Life on the Farm

We spent the weekend with my parents on their farm. They have about 400 acres and lots of cows. I know nothing about cows and there is another line under it-I don't intend on learning anything about cows.

My parents bought about 300 acres after I was married so I didn't grow up there. I grew up in the city-enough said. They have lived on this farm for 24 years. They have taken overgrown, neglected land and have made it into one of the best places in their area. They also own another 100 acres that was originally a part of the land that my great grandparents homesteaded. It is not as nostalgic as it sounds.

My great grandparents came from Tennessee ages ago and homesteaded 400 acres. When they died they left their acreage to their 3 daughters. The only one of the 3 to marry was my grandmother. Upon her death her share went to her 4 children-one of which was my father. When the other 2 daugthers died they left their share to the same 4 children so it was divided so that each child received 100 acres. This land has been in the family for over 100 years. During the time it was owned by my great aunts it was rented out and farmed. It is still farmed somewhat. Some of it is used for hay, some is rented out for corn, and some is lived on.

Farming is hard work. There is constantly something broken and needs to be fixed. The cows don't always have calves the easy way and require assistance-usually in the middle of the night or when it is raining cats and dogs. To have healthy cows you must take care of them and do preventive medicine-just like children. There is also the requirement to have enough hay to feed through the winter. Last year that was easy because there was so much rain. This year there has been enough rain to make enough hay, just not enough to have an overabundance of hay.

My 2 brothers and I have the same opinion of farming. It is a great place to go for the weekend but why would we want to tie our livelihood to it? The beef market is as unpredictable as the weather. I enjoy knowing that there is a paycheck coming in regularly.

The best thing about the farm is the sunsets. My brother calls them $1000 sunsets. Hopefully the next time I go down there I can get a picture of one and post it.

Liz