Not for everyone…

I am slowly realizing that as much as I love the life here at de Good Life Farm, this life is not for everyone! In fact, there was a time I’m sure I would have said “manure on my boots, hands, clothes, even FACE…etc.? NO WAY!” However, here I am and loving every wonderful day, whether hard or not-so-hard (there are no easy days)!

For instance, we are in Ohio…and the last two weekends in a row we have been pummeled with snow storms. That changes everything about my day from how many layers of clothing I wear to the barn and how many socks I have on inside my boots to how long it takes me to complete my rounds to each of the animals checking on their needs at that moment. The dip into arctic temperatures meant that on those days I went out every hour or two to break up the ice in the water troughs with a shovel so that they could drink…calves, cows, chickens and livestock guardian dog. That takes some serious time and effort.I hate being cold- maybe more than most things, but I can deal with the cold once I am in the barn taking care of the girls. , back to my point: It’s not easy. It’s not for everyone.

But, just as is true with most hard things in life, there are perks…joys…things to make me smile and laugh amidst the hard work. Just yesterday I tried my hand at making my first video of farm life…and yes! I will be uploading it. (But don’t laugh! It’s very rough!) And in the midst of the videoing, the animals were just being themselves: cute, acting like they always act, completely unaware that they were being videoed. I’ll give you some examples:

The first place I visited on my video tour was the calves shelter where Oreo and Truffle reside. They were lying in the hay chewing their cud and seeming quite contented. As soon as I went into the shelter, Truffle got up and wanted to get some loving and find out what I was doing. The video didn’t capture the time I was giving Oreo loving, so he didn’t feel the need to get up and solicit my attention.

From there, I went to the barn and opened the window to Mocha’s stall. As I could have predicted, she played hard-to-get by acting uninterested in my attention until I was ready to turn away and visit Caramel and her calf. Then, true to form, she climbed up on the hay pile and stuck her big head through the window for some attention. She is a very fickle diva-cow sometimes but she is so lovable I can hardly be upset with her!

Next, I visited the stall where Caramel stays with her three month old calf, Snickers. They were both eating which didn’t surprise me. Caramel has been putting away a lot of hay and Snickers is following in her mama’s hoof-prints. Snickers turned to me for some attention but in actuality she is so coyly looking for an opportunity to escape the stall…which she has done several times! Little Stinker should be her name!

I crossed the barn to Jersey’s stall to give her a little visit but all she wanted to do was bypass me to try and get outside. This time of year is very difficult for the cows as it has been weeks since they could safely be outside. They are all itching to get out.

Next, I gave a little tour of Odin’s “straw igloo” who wasn’t happy I had brought along a shovel for the trek. He seemed afraid of the shovel, and although I dot understand why, it served the purpose of keeping me from getting tangled in his cord.

I walked past Odin to his charges, the chickens. Although except for the days of the horizontal snow from the east, we have tried to open their coop door for some fresh air, however, they are not fond of snow or ice on their feet, so they haven’t ventured out much. They were talky as I showed them off.

After the chickens, I trekked across a snow drift to the corral where Hazel, Mocha’s nearly four-month-old calf awaits the call that it’s time to be reunited with her mama. As I entered the gate, I took a look at her and had to stop the video and switch to still mode…she looked so adorable! She had put her face full in the drift behind the shelter and it was all white…with just her little dark eyes showing through! She is so cute and as the video shows, she is always ready to romp and play!

Although there was no huge thing to shout out about, there is joy in the journey. Manure (regardless of the season), snow and ice of winter or heat and flies of summer…it’s all part of the journey here at the farm and I love it.

I know that I am so fortunate to be living a life in which I find joy, pleasure and contentment. It is my dream-come-true. I have known many people who searched their whole lives trying to find what they loved doing, and my loves are literally in my back yard!