LESSONS OF A YOUNG FARMER: 24/7.
There is a unique component to farming that makes it unlike almost any career I've ever been a part of: it's a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week job. Sure, I've "taken jobs home" with me before I was a farmer. I've lost sleep over the stress caused by previous jobs, but I've definitely never had to get out of bed in the middle of the night for one––to work.Take Sunday night for example. Or the previous Friday. Or that night last winter when our rooster Ellen was attacked. Or any of the many times we've been awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a predator with its jaws on a chicken, or the sound of pounding rain smashing all the young transplants we've had sitting in the shade house. These moments send you stumbling blindly into the darkness wearing little more than your muck boots and boxer shorts to take care of your farm. But this is farming. If it were a regular job, you might not get out of bed "off the clock." You will, however, when it's your own, and when you love what you do.And that brings me to the other quality which makes farming such a unique career, that––as cliché as it might sound––it's not a career or job at all, it's a lifestyle. You don't farm because you want to get rich (well, I hope you don't farm to get rich). You farm because you love it. You get out of bed not because you have to, but because you're compelled to. You work hard and don't take days off because you're part of a natural system that likewise works hard, and doesn't know what a weekend is: nature. To farm is to run a business that never sleeps.I didn't catch the predator Sunday night, but I saw it. A small possum failed to get away with a chicken but managed to get away with its life. And I'm sure it will be back... at 3 a.m.... every night... until we catch it. And we'll be ready because as farmers, we know no other way to be.- Jesse.
THIS & THAT.
Some random photos from the past week.
Pretty obsessed with the fall garden right now.
Wild grapes and persimmons (for wine, of course.)
Birthday care packages from Chicago, arriving on the day you run out of coffee.
Overalls and zinnias.
Sweet potatoes and ginger!
CHICKEN UPDATE...
In total, during last week's episode, we lost 5 hens. Once the Smith's returned from their vacation, we were able to break the pattern and routine - standing guard around the chicken yard during the 5 o'clock hour. No more attacks. We are also reinforcing the fence, making it taller so the dumb birds will stop jumping out. So far, so good.But YESTERDAY: I was walking back from digging sweet potatoes, and just a little ways away from our house when I heard quite a commotion - a sudden explosion of screeching guineas and chickens. I started yelling and clapping my hands, sprinting as fast as I could. As I rounded the corner of our driveway, I saw a dark, squat sort of creature run across the road into our neighbors cornfield. At first I assumed it was Charlie (our cat), but realized it was much too big (about raccoon size). I checked on the birds - no fatalities, lots of feathers. What a stroke of luck that I chose to walk back when I did!Later that evening, I told Jesse what I saw. It definitely was not a fox, and I don't think it was a raccoon either. I didn't have any sort of tail I could see. He brought up the idea of a bobcat - which is kind of amazing. Bobcats live in the area, but we have never seen one. We are hoping to borrow Eric and Cher's nature camera and see if we can get a glimpse!And in other news, Destiny's Child is alive and kicking. Eating lots of worms and flies and pooping all over the floor.- Hannah.