As we began our daily chores in the relative cool of the first morning light, I thought again (as I often do) about what a gift it is to work with one’s spouse in the same place that one lives. I understand that for many people this might be more of a curse than a gift, but for truly getting to know someone (and at times truly testing the strength of your marriage) there is no equal in my opinion and I wouldn’t change a thing about it !
I spent most of my adult life, including most of my first marriage, working away from home in addition to working and farming at home. I can tell you from experience that this can quickly turn into a nightmare if you and your spouse don’t share the same end goals, but it sure works a treat when you DO share the same end goals ! It is only recently that I have transitioned from two full time jobs down to being here on the farm full time (which I count as one full time job!). It’s very nice to be able to take the time to stop and smell the roses occasionally instead of rushing past them in an endlessly futile quest to try and get it all done. If you have noticed more of my posts on this blog of late, I don’t mind sharing that this is one of my attempts at allowing Melissa an opportunity to take a little time for herself. After writing nearly 300 posts and keeping up with our many clients every day along with shouldering the lion’s share of the daily farm work for a very long time, I’d say she deserves it.
As Melissa will readily share with anyone who will listen (and as she warns everyone who passes the threshold of our home), I am not much for maintaining order inside our house. She half jokingly says that after years of living with me, I have broken her. I’ll admit there is a lot of truth in that statement. In spite of my quirky household habits, I don’t run my farm that way at all. I was raised among good farmers and those of them who read this blog will be pleased to know some of their lessons actually did rub off on me ! As a general rule I’m not very much fun to be around and I don’t have much time to stop and visit unless my animals are happy, my fences are fixed, my weeds are controlled (no more buttercups !), my pastures are fertilized and kept appropriately mowed, my buildings are trim and painted, and my equipment is maintained. Thankfully, most of the items on my list have been tended to over the past few weeks, and I am about to turn my full attention toward our new farm ! Hope everyone is having a great Sunday !
(post written by Jason – again!)
Mr. O’Reilly standing outside one of the sheds
Thomas
Trigger grazing in front of the pond
Tony and Hemi
Apollo and Ivan
Winston
Faune and Sebastian; Faune is a Selle Francais and just shy of 18 hands and Sebi is a Connemara/Irish Draught cross and is about 15.2 hands. They make a cute pair!
Lucky and Lightening
Hemi, Chance and Leo just hanging out
Lucky, Clay and Silky