Min Svigerfar was a farmer. Karl was a farmer. He was raised on a farm, he worked on farms. Dairy Farms. But he didn't stay, but it is still in his blood at 90 1/2 years of age. He passed it down to his son, to his grandson.
It's that time of year when the city folks get their seeds from Home Hardware and plan their veggie patches. Little one for us now, but we get our cucumbers, our tomatoes, our carrots and best yet, our chives. Perfection in an egg salad. Go out, cut them off, bring them in, wash them, cut them up with your scissors and pop them in the bowl. It doesn't get any better..
A farmer worries. Will that calf coming be okay. Mom has had a lot of problems carrying him/her. Will it rain enough, will it rain too much. Will I grow enough hay for the livestock for next winter, will I get enough silage to feed them. Will the tractor last me another summer. Can I bail that hay at just the right time. Will the prices for that meat stay high or will I loose money. Will price increases on fertilizers and other basics do me in.
A nine to five job it isn't. You find the odd farmer that will milk the cows in the morning so they can have an overnight get away and that is only if you are lucky enough to find someone to come in and help you out. Never deny that pool some farmers put in their backyards. It's their holiday. It's their family time. Farming is a 365 a year job. It isn't 9-5. You don't retire at 65 to put your feet up. You tear your hands apart fixing equipment. You work in the dark, you work in hot humid weather.
I love this old farm that is close to me. It is located south of Highway #5 on the Sydenharm Road on the way into Waterdown. No idea what they raise, but the one at the corner of Highway 5 and Sydenham have black angus cattle. A farmer up on the 5th Concession in Hamilton, has a sign on his fence -- please do not feed the animals. I'm leaving it at that.
.JPG)
The best reading of this poem is by Paul Harvey and it is still available. Take a moment and listen. So worth it. God made a Farmer.
Please remember these men and women who work so hard for all of us.
Appreciate that salad you are eating in the summer.
Those sweet juicy apples from our local orchards.
And we won't even talk about the soft fruits that are raised in the peninsula
The chickens, the beef, the pork, the lamb
All raised in our province.
Ask your butcher where your meat comes from. Buy local
And at the end of the season, get out to a fall fair.
And
Thank a farmer.
Go out to farmers' markets this summer -- local or even take a drive to St. Jacob's -- and support our local growers.
My tribute to the men in my family who worked the land, who appreciate the land. I praise them all