the mokey bars, now sadly empty. But underneath the bars, where the earth was packed as hard as iron, were two blood-red lilies. It was as if he was saying, "It's okay, mom and dad, I am fine. I can do things here that I could never do at home." The lilies never bloomed again.

I'm sorry I can't help you. I hope someone here can...Good luck with it...