Farm Sitting

Two weeks ago some very good friends of ours asked me to farm sit while they went to the reenactment of Brice's Crossing. I gladly agreed to do so, and headed over to their place Monday the 8th.

We went over what I had to do chore wise and drove around their property to see what new things they had done since the last time I was there in February. All in all it looked to be a fairly easy job and something I knew my sisters would love to help me with.

Make sure that all automatic waters were on and working, make sure the automatic feeders were full, double check fences to make sure the animals stayed in the correct pen or on the correct side of the fence, and pick all veggies from their 1/2 acre garden that were ripe. No biggie! I would get to drive the mule, bring a sister or two to help and have it knocked out with an hour, something I could easily handle!

But as happens a lot in life I learned that things are easier said than done. lol

On the first day, one of their dogs decided to disappear. We are guessing she went to make a nest for herself since she is due to have puppies any day now. But knowing where she was would have made me feel better. :D But I never saw hide or tail of her, so the owner said to not worry about it either she was fine and there was nothing she would let us do about it or she wasn't and there was nothing I could do about.

Then on day two I had to go get the cows back on the correct side of the fence, it took a few minutes but it was something to show how my life has changed in the past five years.

On day three the cows got out again, I did the same as I did on day two muttering under my breath "Chasing cows? At the age of 15 I KNEW that is what I was going to be doing when I was 20. YEAH RIGHT!!!" A few minutes later I notice that all the cows are in the other neighbor’s back 40 aces! Great!! More cow chasing, I just need to figure out how to handle this!

On day four I went to try and corral some lose cows, the entire time muttering "Good fences make good neighbors" and "Chasing cows?!? Am I dreaming this? Man has my life changed!" I never did get them on the correct side of the fence, but our friends said to leave them there and they would pay the man back.

Then yesterday on my last day of farm sitting I pull into the pasture to check the hogs (who are due any day to have piglets), I look up to see one of the cows lose on the correct property of all things! Not to mention all the other cows are in their pen happily grazing on grass! Am I seeing things? No, they are all their, thanks to their neighbor (I am guessing), I went to check the fence and found that it was fixed.

On my way back the mule decided that dusk would be the perfect time to finish its gas supply. So, there I sat at the back end of 40 acres out of gas and realize I have to go the front end of the 40 acres to get the gas. So, I hike myself up there thankful that I enjoy walking and realizing it would be the perfect time to thank God for mules and the gas that keeps them running. It took about ten minutes, but in those ten minutes it was enough for the sun to completely set and for me to realize that pasture and woods are just as enjoyable in the dark as they are during the day. :D

Other then the cows deciding that they didn't want to be on their side of the fence and the dog disappearing, all went well. We had some of the best strawberries ever, as well as some great farm fresh green beans three nights in a row. :D And on top of that I was able to help some friends while they went on vacation.

Did I learn anything this week, besides the fact that I should check the gas on all vehicles I am driving before I go anywhere? Yes, I learned that we need to make sure our fence is solid if we ever get cattle and that my life has changed drastically in the past five years!!