Do you find yourself being impatient about your dreams and what you want out of life? Why can't it just happen? Fall into your lap? It sure would be much easier, than to plan and ponder, think, save, want...but I think I've finally grown up folks. I have learned if it's earned, its worth the wait.
Take this cow for example. I've been telling Big D that she's going to have a calf for the last 10 days. Last night, she had some mucus so I got all excited. We separated her and now we sit. And wait. She's happy as a clam and I think she will hold that baby in forever. Why not, Big Red is a princess right now, she's got cornstalk bedding, her water and feed brought to her and all the cows in the east pen are jealous. She's feeling like the cat that ate the canary. I think she's doing this on purpose, just to make me wait. I want her calf and I'm hoping it's going to be a red heifer. Look at that udder she's about to burst, but I do think God is trying to teach me a lesson in patience.
I'm suprised I even get sleep because I'm constantly thinking and dreaming about what we could do here on the farm. Don't get me wrong, I love the life that Big D and I have. We have each other (at least I'm happy about that. I'm pretty sure he is.) also we have 8 great kids.
BUT.....
Where would be without dreams? I have no idea, because that's all I do. I remember when I wanted to move out here as a single mom to finish my degree in Livestock Management. I was going to move right back to the cities when I was done and get a job at Cargill, or so I thought. But once I got here I knew that it was going to be for good. I had never felt so at home and welcomed anywhere I'd been previously. I still love it.
After D and I had gotten married, I had told him that I dreamed of having an animal all my own. I recall mentioning goats. I recall him saying "NEVER!" I also recall him going almost to Iowa to get some then out to the Black Hills twice to buy goats. Have I said how much I love this man?
I'll never forget the time that I had told him that I had seen a vineyard documentary and it looked cool. He said I watched too much tv. Although he was hooked when we took an afternoon and visited a vineyard in south of Marshall, MN.
It's no secret that custom feeding cattle can be trying. Expensive cattle and expensive corn means nobody wants to fill our lots. So with that said, I'm always trying to figure out something to help us out financially when I know the lots are going to be empty. That's when the idea of our pumpkin patch was born. Ron wasn't sure about it, he wasn't sure about people trapsing all over our farm, but he found out how much he loved it after the first weekend. We are already planning for this upcoming season and are pretty excited.
That brings us to the present and the dreams we have now. Sometimes I will go up on Grape Hill, (the hill above our vineyard) and dream about owning all the land that originated with the farm. 320 acres. Isn't that amazing? We only have 22 of those. Over the years, (not by Ron) it's been sold off or lost. These pictures show the land around us.
Oh to have those as our own...
Big D and I talk about what we'd do with it all the time. We would turn it into nut groves, apple orchards, we'd love to have pears, try out cherries and other fruits that are being approved for this area. We'd also raise vegetables for mass markets, get more sheep, have a few horses and finally have some pasture for some cows.
But do you know what would be really great? We'd like to share our knowledge with kids and adults interested in horticulture. Wouldn't it be awesome to have day camps in the summer, or school trips out here to show kids how to grow things and see farm animals? This generation is the furthest removed from agriculture yet. D and I firmly believe that that needs to change.
We also have a love for community and we are always discussing how many jobs this could create in our area. In our talks up on Grape Hill, we think it would be awesome to have scholarships for kids entering college as well.
As I daydream and type about if we could do this or that... I'm sitting in my office, I mean Maggie's bedroom, I mean our storage room. I just yelled out to the kids for supper, and afterwards I went past our one bathroom. That is super tiny. Like a broom closet. Now I told the kids to be quiet, I just put the baby in her room for a nap, I mean our bedroom. OKAY...maybe my dream needs to be changed to a bigger house!
Happy Trails,
Suzanne
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