Northern Farmer

Well, we’re well into making first crop hay as of today. Was in the mid seventies today, very comfortable compared with yesterday’s 98 degrees. Wow, was I hot on the old tractor cutting hay then. But it got me to thinking about how we worked years ago, same kind of days, stacking hay in the haybarn of our 100+ year old huge dairy barn. How a person used to sweat up there, hour after hour, no air movement, hotter than a pistol, lifting them lugs. And all the work got done. And when it was almost dark out and we were finishing up Dad would drive three miles to the local bar and take two, one gallon empty vinegar jugs, and have them filled with tap Grain Belt Beer, for a dollar a gallon. That was the best tasting beer on earth at that moment. Makes me thirsty just writing about it.

There’s some good Agrarian Blogs floating around for folks to read. When I have a little more time I’m going to try and set up the links of the ones that are really worth reading. It’s so good to find out that I’m not alone in my beliefs on an agrarian based culture.

One of the things I was going over in my mind today cutting hay was the fact that so many want to come and live out here in the country. The ones that I hope make it are the folks that want to homestead or farm. Never give up and I’m not saying that lightly. There is no better life! I was thinking what it would be like to have communities around here of folks that were “living” on the land. Having get togethers of like minded people, celibrations, etc. Trading different goods, helping each other with the larger jobs. Then I was jolted back to the real world of some new nieghbors that moved onto 5 acre plots of prime ground the last few years. Drive by them with a truck or tractor and they turn their backs, refuse to give the country wave. No gardens, just lots and lots of expensive toys in their yards that are mortgaged to the hilt. And big lawn mowers that are going 7 days a week.

I’ll hold onto my agrarian dream despite these folks. It’s the only dream that makes sense and I know I’m right beleiving in it. I worked out years ago in factories and my #1 priority was to get out of that life. I wonder what my life would be like if one day in May of 1987 I didn’t walk off the job and set myself free. I had all the standard worries of how was I going to make it and such, but I just did it. Don’t get me wrong, it was very difficult, but back then even before I knew what the word Agrarian meant, I was an Agrarian!

This entry was posted on Friday, June 24th, 2005 at 7:05 pm and is filed under Northern Farmer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.