Filed under: September 2015 | Tags: lazy, Love, Mental Health, peace, planning, resting, Tea, working
Surrounded by the Boys
September 25, 2015
What a day. I am thinking that I should be feeling free. Much of the work for the year has been completed, but I am feeling crowded by the looming winter. I guess relaxing for me comes hard. I am thinking about equipment readiness for next year, firewood, and even fall plowing. I can’t understand why I simply can’t relax. I guess it comes from my childhood when a mean old man told me that I would never amount to anything and he called me… (gasp) …lazy!
I have spent most of my life making sure no one ever says that to me again! It’s almost funny. I guess I should go out of my way in defiance of him and just screw off once in a while, but I can’t. Heck, I don’t even like to fish. I spend the whole time waiting for the fish to bite, thinking of all the things that I could/should be doing! I will admit that I sometimes take quite a long time to drink a cup of tea. I can let the guilt go as I sip that warm brew…because I can always say that I am thinking, planning or otherwise working out a problem.
I have been known to take a “power nap”. Those quick minutes stolen from a day, fast asleep on the couch, where it is warm or cool depending upon the season 😮 I can, now and then, be found under the shade of the porch sipping water and looking out across the farmstead. I keep that far away look in my eyes so the untrained will think that I am in deep thought. In reality, I am stealing a few moments from a productive day to recharge my batteries by simply sitting and resting.
I guess that is the secret to a happy life, find joy everywhere that you look. I do that. I am satisfied beyond measure with the progress I have made and the plans that I have laid. I just need to pause and reflect more. It completes a man’s life when he takes time to be thankful, to be grateful and to be pleased with his efforts. I don’t want to get so busy making a living that I forget to have a life. So, I take my pleasure in the woodlands and animals on this farm. In the photo above, the horses have surrounded me. They are nuzzling me and waiting to be touched, so in reality I am not crowded… I am embraced, I am hugged and I am loved! Yes, my life is complete and it is wonderful!
Jake loads the elevator
July 17, 2015
Yay!!! Finally after missing half a summer, we got some dry hay made. We have more down and almost ready. Rain threatens, but no worries here, if it gets wet I will roll it up in plastic for silage! It is awesome to have a back up plan. Yesterday was not with out its problems, but we overcame each and every one. I do have a shear pin to replace on the baler, but that is an easy job.
The combine wouldn’t start as we prepared for the speltz harvest. We found many little things, but apparently the mice building a big straw nest in the muffler, was my biggest problem! It’s all good now.
Today I will wrestle with the last of our first cutting hay. I will adapt with the weather and try looking forward instead of skyward…. Tomorrow I will know just how today went, no point in worrying about it today!
Filed under: December 2014 | Tags: chores, choretime, farm animals, hurry, peace, piglets
Soup is on!
December 6, 2014
Chore time for me is a great time of day. Morning chores signify the beginning of a new day. I am greeted by my animal charges as if I am an old friend. They are very happy to see me. The dogs act as if it has been weeks since we last met. The rest of the animals make a ruckus too. I used to think it was because they were happy to see me, but then I realized they were just impatient waiting for breakfast.
In the evening, the last job of the day is usually chores too. The animals all get fed again. Stalls are cleaned and general order comes to the barn. Then, after everyone has been fed and watered, a quiet peace settles over the barnyard. The cattle start looking for a place to bed down for the night. The piglets push straw into a pile with their noses and settle in under it. The hens are sitting on their roost waiting for sleep to overtake them.
In the horse barn, the horses stand quietly munching on their hay. I like to sit on a hay bale, pet the dogs and reflect on the day’s work. The dog’s eyes are almost closed as I pet their heads. They enjoy this quiet time too. The soft music that is the horses chewing, fills the air signaling that all is well. The day is done.
