Monday, March 7, 2011

Naming contest!

We need a name for our little farmlet.

We started off calling it "A Little Piece of Heaven" because we thought it was cute, but we don't like the religious connotation that the name has (just click "Next Blog" and you'll see what I mean). We're not religious people by any means, so we're looking for something different.

I'm not keen on calling it a "farm" or a "ranch" because let's face it - at 1.99 acres, that's a bit pretentious. (Ok, maybe having any name at all is a bit pretentious, but work with me here.) I do like place names such as "Oaks" or "Haven" or "Acres". Something small-sounding.

Here are some names that we like but aren't in love with for various reasons:
  • Dunvegan Hills - The hubby loves Scottish stuff, especially Dunvegan. However, our property is flat - no hills here! And "Dunvegan" means "little castle" - which certainly doesn't fit our 1951 ranch house.
  • Sunset Acres - We live in Sunset Valley so this seems like a good idea. However, to me it sounds like a retirement/assisted living facility. We're not in our dotage yet!!!
  • CRS Ranch - CRS stands for our horses - Cash, Red, and Saga - who are the reason we bought the land. However, CRS also means "Certified Residential Specialist" for a Realtor. My mom's a Realtor, and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get over that association. Also, the hubby doesn't love it.
  • Philos-i-pharm - Ok, this is cute and I actually really like it. The hubby and I are both Ph.D.s... but that's not really what makes the ranch.
  • Serenity Acres/Oaks - I love the word Serenity - it's how I feel when sitting sipping my tea and watching the critters. But we watched Firefly and Serenity makes me think of that show, and suddenly we're on a spaceship and... no. Plus it sounds like a retirement facility, although not as much as Sunset Acres does. Halp!
  • Fourteenth Century Farm - Also very cute and I like the way it sounds. The hubby and I do medieval reenactment and our chosen time period is the 14th c., so it works for that. However, 1951 ranch house? I'm not sure it works for the property.
  • Haven - Well, it is! But too short, too close to "Heaven" and... see above.
Other things that might help with the naming ideas:
  • We have mostly oaks and cedar elms on the property. No hills, creeks, or anything like that.
  • We are surrounded on two sides by greenbelt - so the idea of a "corner" or something is appealing, just not sure if it works.
And lastly, please, no combinations of our first initials or our last names. Our last names are both unpronounceable (trust me) and our first initials don't go well together.

So, ideas? Suggestions? I'll send a 35 oz jar of Mrs. Pasture's Horse Treats to the person who suggests the name we choose... or if you prefer, a batch of homemade oatmeal, chocolate chip, or pecan butter cookies. And if you're overseas, we'll figure something out!

3 comments:

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  2. How about "The Equestrian Asylum"? You get the double meaning of asylum as a safe haven and as a mad house. So it's either a peaceful place for people who ride horses or a place for people who are horse mad. :-)

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