Silo by @m_r_french Sometimes during the day in and day out of farm life I over look the simple things. Between feeding, moving and checking the animals, we are also planning for the coming year, trying to figure where to graze next, and balance family life. That is only touching on a few areas of our life on the farm. I think we all do it no matter what we do. Life gets fast, we get in a hurry, frustration sets in, and we miss the simple joys of life.
I realized this today while checking my sheep. Sometimes they can be a little stubborn. Actually, they can be really stubborn (likely, much like their owner). While trying to patiently wait on them to make their way into the barn, I watched two lambs play king of the mountain on a bail of hay. It was something simple I know, just stopping for a moment and watching them play without a care in the world, but it was a stress reliever for me today. We need those simple things sometimes.
Its not always like that, I wish it was. Sometimes our animals will push me to the brink of insanity. Like last year when I spent three days chasing these same sheep, that I was watching today while I decompressed, through the woods. Or the day I spent trying to get three hogs to cross a creek, the same creek that another group of hogs crossed with no problem. But, then there are the times I get to watch the hogs play some sort of childish tag with each other. One will snap and bite at the other and then run as fast as they can to the other end of the lot where they will repeat the game. They redeem themselves in that moment and I decide to keep them around.
The simple things are what I love about our farm. Those times when I can stop and decompress for a moment and watch the lambs play on a bail of hay. The days of hard work building fence with my dad or the afternoon I stopped to get a drink and watch a redheaded woodpecker do his work are what make life on our farm enjoyable.
But, these are the moments that make life enjoyable. We all experience them. The question is, do we relish them? Do we stop long enough to drink them in? Yes, farm life is different and I experience things that many will live their whole lives and never experience. Many of you have had experiences and taken in moments in life that I never will. My advice is, enjoy them. Drink those moments in. Because it is those simple things that make life great.
So what are your "simple things" in life. I would love to hear about them in the comments.
I realized this today while checking my sheep. Sometimes they can be a little stubborn. Actually, they can be really stubborn (likely, much like their owner). While trying to patiently wait on them to make their way into the barn, I watched two lambs play king of the mountain on a bail of hay. It was something simple I know, just stopping for a moment and watching them play without a care in the world, but it was a stress reliever for me today. We need those simple things sometimes.
Its not always like that, I wish it was. Sometimes our animals will push me to the brink of insanity. Like last year when I spent three days chasing these same sheep, that I was watching today while I decompressed, through the woods. Or the day I spent trying to get three hogs to cross a creek, the same creek that another group of hogs crossed with no problem. But, then there are the times I get to watch the hogs play some sort of childish tag with each other. One will snap and bite at the other and then run as fast as they can to the other end of the lot where they will repeat the game. They redeem themselves in that moment and I decide to keep them around.
The simple things are what I love about our farm. Those times when I can stop and decompress for a moment and watch the lambs play on a bail of hay. The days of hard work building fence with my dad or the afternoon I stopped to get a drink and watch a redheaded woodpecker do his work are what make life on our farm enjoyable.
But, these are the moments that make life enjoyable. We all experience them. The question is, do we relish them? Do we stop long enough to drink them in? Yes, farm life is different and I experience things that many will live their whole lives and never experience. Many of you have had experiences and taken in moments in life that I never will. My advice is, enjoy them. Drink those moments in. Because it is those simple things that make life great.
So what are your "simple things" in life. I would love to hear about them in the comments.
