FARM GIRL AT HEART: The heart of a farmer

by Virginia Jones

Farming is one of those lifestyles that is part of the heartbeat of our nation. Farming has been around for thousands of years. It is a way of life that takes grit and hard work. As this nation has grown in both number, knowledge and experiences, farming and homesteading has been passed down through the generations. What once was a well known technique has been lost due to progress, convenience and lack of time. Thank­fully it is returning through education and necessity.

There was a time when life was slower, simpler and filled with more ingenuity. It was a time where you didn’t throw things away; you used every bit of everything you raised. My husband’s grandmother was a wise woman. She knew how to cook using a wood stove, can deer meat when Grampa went hunting, could make a meal from scratch and more. She memorized recipes that were passed down to her from her elders. Many homemaking ideals were taught to the younger generation. There were many things that I remember from my own grandmother. She had a cellar that had shelves of jars filled with produce harvested from many summers and ones that would be a welcome addition to meals throughout the winter.

When I was homeschooling our daughters I tried to pass down a few of the things that I learned as I was growing up. I was not as experienced in the ways of making things by scratch but had obtained a few recipes passed down from grandmothers and aunts. My daughters today surpass my knowledge of things homemade, to which I am very pleased. As I am now a veteran homeschool mom I want to return to those homemade meals, housekeeping hacks and simpler ways to make a home cozy and welcoming.

Having a farm was always a childhood dream, and having accomplished that with my husband, I long for more of what living a simpler life deems. When I rise in the morning to the sound of my roosters crowing to welcome the day it brings a smile to my face and a warmth to my heart. I love to greet each day while doing farm chores; feeding and watering the chickens and satisfying the goats with a treat and a rack of hay.

One morning in particular brings a fond reminder of why I do what I do each and every day. I rose up about seven in the morning, got dressed and prepared the water and food containers for the chickens. As I walked around the back of our house to the animal shelters I noticed how beautiful the morning was with the wisps of fog rising from the ground to allow the sunshine to seep through. It was quiet and oh so peaceful. The day was just beginning for me and I was just soaking up the essence of my surroundings. I let the chickens out of their coop and they were quite excited for their ration of grain and corn. Afterwards I went in to the goat barn and gave the goats their treat of banana peeling along with a few bites of the banana that I was willing to share with them. They were quite eager to get out in to the paddock to enjoy the mound of hay that was waiting.

As I looked around I gave God the glory for giving my husband and I strength and knowledge to build a goat barn and chicken coop on our land and to be a part of a long line of generations of homesteaders who took up the grit and hard work to be farmers. We built our coop and goat barn, and while not really knowing what we were doing, I think we did a pretty good job. We have had help from family members, other homesteaders and the good Lord. It has taken a lot of finances, thought and planning but I wouldn’t want to live any other way.

It has taken us many years to establish our farm, and we aren’t done yet. The future holds my dreams of expansion. There will be more chickens, goats, maybe some guinea fowl and geese. There will be more buildings built through trial and error. The winter will have day dreams of sowing seeds in spring and new prospects of a harvest. In all that we do I pray we never lose the heart of a farmer.