Welcome to 2024!
I am sure this year will bring some new things - including the possibility of a new approach for the farm blog. But, before we turn the page on 2023, I thought I would share my selections for the best blogs of 2023.
In order to qualify, I removed Postal History Sunday from the list (they got their own post) and I also removed Faux Real Stories because I've been sharing them lately for you to enjoy. I also removed from consideration any "throwback" post - even if I practically rewrote some of them in their entirety.
Given the fact that there were well over 300 entries in the past year, there was still plenty of decent writing to share. In other words, it was still difficult to limit myself to eleven! But first, we get to share the blog that got the most readership (not counting those taken out of consideration by my restrictions above)!
After each link, I grabbed a quote from each blog. Maybe you can choose what seems interesting to you to read. Or you can just read this blog and be amused by the fact that I feel like I need to provide a "best of" list for 2023 in the first place!
People's Choice:
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.
Author's Choice:
And now we come to my choices. I did not spend much time on ordering them - but I did agonize over the process of cutting things down to just eleven. I did okay until I got down to fifteen - but it was pretty difficult to choose at that point. That's good news for you, because I didn't have to stretch to find the good stuff!
Look before you leap. Or, maybe you prefer "look for thorns before
you grab the stem of a rose?" Whatever. It's your brain, so you can
play with the idioms that reside there all you would like.
Mythology: The Open Spot on the Calendar
I have selective amnesia when it comes to some of the busiest and most stressful times of year. Perhaps there is a small voice in the back of my mind that is yelling in its tiny voice, "NO! Not then!" But, the open spot on the calendar causes the rest of the crowd to roar in appreciation of the fact that a mutual time has been located and agreed upon.
That poor little voice knows better, but how can it get the attention of the decision making process when that process is too busy acknowledging the applause? OPEN SPOT... OPEN SPOT... OPEN SPOT... YAY!
Many birds change into their mating plumage by going through a molt (growing a new set of feathers). According to All About Birds, the Cornell Lab website, Snow Buntings rub their heads and bellies against the snow to wear off the darker coloration on the tips of their feathers, exposing the lighter, white parts.
Ah, the things we do for love.
Rustic or a Dump - at Least it's Authentic
Part of the problem is that not everyone can tell the difference between useful items that are there for a reason and an honest to goodness mess. You can probably guess that the rolled up hose in a cart with a couple of feeder covers is probably there for a reason (stored for the Winter). But, they also probably don't look all that attractive either. There's a pile of metal that is waiting for the next metal drive - and that's not something you walk someone by when you want them to think your place is beautiful either.
I will also hazard a guess that chicken transport crates are not likely to be most people's choice of decorative items either.
Only a very select portion of the population in our world today can fully relate to the idea of moving hens from one location to another on a small (or even larger) farm. And that's why I often find myself mumbling words like "oh, nothing much," when someone makes the polite inquiry about what I did last night. Or, I simply make the bold statement, "We moved the hens from one location to another one." People around the cooler can take it at face value or not.
It's just that this approach runs the risk that one of those folks are going to ask me to explain what I mean by that. And that is when the fun begins.
Then there was the Eucalyptipath... Ok, it was a row of Eucalyptus trees (with a few other trees mixed in). After a stretch of sun that made us both feel a little bit uncomfortable, the shade from the trees was welcome. And, to top it off, we had a bit of a breeze moving the leaves around.
I think the only thing about this part of the path that was a negative was the sheer number of roots IN the path. I would have liked to have walked with my head up, smiling the whole way, to enjoy the sight of the filtered sunlight and the feel of the breeze on my face. Instead, we had to keep our eyes on our feet most of the time so our faces did not get a close up of the ground and those same roots.
Today's snirt is on our farm, in part, because of the words of Earl Butz, Secretary of Agriculture for Richard M. Nixon. Butz called upon farmers in the United States to plant from fencerow to fencerow and encouraged individual farms to get big or get out. I should be clear here, however, that his declaration in 1973 did not mark the beginning of snirt in Iowa and other locations. It merely emphasized a style of agriculture that has little regard for diversity and natural processes - a style that was already gaining steam, especially after World War II.
Mother Nature: "How about a nice BIG patch of goldenrod where you planted those iris."
Farmer Rob: "Um... I would rather that go over..."
Mother Nature: "And while we're at it, some thousand-flower aster would be great next to it."
Farmer Rob: "But that's where I put the iris and day lilies! Could we just..."
Mother Nature: " And that cherry tree.... it needs some trimming."
Sweet Marsh - A Disturbing Walk There Again
We continued down the path and noted that there was a turtle crossing it a few hundred feet ahead of us. This Painted Turtle really wanted nothing to do with us either, but it couldn't swim or fly away. Instead, it simply pulled into its portable home and put out the unwelcome mat.
Of course, being the inconsiderate humans we are, we had to stop and observe this poor creature for longer than it wanted. To be fair, our simple passage was already considered enough of an inconvenience. But it seemed like it had a pretty nice home - and we told it so.
Of course, we got no reply and we eventually gave up having a conversation as a bad job.
While a branch may not fully appreciate or understand the function and form of a leaf, it still needs to recognize its value and respect it. The roots will never see a leaf, but it takes its nourishment through photosynthesis while the leaf is part of the plant or as a result of decomposition after the leaf falls and is broken down into useful nutrients.
In this world, you can do everything as best as you are able with the knowledge that you have at your disposal. You can seek out qualified opinions and give yourself time to make the best decisions. You can do everything as right as you possibly can.
And you can still have a result that is not a good one - even when you can't possibly see how you could have done much better.
This is why it is so important to give each other - and ourselves - grace.
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Thank you for reading and considering my words. Here's hoping we can find kindness and beauty in 2024.
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