Why They're Called Chores

This past weekend, Tammy and I went from a busy week to a different kind of busy.  There were some important farm things that were reaching a critical tipping point - and we finally gave ourselves the time to attempt to address them.  

The biggest issue?  Things REALLY start growing in July.  Especially weeds and the grass around our electric netting.  Obviously, if we let the weeds have their way, our crops aren't going to do all that well.  And, if we don't deal with the tall stuff around the netting, the fences won't do a thing to prevent the rabbits and the annoying deer from harvesting more than their allotment.

So, we spent hours on Saturday in our Southwest plot weeding the rows that were getting out of hand.  And, while we were at it, we took the fence down and cleaned things up before putting the fence back up.

There was a lot of crawling.  These were the types of weeds that mechanical help wasn't going to do much for us, so we hand-pulled.  Then, we picked those weeds up and loaded them into Rosie's bucket (Rosie is our tractor) so they could compost.  There was a lot of effort put into the process during a day that turned out to be quite sunny and a bit warm if you're on black soil in the middle of the day.

Once we completed the work, I don't think anyone would blame us if we found a shady spot and spent the rest of the day sipping lemonade and iced tea and chatted about pleasant things.

But that's not how things work on a farm.  You see, you still have to put all of your tools away and then you have to do all of the farm chores.  There is a reason they are called chores.

You've got to do them even when you're very tired.  Or when you're quite ill.  Or EVEN when you just don't feel like doing them.

It doesn't matter if you've worked hard all day long.  It doesn't matter if you've been away for most of the day.  The birds still need to be put away each day and eggs need collecting.  The high tunnels need to be inspected and closed up.  And the laying hens don't really care if you've already had enough of the day.  They'll still take their sweet time finding their way to their sleeping perches in the Summer Cottage out by Crazy Maurice.

Now, the good, or bad, news - depending on how you look at it - is that there were two days this past weekend.  Sunday was cloudier, cooler and it had some light rain.  The rain wasn't heavy enough to stop the outdoor work, but it sure did make a person damp a bit faster than some good, old-fashioned sweat.  

In my case, I was able to accomplish the task of sweating and getting rained on at the same time.  

Multi-talented, I am.

First, on Sunday morning, we had to do what?  Yes, you got it.  We had to do farm chores.  Because, it doesn't matter if you woke up with a serious case of the "stiff and sore."  The birds still need water and food.  You've got to let them out, too.  The Farm Supervisory Crew demand their food, water, and an appropriate amount of skritching.  Plants need water and high tunnels need to be opened before the day gets too warm.

After that, I spent time working on Freyr field, where we had another electric fence that needed to be cleaned up and reset.  Tammy worked on harvesting green beans (and she succeeded, bringing in over 30 pounds of green bean goodness).  When it got too wet outside, we both worked on weeding in Valhalla, our larger high tunnel.  If anything, we put in a longer day on Sunday than we did on Saturday.

Then, at the end of the day we had to do what?

Yes, that's right.  Farm chores.

For the most part, we don't mind doing them.  But, there are days.  Like Sunday.  Where you really wonder how you're going to get up and go do them.  This is especially true if you've made the mistake of sitting down to eat some food.  All the momentum gone - but you still have to find enough to complete the day and check "farm chores" off of the to do list.