Life is messy. And hectic. And sometimes, things get just plain crazy. Even on the farmstead. Correction – Especially – on the farmstead.
We all have this idea of country life: fresh air, blue skies, green grass of a reasonable height, weed-free gardens in rich, dark soil, and free-range critters romping happily about.
Reality, in the city or country, is something that we all avoid showing others. We zoom in for shots of the chicken sizzling in the pan, so no one sees the grease-splattered stove or piles of dirty dishes. We take close-up pictures of flowers so no one sees the bug-eaten leaves, weeds, or slug trails. We even crop out cluttered backgrounds or piles of dirty laundry in indoor shots.
And in some ways, that’s fine. No one wants you to air your dirty laundry, figuratively or literally.
But in other ways, all that cropping creates unrealistic expectations, especially for the new gardener or future farmsteader. The honest truth is that, no matter what we think we’ve accomplished, we can never tame nature. The best we can hope for is holding it at bay with a whip and a chair, or a machete and a chainsaw.
Farmstead life isn’t always peaceful or idyllic. Nature, predators, and reality take a toll.
Therefore, I’m making you this special, one-time offer. Good for today only and while supplies last – one heaping dose of reality, farmstead style.
Remember last week’s column and the importance of mulching? Well, this is what happens when I don’t take my own advice, and the garlic bed gets away from me.
Thankfully, it was something I could remedy.
As for my black plastic garden, if I forget to pull up the plastic or put down mulch to cover the holes over the winter, this is what happens when I move it in the spring:
But it’s not just weeds that take over when no one is looking. Predators lurk, waiting for a chicken dinner, even if they have to chew their way in.
Mother Nature, of course, plays a huge role in country life. Remember Hurricane Ike, which tore through Ohio as if it were a coastal state? We lost a lot of trees then, but nothing like the damage from a tornado that hit several years ago.
Yes, that’s the pole that holds our electric line – on the ground near an uprooted tree.
Ice storms are a nearly annual event, and of course mean downed trees and power lines.
Country life can be dirty –
And it can be stinky –
And sometimes you feel as if it sucks the life out of you –
But it’s at least never dull, and that’s the reality of it.