Welcome my new friends.

My name is Tania, and I am the face behind this blog website, and the @dykshoornfarms social media accounts, and so I thought a little introduction would be nice.

I am a wife, stay at home mom, farmer, rancher, sales person, website developer, delivery driver, and chauffer.  I am 38 years old (which makes me ancient according to my kids – I mean being born in the 1980’s does sound old I suppose) and have loved farming since I was little. I always wanted to marry a cowboy, and live on a farm, and this is where that childhood dream took hold.

So, lets take it WAAAY back to the beginning.

I was born and raised in Prince George, British Columbia, and lived my whole childhood in the “city”. Our house was on the edge of town, so we had a decent sized lot, and had an empty lot beside and across the street our house for most of my childhood. I was an active child which is how I earned the nickname “Tigger” from my Mom. I LOVED the outdoors, and spent many hours playing in the trees on that empty lot, and in the pasture and trees across the street.

I also loved sports and played Volleyball and Basketball in High School. I could often be found playing beach volleyball at the park after practice with my best friend Erica. I even did some cross country through the years – although long distance runs were not my specialty, and still aren’t to this day. Long jump and sprinting was more my speed.

BUT, out of everything my favourite thing to do was spending time at my Grannie’s house. She lived on a farm and always had animals. She had at least 1 horse at all times, usually a couple of cows – one which hand milked, chickens, turkeys and usually a pig or 2 around. She also had dogs, and plenty of barn kitties to feed warm milk and earn their trust. It was at her house that I developed my love for animals, farm life and everything that comes with it (minus the dirty laundry and mud of course 😉 )

I spent as many hours as possible at Grannies house learning how to be a farm girl. We milked cows, fed chickens, gathered eggs, and took the pigs slop and scraps. I learned how to separate milk in her old separator machine and then drink warm milk straight out of our mason jar cups. We would brush and ride horses until all seemed right in the world. 

We planted, watered, weeded, harvested and preserved her garden, AND all the other wild fruits we picked (wild blueberries and cranberries are the best). We hung wet laundry out on the line to dry, ate too many watermelons to count, and just as many tubs of ice cream. We butchered chickens and other animals together with family, and learned about the circle of life. It was here I learned where my food comes from, and what it takes to raise an animal from birth to harvest.

She is also the one that taught me how to drive a tractor, cut hay, stack bales, and then when the work was done we would sleep in the hay barn or out on her deck under the stars with the coyotes howling in the background. But more than all of that she taught me how to love, be strong and brave, and to love God with my whole heart. 

She was the strongest lady mentally and physically that I know… Put simply – She was the best, and who I want to be when I grow up.

Grannie passed away in 2002, and I miss her immensely and still tear up when I think of her to this day. She never got to meet Chet or my kids, but I like to think that she would be proud of the life I am living, and that at least gives me happy tears.

Tania