I wrote this a while ago after hearing someone say living on a farm is living the easy life. It’s definitely not easy. It’s a lot of hard work. But out of nowhere, something happens when you live on a farm. You start to discover that you’re capable of doing so many more things than you ever thought you could. Living on a farm gives you the chance to experience the growth of animals, the growth of plants and food, and your own personal growth. Farm life isn’t for everyone, but I hope that if it’s in your heart, you never stop working towards making it a reality.
Farm Life
They say living on a farm is living the easy life. It is anything but easy. It is hard emotionally, physically, and financially. It is all about…
Staying up all night because an animal is sick and you know it won’t be long before she’s gone. Worrying because a pregnant doe is stressed and knowing the stress can cause complications to her and her baby. Helping deliver babies and losing one in the final moments before birth. Watching a mom call out and search frantically for her baby who isn’t responding because he didn’t survive. Bottle-feeding a newborn knowing it will probably be her last meal. Feeling joy for the strong and healthy and sorrow for the ones who won’t make it through the night. Worrying if the heat lamps will last when the temperature drops below zero and knowing that keeping everyone warm is the only way to help them through the cold. Carefully watching the weather and praying the tornado misses you. Walking away thinking everyone is fine only to return a short time later to a dire emergency. Deciding when to humanely help an animal die and knowing you will always question that decision. Seeing a young animal groom and comfort a geriatric one, knowing they are saying their final goodbyes. Knowing the pain of losing someone will lessen over time, but also knowing it won’t ever fully go away.
Having painful muscles from lifting hundreds of pounds of feed bags, hay, and straw bales. Getting cuts, bruises, blisters, and sprains. Dragging yourself into bed at night and waking up so tired you feel like you never went to bed. Hauling several gallons of water throughout the day to make sure everyone stays hydrated. Chipping ice out of water dishes in winter with hands so cold they are purple and numb. Building and maintaining housing in blizzards and scorching heat. Cleaning buildings and having to haul away heavy dirty bedding. Feeling achy from staying up all night to be with the ones that need extra care. Shoveling snow to get to the animals because they need to be cared for every day even when there are several feet of snow blocking the way. Shoveling heavy mud because you know that being in wet conditions will cause health problems. Being sick and still having to take care of the animals. Planting trees and crops only to see them devastated the next day by hail and wind. Working on fencing by a truck’s headlights because there aren’t enough sunlit hours in the day to get the work done.
Not being able to afford food for the family because the animals need to eat and they depend on you to feed them. Not going away on trips because fences need to be repaired, food needs to be bought, and buildings need new siding. Knowing you have to obtain veterinarian care, but also knowing it will cost a weeks’ worth of salary. Having to keep the heat lamps on even though you know the electricity expense for the month will be half of your mortgage payment. Wearing faded clothes and clothes with holes, rips, and stains because new clothes are too expensive and the animals’ needs come before yours. Driving older vehicles because the cost of a new vehicle cannot be justified. Laying in bed at night worrying about where the money will come from to take care of the family and farm, and questioning why this is the way of life you asked for. Always having the feeling that you could offer so much more to your family if you chose another way of life.
Living on a farm is not the easy life. It is hard emotionally, physically, and financially, but it’s worth every minute of it. Having a newborn crawl into your lap seconds after being born. Having so many incredible and diverse souls surrounding you and never feeling alone. Experiencing the playfulness of each animal and learning each one’s individual personality. Helping an animal feel love, trust, and safety, sometimes for the first time in his life. Walking out to the barn and buildings and having everyone run to you because they are genuinely happy to see you. Falling asleep to the sound of frogs croaking. Smelling the sweet aroma of hay first thing in the morning. Waking up to the sound of roosters crowing. Having an animal fall asleep in your lap. Earning the trust and affection of a feral cat despite everyone saying it’s impossible. Having someone to talk to without judging what you say. Having an animal quietly sit with you when you need to cry. Sharing food with family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. Sitting on the patio being immersed in the sights and sounds of life all around you. Caring for a sick or injured animal and being able to release her back into the flock. Being there when a baby is born or an egg starts to crack open. Helping a life come into the world. Seeing the look on the face of a child who has only seen barnyard animals in books or on t.v. and is touching one for the first time. Being able to make the world a better place for so many lives.
Living on a farm is not living the easy life; but we know in our hearts that despite all of the challenges and all of the ups and downs, we are thankful that this is the life we are meant to be living. We wouldn’t trade it for anything.