Tuesday, March 4, 2014

public blasting, wow

I realized when I decided to put my life on a public forum that I would be a target for crtitcism. This morning I got my first real dose of that. On one of my pictures, someone said I was a slap in the face to real farmers because real farmers are 24/7 365. I am actually just sad for this person. They must be under a lot of stress and lashed out as someone they don't know. This person doesn't know the sacrifices my family and I have made for this farm. We have lived here for twenty two years. I have survived blizzards and dust storms. I have seen animals born and die. I have worked more hours in a day than I thought possible, went to bed and did it again the next day. My husband and I are a farming team, and everything we do revolves around the farm.

I didn't want to be serious on my tractor page. I wanted to make funny pictures and laugh about something that I love, but still struggle with. I wanted to remind myself why I love it. No matter how you chop it up, farming is hard. Whether it is a wheat farm, a dairy farm, an orchard, or any other type farm big or small, we all need to support each other. We share a common struggle to raise food for a populace that doesn't appreciate hard dirty work. Lets not make this a war about which farmer works harder. It reminds me of the mommy wars. Instead of supporting other women, we are tearing them down.

I am a part time, poser farmer. I don't own the farm. I just work here. I don't own the equipment, I just play with it. I don't receive any difference in wages depending on the outcome of the crop. I could just be a worker. I could work the minimum hours and put out the minimum work. I work long hours, drive through lunch, and give up weekends and off time, because that is what is required to do it right. When my kids come home from college to visit, they visit me on my tractor. I am not a farmer, but tractors fill my days 9 months of the year and in my dreams every night. I don't farm because I have to, I farm because I care.


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