TEXAS
Monarch Farm W H E R E S H A R I N G I S T R U LY C A R I N G by Diane Ciarloni | photos courtesy of Texas Monarch Farm
N
ick Shah insists that he’s never seen a child “leave here without a smile on his face.” The “here” he’s referencing is a 5-acre private farm in the heart of Flower Mound, owned by himself and his wife, Puja.
The Shahs are originally from India, and they have two daughters, Naomi who is 15 and Nirali who is 12.
I’m a realtor, and it was easy for me to
The Shahs could see the American dream in front of them, but it took them a while to decide how they wanted to latch onto it. They worked hard and, seven years ago, vistas of that dream began opening. They decided to sell their house when the girls were eight and five.
One day, Nick saw five acres available in
Now what?
a horse, so we’re
“We didn’t want to go out and just buy a big house,” says Nick. “What would that do for us? Just spend our time cleaning it. The girls wanted a horse, and we really wanted to establish something for them.
a farm and let them
“We found a place, but the deal fell through. We moved forward again.
keep track of property as it came on the market.”
Flower Mound. Both he and Puja liked the area and felt
they had roots there. “Okay, we said. This is it. The girls want
going to give them grow up at least
a little old school.
They could learn all the things kids, and most adults, aren’t
what they were doing?
A couple of horses arrived at the minifarm. Goats and chickens showed up. Dogs. Various
“They could learn all the things kids, and most adults, aren’t even exposed to today – how food is grown, how animals are born, how it feels to be with greenery and wildlife every day.”
even exposed to today – how food is
grown, how animals are born, how it feels to be with greenery and wildlife every
day.” Some of the things they learn are on the edge of shocking. For instance,
did you know a hen can produce eggs
without the help of a rooster? Quite a lot of eggs, actually.
structures began
dotting the compact acreage. Open-air paddocks. Stalls. Housing for the
chickens, where
the ladies could
lay their eggs with no meddling from
noisy roosters. It was beginning to look
more and more like
a farm — hobby farm,
technically speaking.
Nirali and Naomi grew with the farm. There were no haphazard choices when putting together Monarch Farm which,
essentially, is a goat dairy farm. The Shahs’ chosen breed is the high-volume milk-
producing American Lamancha. First bred
There were plenty of friends and
by Eula Fay Frey in 1927, it’s a formally
may have wandered off track when they
from humans.
associates who wondered if the Shahs
58 | LANTANA LIVING | OCTOBER 2020
heard their plan. Did they honestly realize
recognized breed that loves attention
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