Have you ever wondered about what a typical summer day of a farm wife looks like?
OK, well just in case you ever have, there is nothing typical about summer days here at our house. Especially not during hay season.
We recently took on a new hired hand to help finish putting up hay. Our newest helper is a college student and the son of a friend. I started his first week by filling the refrigerator with water and sports drinks to keep him hydrated. July was a brutally hot month. There were stops over with a cooler full of lunch.
I had to resist not adding a pudding cup to those like I do for my own kids. I think that would have warranted an eye roll or two.
My husband works all day in town. A typical evening consists of him rushing home to change clothes and head out to the hay field to check on progress or to keep the progress moving. I’ve made several trips to the farm supply for feed, baling wrap and medicine as we look after the cattle herd. Running errands and picking up things he has forgotten are just a drop in the bucket around here.
The kids and I handle animal chores and keep things running at home during this “hay widow” period. We’ve had cattle to treat, horses with foot issues and are continuing to battle raccoons and possums getting into our feed.
In between all of the farm responsibilities, I’ve helped my husband with his payroll and bookkeeping. This usually consists of me emptying his truck console of all the wadded up receipts and then sorting them into some sense of order.
Our garden is in full production. A few days a week I have turned my kitchen into a cannery. The tomatoes and cucumbers have been out of control this year. No complaints here.
Somehow over the summer the kids have been to a few camps, swimming lessons and rodeos.
I always laugh when people ask if we are going on a summer vacation. Vacation? Nobody around here has time for that.
I did manage to get away to Kansas City for a few days to chaperone my oldest daughter’s Girl Scout field trip. I had to call in grandparent reinforcements to pick up the slack with our little dog and the other three children. I came home to zucchini as big as my husband’s bicep and enough tomatoes to feed a small village.
Our new business venture in town has started to pick up speed and it should be opened up this fall. The balancing act will continue once school starts. Most of the hay has been moved into the barns for now. I think everyone around here is starting to breathe a little easier.
A day in the life of a farm wife? Hectic. Unpredictable. Fun. Enjoyable. Worth it.
I don’t think it would be near as much fun without my husband and children as a partnership. Hope you have great days ahead of you, neighbor.
