No Fluff, No Cover-ups, Just the Raw Story of Farming

 A lot of farmers, myself included, love to paint the beautiful picture of our day-to-day lives with gorgeous photography of adorable pigs running around their pen, chickens happily gobbling up fresh vegetables, honey bees hurriedly flying with golden pollen tucked into their back legs and everything in the barns in its place. 

Yes, this is the picture that we love to share with those who do not share our agriculture lifestyle. It's our favorite part of owning and living on a farm. That being said, there begs a question. 

Why not tell the true story? 

The story of waking one morning to find that eight of the eleven bantam chickens that were in a contained coop, were slaughtered by stray dogs. The story of losing money each day that a barn cat lived in the large chicken coop and greedily devoured eggs as fast as they were laid. Perhaps the story about the time that a newly hatched chick didn't make it into the coop with its mother one night and succumbed to the summer night air which registered around 75°F. 

How about the six year span of attempting to grow a producing garden only to be disappointed at the end of each season when the crab grass and sand burrs took over - choking out any hope for a harvest. 

Yes, there have been far too many losses to count since starting this farming adventure 7 years ago. 

The losses acknowledged, there have also been immeasurable gains on the farm. Baby chicks hatched from loving mother hens, comedic pot belly pigs, that have more personality than any dog, happily smacking on discarded fall decor pumpkins, the amazement of watching a former tilled field heal and thrive from plants sown by the plethora of birds that inhabit the area. 

This blog, I hope, will give folks a look into the other side of farming. The raw side
that doesn't always paint the rosy picture. It is my sincere hope that other farmers out there will read and realize that they're not alone in victories and struggles. 

For those who don't have the farming background and just enjoy reading what happens on the other side of the gate, I hope that you will see the struggles and realize that this life that we have chosen for ourselves is not an easy one, but it is one that we dearly love. The crowing of the roosters in the morning, the soft low pitch grunts of the pigs and the hum of thousands of honey bees all sing to the symphonies of beautiful sunrises and sunsets. 

As always, if you have any comments or questions in following along - please feel free to reach out to me. You can also follow along on the farm's Facebook page here.