City Life to Farmer's Wife: SEASONS ON THE FARM

Winter on the Farm

I am finding that as I get older my thoughts, attitudes and beliefs have made and continue to
make many shifts. I suppose maturity is a contributing factor and reality is another component. This past few weeks filled with final goodbyes has made me very reflective. Being on the farm helps me to better accept changes. Having the ability to expose our grandchildren to the ups and downs of farm life offers all of us a tremendous opportunity to learn and discuss life altering lessons. Life on the farm there is nothing carved in stone, nothing can be done exactly the same way with the same results because of the vast amount of varying factors. It teaches you to think on your feet, to make decisions based on the best information in that moment, to celebrate little and big successes, to mourn losses while continuing to move forward and to find God and Love in every tree, blade of grass, cow, calf, horse… even in the weeds. When you are able to recognize the Divine in everything creates an environment of acceptance and is an aid to move through the challenges and into the next season.

I recall one of my first trips to check cows with Randy; it was a very cold day. The weather was unpredictable, it didn’t know whether to snow, sleet or rain. The wind seemed to be blowing from the four corners of the earth while it appeared that you could reach up and touch the heavy clouds filled with moisture and decreasing visibility. I had been a city girl for well over 25 years so I really wasn’t prepared or appropriately attired for checking cows in such inclement weather. It was calving season and one of the Momma Cows had found herself in a most compromising position while in the middle of a breech birth. I knew about breech births… was one, had one, seen a lot of them but they were humans! A “Footling Breech” when a calf’s leg is presented hanging out of a cow while she is stuck in mud and about to fall in the pond presents an entirely different picture than that of a woman in labor, laying in a sanitary room with the option of a disinfected operating room steps away ready to resolve the situation quickly and safely. There was a whole lot of pulling, pleading, pushing and praying going on in the midst of the rain, sleet and snow. I was so wet that I could hardly keep my behind on the four wheeler while Randy pulled her with the truck I helped urge Momma to get to the security of the barn lot to be ready for Dr. Stan’s arrival. That day I learned that a log chain is a good thing if you are a cow in trouble. Randy was worried that I would consider it a ruthless act to do to a poor struggling mother. My training and life skills had taught me that there were times that you have to move as quickly as possible in the best interest of mother and baby and this was certainly one of these times. We had been working for what felt like hours and I was encouraged that we had her somewhere secure where she could be helped.

Spring on the Farm

Dr. Stan arrived and was able to save the mother but the calf was lifeless. The guys were concerned about my reaction to the dead calf being torn from the mother, but at this point I was worried about Momma Cow, her health and her loss. This was not an occasion for Anita to have a pity party for being an observer of life cycles.

There are other things on the farm to grieve, such as a beautiful crop that is full of hope and dreams only to be lost before it’s time to an early frost. We and other farmers in our area have struggled this year with ponds drying up, grass burning up, low hay production; the list could go on and on. The over bearing heat this past summer has taken a toll on almost everything farm related including the farmers. These are things you cannot plan for and dare not dream, yet they are things that you have to learn to move forward through, change plans, alter plans, maybe change plans again; each time acting on the best information that you have at that very moment.

Farm life teaches us that there are animals that appear to be problem predators when actually they are just there to clean up what man or nature has left behind. Every animal has their job and rarely is it to infringe on our world. With their own calling, the vultures, hawks and coyotes are part of this Divine continued existence.

When we discovered that one of the horses had become blind it was a sad and confusing moment for all of us, including the horses. We didn’t know what would be right for “Home Dawg.” We took each day at a time and carefully watched his progress. We eventually realized that he was learning to move forward through his crisis. There were times he struggled, lost some weight, and became scared and frustrated, but he kept moving forward. “Home Dawg” learned to work through his challenges and seemed to come to a point of acceptance of his unfortunate disability. He has gained his weight back and has learned how to follow his mom, “Grandma,” around by sound, scent and touch to find water and safety. There has been challenges, scrapes, bumps and I am sure a few horse tears but he has remained persistent and has conformed to what life is for him today.

On days when Randy and I are sitting in the pasture, surrounded by stillness and tranquility, I am sure I can hear the laughter of the grandchildren skipping rocks, feeding apples to horses, pretending to be a cow so they can get close enough to the cows to scratch their heads, playing “King of the Mountain” on stacks of straw or giggling as they race off on the four wheeler to check cows with Papa. They leave an indelible imprint of laughter and joy that envelops us while we wait for a new season and their next visit. Thank goodness for the seasons for us to “embrace, to dance, to love, to speak,” remembering to honor these moments during our days are as important as honoring those that teach us the more somber life lessons.

Farm life brings us so many alterations as does our everyday life. I know that for every action there is a reaction and I need to believe there is also a purpose. This has been a month of alterations for us, our family and friends. We have said good bye to an amazing woman and man who had long lives full of accomplishments, love and legacies as well as a young man who was taken before any of us were ready to let him go. But like the emergency with the cow, it is not a time for me to have a pity party for myself or those of us left behind, but to celebrate each life, brought to us at just the right time and returned home right on schedule. We have to learn to roll with it when the “Divine’s” schedule is not compatible with our.

No truer, more consoling words have ever been written to help us grieve; move through the pain and to keep moving forward than

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To everything there is a season,

a time for every purpose under the sun.

A time to be born and a time to die;

a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

a time to kill and a time to heal ...

a time to weep and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn and a time to dance ...

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to lose and a time to seek;

a time to rend and a time to sew;

a time to keep silent and a time to speak;

a time to love and a time to hate;

a time for war and a time for peace.

The wondrous part of Farm Life is “….a time to laugh” “….a time to pluck that which is planted.” Reaping what has been sown is a celebration even if a condition beyond our control creates it into “a time to weep.” To sincerely appreciate and enjoy Farm Life is to learn the lessons that are available to us and taking the time to rejoice in each day’s offerings, accomplishments and lessons.

Summer on the Farm

For every season of our life on and off of the farm, we rest in the knowledge that for “everything there is a season,” a time and a purpose that puts our lives in balance with the Divine. During these cold months the grass appears to be dead and gone; but actually it is lying dormant, hidden under the earth, waiting for just the right moment in time and season for its first shoots to appear as it embarks on the job of yielding a new crop to nurture the livestock.

Like the grass our lives are waiting for the right season to spring forth into a new and eternal life with all those who have gone ahead of us to prepare celebrations on behalf of our arrival. This week has been such a reminder to me that all we have is the day we are given, no promises or known contracts. It is our responsibility to fill those days with love, generosity of heart and spirit, to be of service to others, to protect those who can’t care for themselves and love others, especially those that feel the most unlovable.

Let’s make hay while the sun shines and rest in the knowledge that our life that we witness today is just a nanosecond in time laying wait for our magnificent New Season to arrive.