It took a long time, but it is finally done (or at least a start). The roof of both our house and barn needs to be replaced. We had planned to take a loan out for the work, but since Wyman doesn't have the German citizenship and his ID needs to be valid for more than two years (Wyman has to renew his residence title every two years), it wouldn't work. Since Wyman is the one who provides the biggest income for our household, we could only take a loan out in his name. And we thought owning a house and having a regular income would be enough! This put us in a very difficult position, as the only source of income from our property - as little as it is - comes from Mirco who has rented parts of our barn and the fields. We have an interest in keeping him and the pony farm here, but the repair work has to be done. We had to start with the barn instead of with the house, because one major support beam was already broken and had to be replaced immediately. Andrea's father still lives in the big house, so we also cannot generate some money by renting out a room or two to holiday guests - that do show interest frequently (having a pony farm in the backyard kind of does the deal). Andrea canceled her pension insurance to partly pay off Wyman's medical debt and pay for a foil that was placed on the roof to Keep the rain and snow out.
Andrea's father did step in eventually and paid for the necessary woodwork which had been neglected for almost 30 years. This is only the first step, and we are continuing to do what we can do to make this place more attractive to people in order to generate some money (for example the idea of "adopting" one of our animals and offering "farm days" for children and seniors. Eventually we want to organize birthday parties, offer tractor rides etc. Things are not going so fast as Wyman has a chronic lung disease which makes it impossible for him to do a lot of physical work. Andrea is looking for a job and she went on several internships further away the past months and also finished her degree. But, step by step we are moving in the right direction. If you'd like to help us with a small donation, please visit our gofundme page or donate by PayPal to andrea.oberheiden@web.de. We can also offer to pay back a loan. Please contact us if you have any suggestions. Thank you so much.
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These five little characters were born in the night from the 23rd to the 24th of January 2018. We picked them up three days later. Serama dwarf chickens originate in Malaysia and are the smallest dwarf chickens in the world. They measure only between 15 and 25 cm and they can reach an age of 8 years. They are usually very tame and trusting animals and therefore appropriate for little children that are looking for an animal to bond with. We cannot tell which one among them is the rooster, or how many roosters there might be, but time will tell. Until very warm spring days, the little ones have to live in our house and also need a heating lamp. Serama dwarf chickens like and need it very warm. Welcome to Northern Germany!
All of our animals can be sponsored. Each dwarf chicken can be sponsored for 2€/2.50USD per month. Every sponsor will be listed on our website, next to their sponsored animal - unless this is not wanted. Here is the PayPal link. Many things happened during this first year. Mirco's Pony Farm started with three ponies only: Dolly, Prince and Ronja. Then came Rasputin, Kim and later Wursti and Donner. Also our smaller animals moved in: our chickens, geese, rabbits and recently our two sheep Wilma and Schucki who will each soon have their babies. Andrea and Wyman became the new owners of the property and Mirco made the Pony Farm his only job. Many things are planned for 2018. Stay tuned!
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Author: Andrea
Mother, filmmaker, translator, editor. Archives
December 2019
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