How Did I Get Here

Someone recently asked me how I ended up on the farm. They had looked through the diary and not seen anything. So here is my story…shortened…

I started working at the farm because I was struggling to find my place. I graduated college with a teaching degree. My first year teaching ended in massive, statewide budget cuts. I was one of the teachers that found out I was not going to be reinstated through the news…. The school I was teaching at announced that they were letting go of all first year teachers to try an balance their budget on the news before my principal had even talked to me. Then she came in during my biggest (worst) class on Monday to give me the paperwork saying I was “Non-Renewed”. I was so devastated and hurt by the way it was handled that I struggled to consider teaching again. I applied to a few teaching jobs in larger districts, but nothing came of it. From there, I bounced around from job to job trying to find a career since teaching was an unlikely option. I had done everything from Starbucks, to interning as a PT Tech. Finally, I gave in and resorted to the farm. Yes, that’s right, it was a last resort.

Jumping to today, it’s been 6 years. I’ve done a lot of growing as a person, and I’ve done A LOT of learning. Nothing out here is what I expected. Well, the heat…I am an air-condition-a-holic…the sun…I might as well be a vampire for my hatred of the sun…and the physical work…I am a tech nerd. But the vast majority of what we do is completely different than I expected.

I didn’t realize how much I would appreciate the quiet. The equipment is loud, but there is serenity in the quiet of the farm.

I had no idea how connected I’d be with the animals. I’ve named the “varmints”, as papa calls them. We’ve got Pete and Lucy (bunny rabbits in the hay barn), Hoot (great horned owl in the pasture), Snow and Huntsman (snowy barn owls in the hay barn), Li’l Bit (a young hawk that frequents hunting by the barn), and countless others.

I had no idea how important grass was. Daddy calls us “Grass Farmers”, because that is the absolute main focus of every day and season. Without the grass, there’s nothing at all. We’ve got coastal bermuda, buffalo, little blue stem, switchgrass, ryegrass and rye grass, sorgums, native and introduced, broadleaf, legume, and I couldn’t even begin to list them all. Who would have thought I’d know as much about grass as your landscaper?

Cattle management is serene to me. It calms me to my soul. Standing in the pin with a cow, waiting for her to see the only open direction. Watching a baby calf follow momma through a field. Seeing how excited the steers get when they get feed. We see them as such simple creatures. It’s humbling to know that God created us to TAKE CARE OF them.

Then our dreams to help people arise. Selling our beef and wood products. Working at fundraisers and other events to bring awareness to certain conditions and agriculture. Our hope to aid in feeding the world, and teach people about God and where our food comes from.

This job went from a last resort, to a genuine life dream! So, I was asked how I got here…How did I get here?? I went from forcing my own path, to rock bottom, to seeing God’s vision and plan were far greater than I could have guessed or imagined. That’s how I got here.