Hi, I'm Amy (Farmer Gray) and I'm so glad you're here.  I wanted to share a little background about me and our little homestead "Cannington Farms".  I grew up in a little rural town just north of Kansas City, one of 3 daughters to a Kansas farm boy turned airplane mechanic and a Kansas City girl who stole his heart on the dance floor.  I was taught very early the meaning of hard work by getting my hands dirty, working in my dad's enormous backyard garden or splitting wood with him to keep our house warm all winter in the wood stove.  My mother cooked basic but tasty meals almost every night where we sat down at a dinner table and ate as a family.  We enjoyed fresh produce from the garden all summer long and what wasn't eaten fresh was turned into jams or canned or frozen.   I learned what a great garden tomato tastes like and have never been able to enjoy any that come from the grocery store.  I thank my parents for giving me such a wonderful love of gardening and enjoying what we work hard for.

 

My hard working husband Tom (pictured above with his dad) grew up on the other side of the world on a sheep farm in Cannington New Zealand.  Like me, his roots run deep in farming.  The tractor he's sitting on was his grandfathers, imported from the USA, a true classic Massey Ferguson Farmall. Tom was one of 3 sons to a Cannington sheep farmer and a lovely nurse who loves to bake.  Although the boys went down different paths and didn't take over the family farm, Tom's heart lead him to want to raise his own kiddos in a similar way to his childhood.  Although our flock is small in comparison to his heritage, we take great pride in being able to fill our freezer full of tasty, humanely raised animals where we can monitor what goes into them.

 

I never in a million years thought I'd be raising sheep or any other animal for that matter.  I've learned a lot about them over the years and can honestly say that I love it.  There are days that I could do without it, like when it feels like minus ten and I've got to go feed out or check freezing water and Tom's away on a trip.  But overall, it's rewarding, good for my soul and a wonderful way to raise our two boys.

While Tom handles a lot of the animal chores (with my help as well), I enjoy produce gardening as well as landscape/flower gardening.  And I just happen to love getting in the kitchen and whipping up something yummy from our own freezer full of meat.  It's very rewarding growing your own food.  We hope you stay awhile, learn a little and are inspired to know where your food comes from!