The pleasures of mucking

No one ever said farming was glamorous, but they should have. Last Sunday I had the pleasure of mucking out the goat/llama shed. You really need to be in the right frame of mind for this - that Zen feeling that allows you to think about something other than the fact that you're shovelling 6 months worth of hay and straw compacted with goat/llama manure and pee. For some reason, everyone decided the shed made a better bathroom than bedroom this winter... and one of the cuddly critters thought it would be best to pee right in front of the hay room door so I get to step in each time I feed! I don't know who, but I suspect it's one of the llama girls. A little fact we didn't know when we adopted Pepper and Geena - llamas always go to the bathroom in the same spot. Fine if it's out in the pasture, not so great if it's in the shed.

So, it was an enjoyable afternoon shovelling the gunk into the truck and then into a burn pile to be torched when things dry out a bit. Our new neighbors (they just bought the 5 acre vineyard next door) stopped by near the end. Very nice to see them, but I giggled under my breath when she asked if this was how we spent every Sunday (basking in the rain and shovelling shit). Tom, who had been playing with burn piles while I shoveled (in his defense, the shed clean up was my project), tried to make it sound like it wasn't all work, but all I could think was I'd be mowing or weeding or something every weekend now until October. Actually, my goal is to hire more help this summer so that isn't the case (I can only hope), but no matter there's always something that needs to be done (note to self, let some things go so you can enjoy the summer).

Farming may not be glamorous, but I wouldn't trade it for anything...