I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
“We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,”
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
– Oliver Herford
We are 60+ days past December and I’m starting to hear birds sing. We are nearer to spring! As lovely as this thought may be, we must go through the melting and the mud before we get to the lovely spring days we all love.
Our farm is just gross right now! I’m not sure who coined the phrase factory farm, but I can assure you…this is not a factory farm: sparking and clean. This is a family farm. And, at times, it is muddy. I hope these pictures are different than what you might expect on a modern factory farm. These photos are the reality of today’s family farms. It just happens to be a not so pretty season.
The cats hate it. 
Roxy loves it.
The calves are curious. 
And, John…well…this is his least favorite three weeks of the year. 
I can’t say I blame him. 
We had a few sunny days this week. Which meant the monster snow drift in front of our house was melting.
Anyway…you get the point. MUD & MELTING EVERYWHERE! 
While sunsets, green pastures and many of the pastoral views of farm life are inspiring – mud is not. It is depressing and dirty. The back porch smells like the barn, full of sticky boots and damp clothes. These are the times when I turn to my bookshelves…looking for some cleaner inspiration.
“Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: “Love. They must do it for love.”
Farmers farm for the love of farming.
They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors.
They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live.
If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the measure of independence that farm life can still provide.
I have an idea that a lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live at least a part of their lives without a boss.”
— Wendell Berry, Bringing it to the Table: Writings on Food and Farming
So true the mud is the pits but it brings green grass so for that reason we love it! sortof:)
I feel your pain! The mud and mess left by the melting snow and warmer temperatures is a big pain in the butt! It’s been too warm for my horse to wear his sheet when he’s turned out to pasture so he comes in all muddy and gross. The pastures are a wreck and I fear getting the Gator stuck when I’m hauling hay! I hardly complained about the snow we got this winter, but the mud… I WILL complain about that! Cheers to a warmer, dryer weekend!
We have no grass in our yard right now because we just built a new house and everything is melting and is now a muddy mess. Our poor puppy wants to go out and play but I can’t bring myself to let her very often because everytime she wants to come back inside I have to practically give her a bath-and she hates those so you can about imagine how that goes. Love your posts about life on the farm. I grew up on a farm down by Garretson, SD(NE of Sioux Falls) and now I have moved to Webster, SD to start a farm with my husband near his family! Fariming is definitely a passion and you have to love it otherwise I don’t really know what would make you want to spend all that time and effort on it!