I get a lot of people landing on our blog because they’re interested in starting a farm. While I think this is wonderful – mostly because it means that we’re not the only crazy people on the planet! – I wonder how much these would-be farmers actually know about farming.

There is still (perhaps more now than in the past?) a glamorization of farming that is totally false. More people hop on the ‘eat local/save the environment/chemicals are bad’ bandwagon everyday and, at first blush, farming can look like an idyllic way of getting in on it all.

Don’t get me wrong. We’re on that bandwagon too. It’s a good place to be for the physical and mental healthy of our family and for the environment. I just think that there is a misconception about the life of a farmer that needs to be cleared up.

More people getting into farming is good for everyone. I want those who choose to farm to succeed. Starting a business you’re not prepared for is a sure-fire way of not doing that. Hence this series of posts about The Real Farm Life. So, here we go:

The Real Farm Life Fact #1: Farming Let’s You Get In Touch With Nature

You thought I was going to start by trying to scare you off farming, didn’t you? I might yet. But I want people to get into farming because it adds to the greater good and is a great way of life for you and your family. If it really is for you, that is.

Take getting in touch with nature as an example. What do you think of when you read that? Are you thinking sunny walks through tree lined pastures while you check your hay crops?

Yep. That’s farming.

How about the sun setting over the roof of your barn with the sounds of your laying hens settling onto their roost for the night?

That’s farming too.

And feeling your muscles burn just enough to know that you and your kids are not couch potatoes.

Farming does that.

Okay, how about raccoons taking down half an acre of sweet corn just before harvest to the tune of $250 of heirloom seed and countless (and penniless) hours of labour?

You got it. Farming.

Worse yet. Getting up 3 times through the night to feed a tube down the throat of a newborn lamb in minus 30 Celsius weather trying in the hope of getting it warm and nourished enough to survive only to find it cold and still come morning?

Farming.

These things are just as much a part of farming. Don’t get me wrong, often enough, you find a revived, tail-wagging bundle of energy come morning to reward your sleepless night. If not, it wouldn’t be worth doing, would it?

And it is worth doing. Again: If it’s for you.

Everyone likes the idea of farm life. But if you’re going to take it on, you’d better like actually doing it. And you need to be able to handle the parts you don’t like.

Getting in touch with nature through farming means nurturing life, coaxing it and coddling it with your own dirty hands but it also means holding death in those same hands. You have to be able to watch death, to touch it, run the shovel and go back to the coddling and coaxing with vigor. Can you do it?

(For the record, I spill more tears at lambing time than I would otherwise cry in a whole year).

program will give them a quick tour and answer questions. Here we have

some teens getting familiar with the barn inhabitants.

Below we have some Tapping Sweet Success participants again. Teamwork is the order of the day. We were getting the sap evaporator ready to boil and create that

sweetest of spring treats: maple syrup.

The day turned quite warm by mid afternoon and everyone was glad to peel away some of the winter clothes.

Anyone need a quick drink between trees? As John drilled and I inserted spiles and hung buckets, Shea tested the sap to make sure it passed muster.

Here are a couple of our mixed blessings (or so I think when there are too many of them tackling me at once!) They’re ‘bottle babies’ meaning for one reason or another, we’ve had to feed them milk replacer from a bottle instead of letting nature take her course and have mom feed them. Usually, the reason is because we didn’t like the course that nature was on when we found them hypothermic and near death on a cold winter night. Feeding them in this picture are Big Farmer John and Little Farmer Shea.

(I cringe as I write that as I’m forever lecturing about not to pigeon hole our son. “You know Dear, he might have a different unique gift for the world than farming!”)

This next little guy is on his way up the side of a round bale. We’re loving our new hoop barn but, as you’ll see in the next picture, there is one major drawback.

The lambs can all cavort around in the hay! Happily, they still seem to do their business in the pack area but it’s just not good for the brain to see little manure machines running in the food!

Here you can see what I mean. It’s fun to watch them go crazy but…

All right. This has been a busy weekend. I will soon be adding more pictures as the season also entails maple syrup and a great first run for a teen entrepreneurial program that I’ve developed. (Check out the program here.)

See, I’ve been thinking that it would be cool to see what other farmers are writing about in their blogs. But I haven’t been able to find any.

Seriously. I have yet to find one good, up to date blog by a farmer about their farming life. This surprised me. Probably because my mind has very little room for rational thought these days. This is supposed to be the down time for us farm-folk, so someone must have the itch to spend their slower (ha!) days writing, right?

Apparently not.

I’ve spent stolen moments Google-ing ‘farmer blog’ between morning chores, night chores, midday barn check for hypothermic lambs in need of warming by our wood stove, outdoor picnic delivery to my horse who has to be banished from the barn during lambing, preparation for our entrepreneurial program for teens, planning for the Maple in the County festival, tapping of maple trees, keeping house and entertaining two toddlers (one of whom I’m thankful to see packed into her mother’s minivan at the end of everyday, despite being happy to have her). Phew!

Somehow, I failed to see that if every farmer’s day looked something like mine, not many of them would be blissfully tapping away at their keyboards in blog-land. Shocking really. (I’m still shaking my overloaded head at myself.)

So, now that I’ve laid my failings in the deductive reasoning department out for all to see, I would like to make an appeal.

If anyone knows of a good farmer’s blog, please let me know. I’ve read some great things from market gardeners, foodies and farm consumers (those who choose to buy their food directly from a farm like ours) but I’m curious about what other farmers are talking about.

Hopefully some of you are too. In the mean time, I will endeavor to fill the void one toddler nap at a time for anyone who is interested. Count me in as your blog-link to a farmer’s world.

Happy eating! (Who ever said farmers aren’t in on the rat race?)