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THE ECSTASY
OF FARM LIFE
Forgive me. I have developed a
habit of looking at dairy fanning
strictly as a business. To be
evaluated only in terms of dollars.
Or profit and loss. This is short
sighted bunk, as you are well
aware.
Rural living, as opposed to city
or urban life, is like living in
another world. Forget about the
old cliches like fresh air and
sunshine on the farm, - there are
other assets that come with a ‘good
ole country boy’ - or girl.
It’s hard to put a price on the
togetherness that is taken for
granted by family members on a
farm. Where else do you find
family members taking over and
filling in when Dad suddenly
decides to be ‘unavoidably’
detained at the auction, (or the
barber shop)? Actually, he is
nearly always indispensable to the
business, except at those rare
episodes when the vet happens to
drop in to blood test the herd just
before milking time. Why, it’s just
natural for mom and Hie kids to
carry on the business while the
boss is preoccupied, isn’t it?
And who can deny the unbounded
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joy that mother feels when she
discovers the heifers placidly
grazing in the garden? To say
nothing of the exotic delight of
those same fat, lettuce- and cab
bage-fed hummies when mother
comes out to play ‘swing the
broomstick’ with them. What a joy
to see them scurry for the bar
nyard gate, which just happens to
swing shut before they get inside.
Oh well, the other gate is wide open
and inviting (the one that goes to
the sweet corn patch). Screaming
is good exercise for the lungs, and
does wonders for the sinuses.
Sunday morning can be par
ticularly uplifting, especially when
it breaks on a gloriously frosty
Christmas card scene with cool,
brisk temperatures a bare nothing
above nothing. No water leaks this
morning. Everything tight and
solid. Ha! We’ll make ice cream
after Church. After the pipes are
thawed, the cleaner chain
repaired, and the silo unloader is
unstuck. If we ever get to church.
We might, if dad doesn’t dislocate
a disc trying to carry a tub of HMC
across the skating rink in front of
the bam. And if mom doesn’t
waste too much time thawing the
pump, cleaning up the milk house.
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717-272-3198
feeding the 23 calves in the hutches
back of the orchard, cooking
breakfast, and getting the kids
dressed, we might get to church
before the anthem. Glory
Halleluia!
Happiness is when, after six
weeks of beautiful sunshine and
hot wind, a cool lingering shower
washes the dust away. And
washes, and washes, and washes.
Of course, it washes everything off
of the alfalfa that was just about
dry. Everything. All the dust. Even
the leaves. It leaves nice, clean,
washed stems. After all, we really
needed the rain. Lots and lots of
rain. A few little gullies in the corn
field won't be noticed, until we bust
an axel on the picker next fall.
One of the joys of farm life is the
trip down the lane to the mail box.
There is always good news in the
morning mail. A letter from Aunt
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Samantha, with more good news
about her arthritis. Ah-ha. There
are a couple of long narrow ones
with windows. One is from the
bank. Isn’t that nice. Could it be a
check? Always good to get a check.
Oh yeah, this is the first of the
month, so that must be the mor
tgage notice. The other three
envelopes are probably bills too.
No need to worry about them, just
throw them on Mom’s desk. She’s
the only one who knows what to do
with them anyway. Now, why the
heck didn’t Lancaster- Farming
come?
Now to top off this little
discourse of the joys and pleasures
of life on the farm, I’ll have to
reveal a little secret. I lied. It’s not
exactly that »vay, and you know it.
All sizes available
Round or rectangular
It is not April 1, and Groundhog
Day is over, so it must have been
the new moon. I haven't felt quite
like myself lately, so please
forgive me. I really love farm
living, as I’m sure you do too.
In case you’ve been thinking of
giving up the ghost, don’t. Cheer
up! The new moon will wax
brighter every day now, and the
groundhog will sleep off his
frightening experience of last
week. And if we can just survive
April Fools’ Day, the winter will be
over and spring will have sprung
once more.
You see, farming is not just a
business. It is a unique way of
living. Any way you look at it, it’s
hard to beat.
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