Home Sweet Homestead

I had to leave the place for a couple of days, and I just really can't describe the feeling of getting back home, but; wonderful is an understatement. It seems, the more I settle into this life, the more I truly feel a part of the land, here. Now, I'm not embracing a strange spirituality, I don't think. It's just that Scripture says we are dust and dust is just small dirt, so it makes sense to me, to feel more alive when we are where we are "grounded." It was interesting the way things worked out for me to be gone, and I'm truly glad I was paying attention, because I can't say that I always do.
For the most part, homesteaders just can't be away for any length of time, because there's always something on the place that needs tending, and there's no way anyone in good conscience could ask someone else to "do the chores" when the to-do list is a mile long. This particular situation truly needed my attention, in person and as it turns out, that was possible, courtesy of G-d.
There are several factors that figure in, so I'll mention the negative one first, and put it behind me. I'm not blaming G-d for my broken arm, but the fact that I had scaled back the milking due to that fact, made it possible for me to schedule to be gone a couple of days without the goat having problems or me hiring someone to do the milking, if I could even find someone that could milk. Now the fact that this goat doesn't dry up completely is truly a gift from G-d. I've scaled her back to every third day and she still gives a half gallon when I milk, which is more than enough for consumption as well as soap making.
The next awesome blessing was the rain. It rained two inches over a couple of days last week, but the night before I was attempting to put these plans together, it rained 3 inches over night. Double blessing in that it all arrived through the night, so the animals didn't miss any grazing time and I wasn't fighting a half dozen goats at the milking parlor door in the mud and the rain! Because although goats will "tuck in" at the first drop of rain, if they think they can munch alfalfa in a dry warm building they'll chance the run to the door! As I mentioned the overnight rain was a double blessing, in that the pond now insured the animals would have a good water supply for a quite awhile, so watering the livestock became a non-issue. You'd be amazed at how three inches of rain fills a pond!
I haven't started the winter graining yet, the rain is keeping the pasture green and growing, while the free access hay is all in place, so it is the most streamlined the chores ever get. There's no grain to measure and no hay to throw. The garden is no longer demanding my attention daily, but it's still warm enough for the chickens to roost in their house without the door closed at night. The cats won't even eat their food right now, although I do leave a dish out for them. This time of year, they are so full of mice, they literally do not want their cat food. The dogs are no longer puppies, so they will stop eating when they're full, making it possible to simply set out two days of food for them. So the mile long "to do" list was basically whittled down to "Go now!"
Other than a few eggs not being gathered in a timely manner, I literally had no excuse to not go, and I'm so glad I went.
This low maintenance farming situation has never happened before, and that alone is significant. I don't have a cell phone or smart phone or whatever, but I do have portable internet access, so although blogs weren't posted, notes were made and mail was answered. G-d knows I simply do not like to leave the home place, so it was almost as if HE was making sure I had no excuses, or maybe it was exactly that HE was making sure I saw that I had no excuses!
My destination and purpose were draped in a real sadness, but there was also a significant need to have been a part of what I attended.
There was a true happiness in my arrival home, in that the place looked great, and all the critters greeted me, but also a humbleness washed over me as I drove through the gate. I gained a new perspective as I drove up the lane. It would seem my presence on the place isn't so much required on the grander scale of life, but rather my presence on the place is a privilege in my life.