Mary’s Dream Farm

Accompanied by numerous animals, Mary Roelofsz tends to the morning’s task at Dreamers' Farm outside of Excelsior Springs, Mo. The dreamers mentioned in the name of the 45-acre farm north of Excelsior Springs are Mary and her mother, Bea Roelofsz, who died in January of 2019. “Our dream was to raise Gypsy Vanner horses and my dream was to raise goats, but she kind of got into that too a bit,” Mary said. “We were very similar.”

“They’re my little family members,” Mary Roelofsz said of the goats in her herd at her farm north of Excelsior Springs.

Mary Roelofsz walks with goats on her 45-acre farm north of Excelsior Springs.

The goat, Strawberry, reaches for leaves on a tree with Mary Roelofsz’s assistance. All of Mary’s animals have names.

Mary Roelofsz pulls a hose across her front yard while tending to the morning’s tasks such as feeding and providing water for animals at her farm.

Members of the Pensick family including 8-year-old Rylee, center, 3-year-old Haylee, Liz and Joe meet with Mary Roelofsz about purchasing young goats at her farm. Mary breeds goats and horses.

Mary Roelofsz watches from a vehicle as a new barn is erected on her farm. “I’ve wanted a barn since I moved-in in 2003 or 2002, but I never could afford one,” Mary said. “And then I retired so I took out some of my 401(k) money to build the barn and get more fencing done and things like that.”

Taking a break from her work, Mary Roelofsz cuddles with a puppy, Layla, near other dogs at her home near Excelsior Springs.

Outside Mary Roelofsz’s office hangs a picture of her grandparents on her mother’s side of the family.

A picture of Mary Roelofsz’s mother, Bea Roelofsz, hangs on a refrigerator in Mary’s home. Bea never lived at Dreamers’ Farm before her death in January of 2019, but she’s the other dreamer in the farm’s name. “I have her picture on my refrigerator and if I’m having a hard day or … I just look at her and know that she’s like … loves what I’m doing you know,” Mary said of her mother. “It just makes me happy kind of knowing that she’s proud of me and loves what I’m doing.”

In the early morning, Mary Roelofsz cuddles with Margaret, one of her miniature Bull Terriers, inside her home. “If I could only have one thing, it would be my Bull Terriers because they’re my heart,” she said.