On the rare occasion that I can hold a full conversation with my family over video call
(Sprint, you need better reception in the
Smokies), I often get asked, “So, what work have you been doing on the farm?” Though small tasks may change from day to day, my answer is generally quite similar every time. Farm life is about routine.
Mine is as follows
7:00am – Feed the ducks and chickens
Though I hate waking up early, I have found this to be my favorite part of the day. Mornings aren’t so bad when they begin with greetings from twenty balls of feathers. I feed them, check for eggs, and let them out into the chicken run. I like looking for the eggs best; it’s like having Easter every day… though a surprise Twix bar inside would be good every now and again too.
7:15am – Breakfast
Breakfast consists of scarfing down a bowl of cereal as fast as possible to maximize my powernap time allotment before really starting the day.
8:00am – Watering
It sounds easy, but it takes forever. My time at the farm so far has been accompanied by hot and humid days. Unfortunately, the humidity is petty and doesn’t bring the rain along with it. Whenever possible, I water with what has been captured in the rain barrels, but those have nealry been running on empty since day one.
10:00am – Harvesting
Susan and Jim use Four O’Clock Farm mainly to grow food for their own consumption, so there generally isn’t too much to be harvested. I comb through the bean plants religiously as well as the blueberries every other day or so, and keep an eye out for any fruit or veg that looks about ripe. The critters are much faster at "harvesting" ripe fruit than I am, so I selfishly pick it a tad early and let it ripen off the vine so that I can be the one to enjoy it.
10:30am – Espresso Break
No description necessary
11:00am – Miscellaneous Tasks
This is where the script stops and the unpredictability of farm life takes over. Though its usually a rotation of the same chores, you never know which one the day will call for. Sometimes its preparing garlic for market, sometimes its canning produce that’s about to go off, and other times its fertilizing plants with chunky, liquid fish fertilizer (those are the days
when I wish I could call in sick…).
The afternoons have been too hot to work, so I am given free time which I usually use to hike in the nearby Smoky Mountains. We have a home-cooked dinner together around the table every evening with a healthy side dish of sarcastic conversation and, as the sun sets, Jim and I bring in the chickens and ducks for the night. Then it’s back to my yurt to rest up for the next day.
Though the farm tasks sometimes feel monotonous, they’re always accompanied by a feeling of peace and satisfaction from getting to work with the earth and get my hands dirty.