I originally bought Charminy Farm in 1966 while I was single and working as a high school counselor.  I wanted enough land to raise a few dogs and horses. I found a nice 12+ acre hobby farm with woods to the rear and a creek running through the lower part. My first horse was a weanling Arabian filly and I continued raising Arabs for the next thirty years.  When I retired I had to decide whether to buy another riding horse (my last Arab died the year before) or to buy a miniature horse.  My husband passed away about that time and my two sons were grown and gone, and I had to think about who would care for me or my animals if I was injured while riding.  I met two mini owners who proceeded to extol the virtues of minis and take me all over the state looking at them.  I was hooked.  I bought my first mini, a pregnant broodmare named BMAS McNuggett from Janet Houck.

Winter brings both beauty and difficulty to Charminy.  The mantle of snow is pleasing to the eye, but necessitates quite a bit of work keeping the driveway clear and usable.  A John Deere 22 HP with a 4 Ft. snow blower gets quite a bit of use.  The minis handle the cold quite comfortably with their heavy winter coats.  

Around the Christmas holidays, Charminy is decorated both inside and out. The lighted horse and sleigh and hedges around the house help proclaim the holiday spirit.

In the summer, Charminy is wonderful.  The buildings are set on a series of hills and make a pretty picture from the road.  The house was remodeled when we were expecting our first child and the pool was added shortly after that.  In 1985 our original small barn burned (luckily the horses were outside) and a new barn was built further up the hill. The new barn has several large box stalls for foaling and a few smaller ones.  There are two paddocks around the barn, with a nice sheltered overhang at the back, and two pastures further up the hills.