The Farm Life

Once upon a time someone at the Farmers Market said to me, "oh I bet your farm is beautiful. I bet your house is located at the end of a drive with tall sunflowers lining the driveway." It was a defining moment. I almost laughed in her face. I almost cried. I would love for her comment to be true, but it is not. Our house sits about as close as humanly possible to a road that is becoming increasingly busy. I have to wait for cars to pass by before I can cross the road to get to work each morning! I know they wonder about me and my big hat and blue gloves and clipboard---what is she going to do? Sunflowers? If they are here they are in rows in the field to be sold as a cash crop. I tried pretty flowers once. You know the kind you really should water occasionally? Jim ended that experiment when he said, "nothing says welcome to the farm like dead plants". Point taken. IF it isn't on drip irrigation around here it probably isn't going to get watered. And well, I was never very good at flowers anyway. So yes, I am poking fun at my farm life and the reality of it. It is not glamorous and once upon a time I was a bit unhappy with it all, but that was a heart condition and God helped me work that one out. So what is The Farm Life? Best I can tell it is finding everyday joys in the everyday things of imperfection. Because farming is not perfect, not even close. Farming can be heartbreaking. It can be mesmerizing. It can be the best thing in the world today and catastrophe tomorrow. So here is how I do THE FARM LIFE. ONE DAY AT A TIME. For example. Thistles are beautiful purple flowers. Enjoy them today while they are purple but be sure to whack them down before they go to seed. Caterpillars are incredible creatures and metamorphosis is amazing. Just know if this is a caterpillar that will destroy your crops in a heartbeat or one that just wants to munch a bit and cocoon and move on. Be thankful for the helpers in life. Good bugs--lady bugs--lacewings--praying mantis, they are your helping hands on the farm. Little boys, they help with their hands and heal your heart with their smiles. Warning: they can also make you incredibly tired! At the end of the day, farm life isn't much different than any other life I suspect. We all have our ups and downs, goods and bads and we all have to figure out how to see the beautiful ordinary, relish in the amazing everyday and pray through the hard unavoidable--and dream of sunflowers! Have an awesome August. Julie