Occasionally I have spare time to work on personal projects, and this portrait of 6 year old Meysha from Travis Family Farm is the result of one of these projects!
I grew up involved with horses and 4-H. I spent every waking hour I could at the barn, riding or caring for whatever horse my instructor allowed me to. Later in life, after graduating from university, I bought my first horse, a racetrack reject, whom I retrained and then sold to a new home once I had my daughter.
I hope to get back to that horsey lifestyle soon but in the mean time, I decided I wanted to take the portraits of children who live on a farm or spend a great deal of time caring for their animals. My childhood around horses had such an effect on me, and my horse addiction kept me busy, fit and happy. I started asking around to find a local family, farm or child who would fit the bill.
The Travis Family breeds, raises and sells Nubian Goats, along with products made from their milk. They care for all of their goats themselves and once I heard about them through a friend, I knew they’d be perfect for this project! They are involved in 4-H and the kids all have various tasks they are responsible for around the farm. Their farm is simple in design yet everything has a place, everyone has a job and all of it runs in harmony.
I had the great pleasure of visiting the farm on Monday and photographing Meysha with her goats. This one she is holding is quite young. Some of them were only 3 days old! The family is also caring for a cat with newborn kittens, plus many other animals. It was so much fun having a peek into their routine and Meysha was absolutely perfect in every way. Meysha’s baby goats adore her and followed her around like puppies.
I learned that some of Meysha’s baby goats were actually delivered by her! How amazing is that? She’s 6 years old and already knows how to deliver babies.
Meysha’s baby goats loved playing with her…and nibbling on her hair, fingers and even clothes.
For more information about the Travis Family and their farm, visit their website by clicking here.
Awesome