July is usually a bit of a slower month on the farm and very weather dependent.
The first cutting of hay is done. Second cutting will start around July 4. The hops are all strung, growing over the top wire, and starting to produce ‘burrs’ from which the hop cones develop. We have turned the sheep back out in the hop yard and they have done their job of trimming the bottoms of the bines. This helps with weed pressure and air flow to help reduce disease.
The lambs have all had their booster vaccinations and been shorn. Summer means watching them VERY closely for signs of parasite infestations. Neighboring farms have crops coming up and barley and straw being harvested.
During this time we thought we’d share a reflection on what it means to be a farmer. This was written by Laura Histon, the daughter of our friends Mike and Colleen Histon of Shepherds Manor Creamery (gourmet sheep cheese). Enjoy.
“Thoughts from Laura Histon” (Daughter of Mike and Colleen)
A few things l’ve learned from the farm and honoring a few wise people I know.
- Farm work doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t make you anything. It reveals you.
- There’s gym strong and then there’s farm strong. They’re mutually exclusive.
- The toughest women you’ll ever meet spend their days on a farm.
- “Well that certainly didn’t go as planned,” is one thing.
- Control is a mere illusion. The thought that you have any, at any given time, is utterly false.
- Sometimes sleep is a luxury. And brushing your hair. Trust me, you’ll find muscles that you never knew existed on the human skeleton.
- Their needs come first. In summer heat and coldest winter days. Clean water, clean bed, and plenty of feed. Before you have your first meal, they all eat.
- When you lose one of them, even though you know that day is inevitable, you still feel sadness, angst and emotional pain from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. And it’s a heaviness that lingers even though you must regroup and press on.
- You’ll cry a lot. But you’ll never live more fully. You’ll remain present no matter what because you must. There is no other option.
- You will, at least once, face-plant in the manure pile.
- You’ll find yourself saying things like, “we have maybe twenty minutes of daylight left to git ‘er done” whilst gazing up at a nonspecific place in the sky.
- You’ll become weirdly obsessive about the weather.
- You’ll go out in public wearing filthy clothes and smelling of dirt, sweat and poop. People will look at you sideways and krinkle their noses but you won’t care.
- Your entire day can derail within ten seconds of the rising sun.
- You can wash your coveralls & clothes. They won’t look any cleaner, but they will smell much nicer.
- Farm work is difficult in its simplicity.
- You’ll always notice just how beautiful sunrises and sunsets really are.
- Should you ever have the opportunity to work on a farm, take the chance! You will never do anything more satisfying in your entire life.
#TuesdayThoughts