Weekend Work Days

Saturdays are always work days on the farm. It is a time for us to work on projects that might otherwise be left undone.

Today, I spent the day cutting firewood. We have a tree, rather large one, along with several smaller ones that blew down in a storm last year. I had managed to cut some of it up, but never really got the rest of it done. Today I went at it and was able to get a good chunk of it cut. There is still quite a bit of it left, though. I stopped for a bit "to think" about what I was going to do. I had come across a section of the tree that had a large patch of poison ivy that had grown up around it. There was no way I was going near that stuff again. I had visions of my earlier experience with the stuff this year. Somehow Staph infection from poison ivy does not float my boat.

I decided to get on the other side of it and cut the tree there and pull the log out to cut up. That seems to have worked. My worst fear was hitting the poison ivy with the chainsaw, casting the oils into the air, landing them on my skin. No way.

My youngest daughter, Elisabeth, joined me out there, asking if there was anything she could do to help. You can't turn down such initiative and diligence, so I put her to work throwing twigs and small branches onto the brush pile. We had a great time of fellowship. She played, mostly, but she was made to feel a part of my world and a working part of the family. She went in and came back with a magnifying glass, a flashlight and some odds and ends. With all this in hand, she set in to find bugs. She is only 6 and she jabbers like an angry squirrel, about nothing. But she felt big with her daddy, and that is priceless. I am thankful for the strings that we tied together today.

I then milked the cow, about 4:00 pm, and took off for the woods to enjoy some solace with a bow in one hand and gear in the other, to find those elusive deer. To my dismay, I kicked up three of them going in. I knew I wouldn't see another deer the rest of the night. I didn't. But the quiet and peace of the forest is unbeatable, in my book, and well worth the trip out. I always enjoy watching the squirrels fight and chase each other. I did find a better tree to sit in with better cover, right in the path of the traveling spectres we call Whitetail deer. Lord willing, it will pay off in a few days with some meat in the freezer.

In between cutting wood and hunting, we had a Fertrell customer stop by to pick up her order. I always enjoy talking with our Fertrell customers, we tend to be like minded. We had a nice visit and built on our relationship and looking forward, already, to next year's growing season and grass farming. She also has a large order in for broilers and we look forward to the upcoming butcher day so she can freeze some meat.

That is what we did on our farm today. I know, pretty boring, but it is the life we love. Homesteading is more than just a way to live. It is a way to survive in a changing world and economy. It becomes a part of you, almost as if it was the way we were meant to be, which it is, by the way. I guess what I mean is that a connection builds between you and the land and livestock God gave you and you come to love it.

Thanks for stopping by.