Farm Chores

As you would expect, farm life involves a lot of work.  And even though our farm is pretty small and we only have a few animals so far, there is still a lot of work to be done everyday to keep things running.  I thought I’d write up a little post about some of our current farm chores… most of these are outside.  We all know there are plenty of other chores to be done inside our home everyday as well.  

-scooping Merv’s poop so it’s not all over the yard (Jershon is the lucky one that gets to do this. haha)

-raking poop out of the chicken coop (garden gold!)

-feeding the kittens

-feeding Merv

-feeding the chickens

-refilling (sometimes dumping the ice) the animals’ water bowls multiple times a day

-raking/blowing leaves

-cutting down trees/shrubs (clearing our garden/orchard area)

-moving cut down trees/sticks/logs

-sweeping/mopping the house frequently (having a farm means lots of mud and dirt tracked into the house)

-taking Merv out every couple hours so he can get some exercise/social/training time (and making piles all over the yard for Jershon to scoop up)

-checking for eggs / bringing them in

-taking trashcans out and in every week

-closing up the chickens in their coop every night

-taking the food scraps out to the compost pile

-collecting hay for the chicken coop

-checking in on the animals frequently to see how they are doing

 

Does this sound like a list of drudgery and monotony?  Yes, it could look that way to some (and at times to all of us).  But with the right attitude, this work can actually be pleasant and meaningful.  

Of course we are only 2 months into this lifestyle and it’s not always butterflies and unicorns, but so far we are actually enjoying the work… most of the time at least.

There is something soul satisfying about the daily rhythm of farm chores.  Even on the coldest (and hottest in a few months) days, we are forced to go outside every so often, breathe in the fresh (and sometimes freezing) air and take care of something other than ourselves.  These things are good for our bodies, minds, and spirits.

This reminds me of a scene in the video, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration when Joseph and some men were working on building the Kirtland Temple.  Joseph turns to the other men and says, “We’re not just building a temple here, the Lord is building us.” 

That’s how I feel about this new lifestyle.  We’re not just building a farm here… the Lord is building us.   

 
 

 

Here are some photos from the past couple months…

cleaning out and fixing up the chicken coop

mopping the never ending patches of dried up mud on the floors

 

Taking the trash cans in and out

 

Building up the compost pile

 

Building the cat house

 

We studied this painting as part of our Morning Menus a couple weeks ago and Roxanne was so excited about wearing the apron from her Anne of Green Gables dress so she could carry scratch in it and feed the chickens.  

Madchen Huhner Futternd By Albert Anker

 

Gathering eggs… our egg count is 24 eggs now!

 

My friend, Ashley, knitted these wool mittens for me and I’ve been so happy to have them this winter. They keep my hands nice and warm while I’m out doing farm chores.

 

 

 

Because we are still so new to all of this, I realize that to longtime farmers (or to some regular people just looking in from the outside), we probably look pretty young and naive.  haha.  I’m sure we are to a certain extent. 

The truth is, we don’t really know what we’re doing.  haha. We’ve never had animals before (well, before 2 months ago).  We’ve never even had our own yard before. 

I’m sure we’ll make lots of mistakes.  And I’m not going to lie… it feels pretty vulnerable to share our dream with the world (even those who know us in real life) because I don’t have a crystal ball and can’t look into the future to see exactly how it will all turn out.    

But we have a dream and in order to pursue it, we’re willing to dive in headfirst and do our best to figure things out along the way. 

 

I feel a lot like this poem that we are working on memorizing this month…

   

It Couldn’t Be Done by Edgar Albert Guest
 
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!
 
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
 
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.
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