One month ago, John and I got married. Two weeks ago, we both left our zoo keeping careers after over 10 years. One day ago we moved to Michigan. What the f are we doing?
For those of you who need a refresher on who we are, we are Sydney Fitzpatrick and John Scaramucci, collectively known as the Fitzmucci’s. We met 10 years ago when we first started working as zoo keepers at the Kansas City Zoo. We spent three years there before both moving to the Houston Zoo in Houston, Texas. My animal specialty has always been smaller animals, from small monkeys to parrots to snakes. John loves the big animals and has primarily worked with hoofstock, like rhinos, giraffes, and his ultimate favorite, tapirs. Together we carved out a life together in Texas. We were very involved in our zoo careers, constantly taking on new projects and learning new skills and being part of our local zoo keeper association. We grew more interested in sustainable practices and how to reduce our plastic use and our carbon footprint. We biked to work, shopped plastic free (mostly), and stopped eating meat at home. But we wanted to do more.
The idea for Leaf and Feather Farms grew slowly and organically, first with learning about the concept of permaculture and then as we began to envision what we wanted our life to become. We want to live in and with nature, utilizing food growing practices that work with the land to revive and enhance it. We want to be able to walk outside our home and see birds and pollinators and other wildlife. We want to make nature accessible and show others that being sustainable can be attainable. We want people to be able to come stay on our property, enjoy nature, and eat good food prepared by the home chef, John.
We are just beginning our dream. It will be a long process with lots of ups and downs. We will need help and welcome everyone we know to share their knowledge and expertise (and even their criticisms). This blog will follow our journey and give us a place to soundboard ideas, educate our followers, and have fun figuring out this crazy path we have decided to adventure on. So jump on board and subscribe and see what we do next!
Written by Sydney
Leaf and Feather Farms 