Day 361
Living on a farm, it’s not surprising that life can get dirty at times. Similar to what I tell the parents of my outdoor kindergarten program, there will be blood, mud, and crud. Whether we are exploring recreationally or working on various mentally and physically exhausting projects, fam life can get messy.
More often than I’d probably like to admit, I have had to endure a midday wardrobe exchange. Maybe I made the mistake of walking where hitchhiker seeds could attach themselves. Maybe I took a wrong step and got a little wet. Or maybe it's all of the above.
When working in the barn, the smell and mess of chickens can often lead to unfortunate messes. When planting and removing plants, getting shoes and gloves filled with soil and other earthly items is inevitable. When burning rubbish, piles of wood, and having a bonfire the smoky smell will linger until it is washed away.
I’ve pinched my fingers, stubbed my toes, and scraped my arms and legs on chicken wire fencing an infinite amount of times. It is very rare for me to walk out of the barn without being covered in something.
But above everything, I tend to have the messiest time with sawdust. As I’ve mentioned before, I've been able to collect a loft full of bagged sawdust for free.
We use it to fill the nesting boxes. We use it as bedding when the coops need to be cleaned out. We use it to cover mud spots on the trail and in the outdoor chicken yard. We’ve even used it in the garden. Eventually, we’ll also use it with our prairie restoration. In late fall, we’ll spread native seeds over the ground and use the sawdust to help hold these dispersed seeds on the ground so they can naturally work themselves into the ground over winter. This will begin the process of our beautiful prairie.
Life on the farm is certainly messy. It is definitely more work than I probably expected, but more fun than I could’ve imagined. The end of one project is just the beginning of another. That consistent and continual cycle is what makes farm life an ongoing adventure.
