Jan, I know your question was mostly directed to Patty, but I thought I'd chime in anyway. We are really blessed in that our neighbors trade farmsitting with us. They have horses, rabbits, cats, and a dog, and we have sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, and cats. They go on long vacations (2-3 weeks) in November, so we watch their animals, water plants, etc. We go in the summer (2 weeks) and they watch for us. Summer is easy time for us....not many vegetables to pick (just for meals), not breeding or lambing season, etc. November is an easy, although wet time of year for them. We can also see each other's places from our own which is a bonus.(posted 9006 days ago)Maybe you can swap services with someone in your area? I know the feed store here and the veterinarian's have bulletin boards. If you have a similar local spot maybe you could post it. Also, they might actually know the of some possibilities and provide a reference or two.
It's so lovely to have this lifestyle, but it's so much more appreciated when you can actually get away from it for a couple of weeks!