This sort of stuff.... never mattered 6 months ago. I started to think about winter coming.... so much stuff needs to be done. It is a never ending amount of things I need to buy in order to fix stuff. How do real farmers do this? And how... did they do it with three kids under the age of FOUR?
Today I bought grass seed- one bag was supposed to be enough for one acre. I bought three bags. Each being $50 a bag. Not to mention the seed spreader. Another $40.. and don't forget the lyme fertilizer to make the Ph in the ground perfect.
Talk about a bunch of boring stuff, but that stuff is what makes this farm profitable at the end of the day. Without good grass and pastures, and nice fence lines... people won't want their horses to live here.
My four year old son helped spread the seed today.... he was all sweaty as we walked together up and down the hoof and turd beaten field. My three year old was stead fast at my heal holding my hand and my 4 month old daughter was in the backpack on my back. As my kids participate in laying down grass seed they start to realize why we do this. I explain what the fertilizer does, why we plant grass in the fall, and how the weather right now is perfect for laying seed since it is going to rain for the next week. They are getting a fabulous education.
Not only did I have to buy grass seed today but I also had to buy a fuel syphon pump, plus lots of W-D 40 plus about 10 different kids of magical engine stuff that makes things run perfect. I need to get the old gas out of the tractor, riding mower and push mower, and grease up all the moving parts. My kids will also watch how we do that- yet another valuable lesson on how to take care of your farm equipment and make it last through the bitter months that lay ahead.
I managed to muck stalls today instead of tonight. My kids were present for that too. Each had a pitchfork and helped to pick up the horse poo. Their favorite part is sprinkling PDZ odor refresher on the pee spots. My four year old can tell you that it helps to get rid of the ammonia and makes breathing conditions for our horses better. He likes to scrub the water buckets and fill them up with fresh water, actually saving me a lot of time.
Animal care has been apart of these kids lives since the day they were born. Everyday when the boys come home from school they go gather the eggs from the chickens. They check to make sure they have water and food. My three year old is an awesome chicken wrangler. He can pick up the chickens and put them back in their house if they manage to escape. He has a way with the hens, they seem to realize his size and will squat for him to pick them up.
I even pride on the fact that my four year old can look at the clouds, and say "oh boy mommy it's going to rain, looks like a storm is coming" I don't recall saying things like that when I was four.
The worst part for me is that my four year old isn't tall enough to reach the pedals on the tractor, mower or truck yet. So he sits on my lap and holds the steering wheel and helps me mow the grass. He's remarkable good at driving. I can't wait for him to start driving. I'm sure he will be about six when I hand him that responsibility.
So at the end of the day- it is a lot of work, it is a lot of money, it is a lot of stress.... but to me it is 100% worth every penny and minute because I am raising hard working kids. Yes, they spend lots of their time playing video games, but when I tell them I am going to the barn they are quickly throwing on their shoes to follow me to work.
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