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May 08, 2006
hit by a farm
Jim and I want to raise sheep one day. Since neither one of us knows the first thing about farming, nor do we have a farm yet, we read a lot. Actually I read a lot. Jim nods distractedly, which is good enough for me. I just finished hit by a farm, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn by Catherine Friend and loved it. I loved it because it talks about the things a newbie, and a reluctant to admit indoor girl, needs to know before embarking on such a venture. It talks about pooh and sex and birth and all the gritty gooey things that surprisingly enough other books don’t talk about. Either because they assume this knowledge or they don’t want to scare you away. It also talks about what farm life can do to your otherwise rock solid relationship. I can’t tell you how important this is to me. Not only does Jim represent 90% of my happy, the whole purpose behind this lifestyle change is a return to family and love and fulltime togetherness. Clearly there’s a lot of pooh involved. Not to mention cross species contact that in any other setting would indelibly mark you as beyond help. There is also death, intentional and non-intentional. Catherine is a tender-hearted soul but she is also a meat eater. So are we. Even if we concentrated on fiber, the care of animals encompasses their entire life cycle. Can we do this? Lastly, she writes at length about balancing farming and other passions. I want to teach and knit and write and spin. Jim wants to sing. Must sing. Has to sing like birds need air and fish need water.
Verdict? My to do list has gotten more serious.
1) Subscribe to the Black Sheep Newsletter and Sheep Magazine.
2) Order more roving so I can decide what kind of fiber I want to raise.
3) Find an internship. I need to acquaint myself with more pooh and goo than my Aussie and Bichon can produce.
4) Jim and I need to write up a plan that takes into account our whole life, not just one part of it.
5) Catherine has a BLOG! Add to my favorites. Spread the word. Tell everyone!
Did I mention the book is hilarious funny? Like cover to cover, paragraph to paragraph, do not drink anything while you're reading it because it will spurt out your nose funny?