How many of us rush about? Jump out of bed hurrying because we got up late. Speed off to work. Spend the day jammed with work and other people’s problems. We skip lunch so we can leave on time to fly home to work on a project or attend a meeting. Finally, an hour later than we wanted. We flop down in front of a television and watch other folks having fun. We sleep fitfully fearing that we won’t hear the alarm clock…and sure enough we don’t…or we hit the snooze too many times! So tell me… why do they say that “animals are dumb”?
Our hens and Mr. Tom
August 30, 2014
Being cooped up isn’t always bad. Our new hens are being penned up so they learn their new home. It is a safe place that protects them from weather and wildlife that might not be so kind to them. Very soon they will be allowed to free range. They will stay out much of the day, returning home whenever they want, but especially at night to roost.
There have been times when I was cooped up, not allowed to roam freely. One time that comes to mind is boot camp in Fort Knox Kentucky. 😮 Even that was good for me…or so my Drill Instructor said.
The kids are almost all back in school. They are cooped up during the day. They too come home to roost…at least for a little while longer. One day they will roam about freely. The hope is that they learned to make their way, but didn’t forget where the roost is located.
At work, off the farm, some days I too feel penned up. I guess it is to make being home that much better. Work provides the means to live. So, work to live…don’t live to work. Spend time at the roost with the ones you love and enjoy your time together. You can always make more “money”…but “time” is gone forever!
Filed under: April 2014 | Tags: baby lambs, dad, gone forever, heart, memory, Mom, mom and dad, mother's love, peace
Mom’s Final Resting Place
April 22, 2014
Who doesn’t like to go to mom’s place? There are many happy memories there. I remember the smells of dinner cooking, fresh-baked cookies and Estee Lauder perfume. I remember hugs, comfort and a certain look…a look that could stop traffic, or at least a teenage boy from doing wrong. I remember love above all.
All of us have memory triggers that will fill our minds with thoughts, both good and bad. I am pleased to say, that most of my memories about mom’s place are happy ones. Now, since my mom has passed away, she rests here on my farm on a little hill next to the sugarhouse. I visit this place often.
Sometimes I talk to mom as if she were sitting next to me. Other times I just talk aloud complaining about some trivial thing that doesn’t matter in the big picture of life, but I feel better after I vent awhile. Often is the time when I simply sit quiet listening to the world around me. The peacefulness that surrounds me is as comforting as a hug.
My dad rests on this farm too. He lays under a hickory tree in my pasture. I discuss all things farming with him. I enjoy the time spent there, but I do wish that I could spend a few more hours with him, listening to his stories and corny jokes. I am sure that both he and mom are proud of my accomplishments and I take comfort that even though they are both gone, they are still very close.
I get to visit my parents graves without leaving my farm. I have had countless cups of coffee with them as I work out a problem or pour my heart out when life kicks me in the teeth. When I am depressed, cranky or heart-broken, I always feel better after visiting mom’s place. Some things never change I guess, and for that, I am very grateful.
The little hamlet where mom rests, is a spot she picked out. I chose the spot for dad. I know he would like to watch the animals, walk the furrows with me when I plow and feel the lines in my hands as I drive the horses. My mom loved maple syrup time, but I think it is more the laughter from the children who visit and the fact that I spend a lot of time in and around the sugarhouse, that caused her to pick her place.
My lambs are being born right now. The mother’s are doting over their babies. They keep them close and bleat when they get too far away. They nurse them and rest beside them. The lambs don’t stray too far…at least for now. The babies will grow fast and like all babies, will one day leave mom behind…we all did. Mom, will watch them go with a special sadness in her heart, as they make their way in the world.
Then comes the day when mom is gone, life is forever changed…A longing for the “good old days” will smack us in the head now and then, when we stop to remember her. The bond between mother and child is never broken. It might get bent sometimes, but a mother’s love is pure and everlasting … that is why, she is never really gone… just absent.
My mom has two places here on my farm. One place is that quiet place by the sugarhouse. The other place is deep in my heart where only goodness is found…..which according to some…is buried pretty deep. I hold her dear, remember her often and always feel pleased when I take the time to visit Mom’s Place.
RicelandMeadows 