The Reluctant Farmer of Whimsey Hill

WINNER of the Beverly Hills Book Awards for Animals and Pets.

WINNER of the Beverly Hills Book Award for Regional Non-Fiction: Southeast

OTHER AWARDS - International Book Awards for Animals and Pets/Narrative Non-Fiction,Best Book Awards Animals/Pets: Narrative Non-Fiction, Readers Choice Awards
REVIEWS"Animals can and do make our lives better. This is my kind of book."           - Bret Witter, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Dewey [the Library Cat]""A witty memoir reminding us that the best lessons in life are beyond the edge of one's comfort zone, and one can only be towed there by the heart strings."
           - Jean Abernethy, creator of Fergus the Horse
 

 "Marley and Me, complete with mud-stomping horses, fence-leaping ponies, and scheming canines, comes to a family living on a farm in Virginia. At first the engineer-husband cannot believe the pent-up mischief in his wife's beloved, and ever-expanding menagerie.Yet this solidly-grounded man, skeptical initially, is increasingly swept into the humor and charm of animal antics. Nor can he resist the horse-whisperer herself. Which is what happens to the reader. This tale is a "must read" for animal lovers. But even for the reader who prefers humans, it quickly becomes a page turner. The writing is so engaging, we can't wait to see what happens next to this bewitching family."   
        - Maralys Wills - Author, Higher Than Eagles.
                                       The Reluctant Farmer of Whimsey Hill is an animal lover's delight, but there is so much more; love, family, friendship, humor, sadness and just good reading. Bradford M. Smith, Lynn Raven and Nancy Raven Smith have joined forces and written a perfectly delightful book that was impossible to put down. I cannot say enough good things about The Reluctant Farmer of Whimsey Hill. I highly recommend it to everyone young and old; male and female; you will not be disappointed.    
            - Reviewed By Trudi LoPreto for Readers' Favorite - 5 Stars

Good for the Soul.By Susannah St Clair Foxy Loxy VINE VOICE Format: Kindle EditionIn our world of so much ugliness and tragedy "The Reluctant Farmer of Whimsey Hill" is an absolute breath of fresh air. Warmly humorous and dead on about a man trying to deal with all sorts of animals who was NOT an animal person when he fell in love with one who is.
The fact that this all happens in an area that was once my own homeland enhances it greatly for me. Who would think I would ever see the words "Jubal A. Early" again in this lifetime? Having lived the first third of my life in Maryland and often been back and forth to Virginia, White's Ferry is also well known along with the Potomac and in Maryland our own Patuxent.
The subtle and often self-depreciating levity that runs throughout the book enchants me. Brad Smith.. he enchants me! The only thing I think that disappointed me was the fact that the Jack Russells didn't get their own chapter. I can't imagine them not adding as much disaster to farm life as the pony Figgy did!
The narrative is beautifully written and everything put in the book should have been. No wordiness, no off the map side trips. It all works so very well. Love the chapter headings too.. gives you the next problem in a quick "nutshell". All the animals make exquisite characters that you grow fond of. Well maybe Porkchop was my exception! I kept thinking everytime I read about the next irritating thing he did..Brad, my man, that's why they have cattle sales! For heavens sake, just take him to the market. (My good friend raises grass fed beef and this is what she does everytime she has a cow or steer that isn't performing to her standards!)
I was also really happy that they included an epilogue and I was able to learn about all the animals characters and how they ended up along with Brad's family. The only real fault I could find is that it didn't go on longer...

"Animals can and do make our lives better. This is my kind of book." - Bret Witter, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Dewey [the Library Cat]"

The hu-amorous true story of an animal-phobic, city robotics engineer who learns too late that his new bride's dream is to have a farm where she can rescue ex-racehorses. When the newlyweds take a Meyers-Briggs Personality Test for fun, it tells them that their marriage is doomed. There is only one problem: they took the test after the wedding.

So whether he's chasing a cow named Pork Chop through the woods, getting locked in a tack room by the family pony, being snubbed by his wife's favorite dog, or unsuccessfully trying to modernize their barn using the latest technology, the odds are already stacked against him. It seems like everything on four legs is out to get him. Will the animals prove Meyers-Briggs right?

Read now and enjoy the multi-award winning stories of one man's journey along the bumpy road from his urban robotics lab to his new life on a rural Virginia farm.

Bradford Smith is an internationally known author, engineer, and teacher living in Southern California with writing partner & wife, Nancy Raven Smith, who is an award-winning screenwriter and novelist. Co-collaborator & daughter, Lynn Raven, is an award-winning writer and former entertainment publicist living at Whimsey Hill 2 in Virginia. Brad, Nancy, and their two daughters spent more than twenty years on their rural Virginia farm rescuing animals.

Bradford M. Smith's early professional career with the U.S. Navy and the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. focused on manufacturing technology and computer-aided design. The resulting technologies developed by Smith are now widely used in the aircraft, automotive, and heavy equipment industries worldwide. He helped write numerous industry and government publications, and has presented speeches all over the world. As an adult-ed school teacher, he has published a series of how-to-books on jewelry making.
 
While his work environment was highly technical, his home life was not. With his family, he built and managed Whimsey Hill Farm. Smith partnered with his wife in a horse show business which included annual sporting events with over 1000 equine competitors, but their main focus was animal rescue. The couple was frequently featured in equestrian-related magazines, newspapers, and local publications. Smith says that the contrast between the farm and technology gave him the best of both worlds.