LOL! about the not gainsaying the “parental units!” Most true. It sounds like you are well on your way to fulfilling your dream. I know we all here wish you well with it! You are a shining example of what newbies like me can look towards.
So far, we have elected not to have livestock, but your set up sounds very sensible and efficient. Animals provide the nutrient material for the plants and the plants provide nutrients for the animals, and they all provide nutrients for you! “Circle of Life” as it were.
I like the part of out not having to go as much to the grocery store! I was worrying about which little lettuce plants to thin out, and Darlin’ explained I just need to let them grow a bit and then eat them! LOL! I had thought I would be discarding them on the ground while they are still in the two-leaf stage. It was a revelation. I have become fond of the live bibb lettuce that comes in the hard plastic box. How much fun to think that if all goes well, I can have my own live bibb lettuce!...and spinach,....and well, not yet parsley, although I did cheat and got some that someone else started!
I like your comment about the perennials. I have been so pleased to see the blossoms on the blackberry bushes we planted last year! I can see how that could work out nicely as we add to them a bit, perhaps. Watering and feeding them is a lot less work than planting and replacing all the annuals. But we like the annuals, too, don’t we? Nevertheless the point is well taken. With perennials, in the long run they can become low maintenance with good production compared to other plants. They are sort of an added bonus.
Can’t do without the annuals!
Most thinnings, with some notorious exceptions can be transplanted, if lifted carefully. Probably the easiest is the onion, squash & cole families.
Carrots can’t be transplanted, as even if it survives, the roots are so twisted & forked as to be unusable...except to give to the rabbits or birds, which just isn’t worth the effort. Speaking of which, the carrot tops go to the chickens.
We even use corn thinnings to fill in blank spots in the rows. Water & a bit of shade reduce or eliminate any shock. If it is something like corn, where the seed remains attached to the roots, be careful not to dislodge it.
ALWAYS thin the greens & radishes onto the table, if at all possible. Same with carrots, though all too often they are so crowded that the first thinnings have to go into the compost pile.
I wish they were all perrenials. LOL