A Bit of Philosophy

I don’t consider myself to be a fair-weather farmer.

The animals need tending no matter what season or weather or my desire to watch Judge Judy or wanting to bake cookies. The animals come first. It is not a 24 hour a day job, there are large chunks of each day that give me ample time for play and down-time.

It is difficult for me to travel very far from the animals. Sitting in a motel room just doesn’t have the same appeal as sitting on a hay bale in the barn.

When I am asked what I do for fun, I have to consider who is asking. Many people would not understand that 4 hours crawling around in the dirt pulling little weeds is fun. Or to gear up in a wet-suit to stomp around on cold sand while digging holes to harvest clams. Or spending the day volunteering to set up a native plant sale for the local woodland association. Or sitting at a booth at the rock and gem show to sell raffle tickets. Or trekking through the tall forest trees and thick underbrush searching for fungus.

Many times my fun is a lot of work, much more work than taking care of the animals.

There is an old saying about working hard and playing hard. I have always found that playing harder than you work makes you more grateful for the work that you have to do. Like needing to take a vacation from your vacation because it is just too exhausting.