Anyone else 'going at it alone'?

[frustratedearthmother]

There are few in NC where you buy a parcel, build and then a "common" area has pasture, barns, greenhouses, meeting lodge and some even have rentable quest housing -- The idea is that you have "your own" land and then can use the common areas, even have help with things...feeding animals if gone, etc. A group dinner, group canning sessions, etc.

That's a neat concept - but could well be fraught with problems depending on different personalities. But, it would be really cool to make something like that work.

 

[tortoise]

Jumping back to the original question, DH is mostly doing this all alone. I work in the garden when I can, and several years in a row that mean *nothing*. I don't do barn chores in winter - I'm too prone to cold stress injuries, it's not worth it. I don't do any farm chores in winter!

I do keep track of sheep records and decide breedings, sales, purchases. I schedule shearing. I buy garden seed. I do the small cuts of butchering and wrapping.

DH does all the mowing, brush hogging, snow plowing, tree planting, fence work, animal feeding, vaccines/ear tags/veterinary, hay buying/unloading/stacking, loading and hauling animals to auction, everything involving a tractor, everything involving a trailer, killing/skinning/gutting/hanging/primals/grinding.

I will not be able to stay here if he dies before me. :/

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I will not be able to stay here if he dies before me. :/

All that activity will keep him healthy. But, there's something to be said for the one that does all the planning - for me planning is stressful!

 

[canesisters]

I was searching the forum for a recipe for peach ice cream and for some reason it put me on this thread...???
Anyway I thought that I would update. I had company this weekend. Non-farming company. Out of state family that I love dearly but who find all things 'farmy' to be dirty and gross... which means that I've been working my daily farm goings on in between eating out 3 meals a day. Straining milk and putting into the fridge (WITH the FOOD ), skimming cream into jars for the freezer (also WITH FOOD ), cleaning milking supplies (IN the SINK ) and sitting eggs (some with suspicious dark smears on them ) on the COUNTER - IN THE KITCHEN got a bit of side-eye going on between them.
Soooo - long story slightly shortened - it is CLEAR that having just anyone on the farm that is ABLE to help is not in any way actually HELP unless they happen to share my 'farmy' views on life and dirt and early mornings and such.....

 

[Lazy Gardener]

What could you possibly be thinking? To actually bring REAL food into your kitchen and store it with intent to actually eat it???? Why don't you just go to the store and buy your food? Of course it all magically appears in the neat cello packages without ever actually having come in contact with dirt!

 

[canesisters]

 

[sumi]

Of course it all magically appears in the neat cello packages without ever actually having come in contact with dirt!

There are people out there who think no animals were harmed in the process of getting meat into those neat little packages in the supermarket fridges and the milk and dairy too... It's sad that many are so out of touch with our food supply that they are horrified by a glimpse of the reality of farming. And we homesteaders are doing things nicely!

 

[Mini Horses]

between eating out 3 meals a day.

Well, with your "contaminated" kitchen, you HAD to eat at a place with pesticide sprays and rat traps at each corner! Guess you just don't realize the gravity of your healthy life.


To each his own. I like my farm ways.

 

[CrealCritter]

I do have a spouse - but he has health challenges and I tackle the outside chores alone.

Some boat here... That's why I try and create easy ways of doing the chores in case I'm down, I won't kill my wife with excess heavy work.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That's why I try and create easy ways of doing the chores in case I'm down, I won't kill my wife with excess heavy work.

I really need to simplify some of my procedures. I don't mind going the extra mile - but it's not always necessary.