Destiny Redd and her husband, Mitchell Redd, rolled up to a small farmhouse outside Colombia, Miss., in their Buick Enclave on a summer afternoon in 2021. Destiny took her then 4-month-old daughter, Sherry, out of her car seat and carried her around as she wandered the overgrown front yard, which hadn’t been mown in years since the departure of the previous owners, the Curtis family. Despite that, she found her eyes drawn to the farmhouse’s covered front porch and the vibrant purple flowers arranged in beds all along its length. The sight was enough for the Redds to agree to call in a realtor for a viewing on their potential new home.
When the realtor ushered Redd through the front door a few days later, the sight of the home’s original wood flooring, with strips roughly an inch wide between boards, struck her—as it was nothing like the laminated hardwood or plate flooring she was used to seeing in modern housing. She took in the expansive living room and long hallways leading to the home’s bedrooms before she entered the kitchen, which she immediately saw as the crown jewel of the home.
“I fell in love with the kitchen and immediately knew it would be perfect to cook for big get-togethers, which is something I love,” Redd says. “The kitchen has a red tin ceiling that gives it the perfect farm look, a bar with plenty of counter space and plenty of windows. My husband and I could see that the place needed work looking at it, but we also knew we could put in the work on it to truly make it ours.”
Having been built in 1940, the farmhouse had rotting beams and a patch of softening wood in the kitchen that the Redds needed to address immediately before moving on to smaller concerns, such as painting and redoing the kitchen interior. Redd also converted a metal shop building on the property into a storage space for all the tools and feed she needed.
Over the next three years, the one-acre plot of land became home to not only the Redds and their three children, but also to a large flock of chickens, goats, turkeys, pigs, a pitbull and two formerly stray cats. Redd ultimately chose the location not just for its size and convenient location 15 minutes outside of Columbia, but to have a place where then-infant Sherry could run and play with her siblings and all of the animals. In fact, Redd says, it was ultimately Sherry’s arrival that prompted her and her husband to seek a new home to begin with.
‘Something Between Everyone’
Redd was born in Saucier, Miss., and had been living in Arkansas with her husband and stepsons Jacob and Liam when she found out she was pregnant with Sherry, which the couple knew would necessitate a larger house. While her great grandmother, Syble, had left her a house in Petal that aroused a number of childhood memories, its status as a former fishing camp meant it wouldn’t be the best fit for a growing family, she determined.
After Redd’s parents heard the news, they let the couple stay in their home in Hattiesburg while Redd was expecting, since they were staying in Missouri at the time. Once settled, Redd and her husband began combing real-estate website Zillow to find a permanent home. With Destiny’s family in Hattiesburg and Mitchell’s in Foxworth, the couple wanted to find something between everyone to make visiting easier, and they found it in Columbia.
“Before the move I had been working at Lowes or at various customer-service or call-center jobs for years, and those kinds of positions are rough,” Redd says. “You have to deal with so many upset people who might be inclined to take things out on you. Now instead of trying to keep a hundred people happy every day, I get to spend my days with my kids and the animals. We’ve carved out our own slice of happiness out here.”
‘A Simple Routine’
For Redd, mornings begin with getting Sherry a glass of chocolate milk before heading out to feed and give water to all the animals, her daughter following her all the while. Redd makes breakfast for the family before watching a movie or doing crafts with Sherry while her sons are at school. The Marion County farmer then often lets the animals out of their pens to graze before lunch. On many days, she will go to the park before checking on the animals again and gathering eggs before dinner, followed by daily devotionals before winding down for bed.
Redd describes her home as a “hobby farm,” in which she raises animals for the sake of having them almost as much as for eggs or meat. Her three children enjoy running in the yard and chasing the animals to burn off energy, with Sherry in particular being eager to assist.
“Whenever I go out to check on the animals, she comes along with me like it’s her job,” Redd says. “Even if she can’t lift a feed bucket, she still says it’s her job to help, so we work together and make a schedule that works for everyone. She particularly likes one of our goats named Bruno, who has become ‘her’ goat. He’ll stand there and let her do anything, from standing on top of a cable spool to pet him to letting her try to rope him with a lasso she got for Christmas after Jacob got one and she wanted one too. She also likes to try to ride one of our pigs, climbing onto his back whenever he’s eating.”
When Redd isn’t taking care of either the animals or her kids, she enjoys taking advantage of her remodeled kitchen to make everything from chicken and dumplings or chicken fajitas to a special stew recipe she received from great grandmother Syble, or “Maw Maw.” Redd also makes regular use of a crock pot for large family gatherings and bakes oatmeal peanut butter cookies and blueberry cobbler from berry bushes grown on the farm.
“We have a simple routine out here, and I’ve come to love the peace and quiet,” Redd says. “I can sit on the porch and drink coffee in the morning without having to worry about much and can take care of my kids and my animals in equal measure. I believe the key to balance in life is doing what works for you, while keeping in mind everyone is different. Some days are organized and some are chaotic, but keeping your family involved in everything is key.”
