Growing up a city girl, I have a tendency to idealize pastoral experience. My head is replete with Laura Ingalls Wilder types who raise sheep, milk cows, make soap, smoke meat, and outrun wild animals-- eventually sitting together at the end of the day in front of the fire sipping hot chamomile and mending socks on the lone prairie.
WELL, I have always wanted to have those skills, but I haven't really wanted to put in the work to make these dreams a reality. But I feel that my kids need these very real farm experiences. So, it has been fun to have good friends that are "Gentleman farmers"-- they do all the work-- the daily trips to "the farm," the twice-a-day feedings, the mucking, etc., and we get a call when they do the fun stuff like gathering eggs and shearing sheep.
The Bayles' called us over for the shearing this year, and no doubt we'll be there for the lambing. It makes us fell a little bit like Farmer Ted, but we're not kidding ourselves. We know we're kinda wimpy.
Practicing Alternative Dispute Resolution Finding humor in the daily Stuff; Occasionally waxing poetic and philosophical; Preserving a history for my family
1 comment:
That totally crackes me up! I'm am filled with similar longings, so when we moved to the valley we promptly acquired some rabbits so that we could breed them for "clean meet". It only took one "harvest" to destroy our "little house" fantasy. Now we have nine rabbits in our "herd" without the drive to eat them!:)At least their droppings make good compost, and gadening is something that I CAN do!
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