A Picture of Farming

 Angelus                              

We took a long walk the other day at a local nature preserve and as we started out, our path took us through an open field.  I said to my husband that it makes me think of Little House on the Prairie, and as usual, I opined about how wonderful it would have been to live back in those days.

Admittedly, by the time we finished our walk, I commented that I don’t think I would have done very well back then.  I was looking forward to our comfortable car and the sack lunch that awaited us.  How nice it would be to rest my tired feet.

But, as we all know, in Little House on the Prairie days, I probably would have had to ride a wagon back to our house to cook and do chores!  I wonder how many of them just went for a walk, for pleasure.

I often think about this.  I think that a tired, worn out pioneer would think we were crazy today to go to a gym or walk on a treadmill, just because we needed the exercise!  Surely, they got all the “workout” they needed just keeping things running.

In a lot of ways, I think we have gotten soft.  I know it’s partly because many of us don’t need to put out a great amount of physical work in order to keep our lives running smoothly. 

But that’s not true for everybody.

As we returned home from our little excursion, we passed a lot of farmland.  Big machinery and dedicated farmers were working in unison to prepare their fields.  I commented to my husband that many of us don’t have a clue how hard farmers work.

My idea of farming is watching my husband figure out a structure for our pole beans to climb that will protect them from the rabbits.

My idea of farming is purchasing the tomato plants at the nursery and once they are planted, returning to my air conditioned home to watch them grow.  (I’m beginning to sweat just thinking about it.)

In my defense, I was raised in the city—albeit without air conditioning—but I absolutely LOVE my idealized vision of country life.  As I imagine it, all one needs to make life complete is a horse and a hoe, sunshine and sprouting plants, and a cold glass of iced tea.

I came across a lengthy article from 2019 that gives a good description of what it’s like for today’s farmers (which is far removed from my image, I must say.)

It’s about a Wisconsin family of farmers that have been in the cow business for almost two centuries!  They are hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, with bill collectors knocking at the door.  Eighty year old Mary took a supplemental job delivering newspapers (until she crashed her car on a foggy night and her husband and sons made her give it up.)

I think my conclusion that I wouldn’t have done well in the late 1800s was probably quite accurate, and interestingly, it seems every generation has thought those who came before them had it worse (which was probably true until today.)

Listen to what Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in A Little House Sampler.  It is good advice—very applicable for us today:

 “When we remember that our hardest times would have been easy times for our forefathers it should help us to be of good courage, as they were, even if things are not all as we would like them to be.  And now I will say just this:  If ever you are becoming a little bored with life, as it is, try a new line of work as a hobby.  You will be surprised what it will do for you.”  (A Little House Sampler, page 180)

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com
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