Little Things

11/6/98
Sure, homesteading is hard work, there’s no doubt 
about it. There is milking to do, water to haul, feed 
sacks to lift and pour... hay to pitch, hogs to butcher,  
pens to clean when you can’t find the door. I could 
go on but would ruin my great poetry :)

I was once in good shape from working as a 
capenter, sometimes ten and twelve hour days. An 
automobile accident almost put an end to that career. 
It did stop me from spending those long days away 
from home. I still put in some long hours and often 
overdo it but life is somehow easier now that my first 
priority is the homestead rather than money or 
building a business.

I never had time for the little things in life that ease 
the pain of sore muscles and revive a weary mind. I 
now watch for the first spring robin, listen to the rain 
on the barn roof, smell the first cutting of hay, and 
feel the softness of a newborn calf.

Barn cats are elusive critters. The mother knows that 
the survival of her litter depends on their quick 
reflexes and wariness of everything that moves.  To 
earn the trust of a barn kitten takes patience. One of 
my most satisfying moments came when Whitey, a 
white and gray tiger sat beside me while the milkers 
were running. I slowly reached out and gently 
scratched her behind the ears. She jumped up from 
her squat to run but instead turned to face me, I 
stopped petting her but kept my hand nearby. She 
sniffed my hand then sat back down. I smiled to 
myself and stroked her fur, the softest coat of any cat 
in the barn. I heard just a faint purr, she didn't want 
me to know she liked it. Whitey now waits near the 
path and follows me to the barn twice a day.

I gave the pig a basketball to play with. She is 
getting good enough for the NBA. When I start my 
morning chores Sally will be laying in her bed of 
hay. As soon as I plug in the vacumn pump for the 
milkers, she'll begin her routine of snorting and 
squeeling while pushing that ball around the pen 
until she makes a basket in her feed trough. It always 
makes me smile, and I give her a scratching behind 
her ears for a reward. What a way to begin a day!

The rabbits greet me in the morning, silent as rabbits 
are, but I can see their excitement when  their cages 
open. The expectant looks and perked ears. When I 
have a slice of bread for them, a favorite treat, the 
bunnies will lean far out of their cages to try to steal 
the first bite. I can bend down to their level and rub 
noses with them with no one to tell me I'm a fool.  

Some of the little things in a homesteader's life can't 
be described by only five senses. Worn out from 
forking the garden, I can sit and stare at the neat beds 
I've created until the sun is long gone. A true farmer 
must feel the same as he rests on his tractor at the end 
of a newly plowed field. There is the sense of 
accomplishment. Some call it pride but I believe it's 
more than that, it's a feeling of being in touch with 
the earth.