This time of year it seems everyone is making travel plans. Gotta get the plane tickets to visit your great Aunt Gertie, gas up and check the family vehicle to make sure it can make the 6 hour trip to visit the in-laws, perhaps a tropical getaway with a lighted palm tree to substitute for the traditional conifer of the Midwest and a quiet holiday. The list goes on.
I listen with understanding as people reach out to various pet sitters in the community, making sure that their precious pupper or their precocious feline is given a comfortable place to "vacation" while they are away. Sometimes that means a posh boarding kennel with heated floors, TV's with cable, yummy treats and other times it means having a "stay-cation" where the dog(s) and/or cat(s) remain in the owners' home. So many different options if you have one or more of the more common "inside" pets.
All of that changes if you have livestock.
Before my "farming days" I would call a friend, ask them to watch the two dogs and two cats I had and it was a mutual understanding, "I watch yours, you watch mine" with no money exchanged between us and minimal amount of work on either of our parts.
Now, it's more like bargaining. The conversation usually goes like this, "Hey, hope you're well - need to ask if you can watch the three dogs and two cats...*pause here*… and the 40 standard size chickens and guineas, 5 tiny breed chickens and, uh, oh yeah, two ducks for a short weekend." Awkward silence and then a look of relief from the other party as I add, "oh, and I'll pay you."
I am extremely blessed that I have two young persons that are in 4H that live nearby. They are super responsible and their folks are there to make sure that every detail is taken care of. They are of "farming cloth" which, in my mind means that we all help one another. I'm also very grateful that it doesn't cost me a small fortune to ask for their help.
That being said, it doesn't take care of the guilt that I feel while I'm gone that I know that water will have to be carried the 150 feet or so from the house down to the barn (I still am working on getting water down there), birds will have to be let out in the morning and shut in at night, eggs will need to be collected, feed will need to be filled, etc. All of this plus the two meals that the dogs and cats will need to be fed each day.
The amount of time that I spend away from the farm is minimal in a year - I believe this year I will be away 4 nights total. This time away is far greater than what other farmers get to experience - too many things can go wrong when one is off the farm. The "vacation" that farmers experience is in the time between when the crops have been harvested (though planning continues), animals have been sent to market (though there is clean up and checking fences, etc. for the next group), or the equipment has been checked over, maintained and cleaned for its next use.
Like I said, I am blessed that I have these two young people to watch my tiny farm while I take some time away but I know that soon they will go on to other things - college, family, etc. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the few days that I get to see a change of scenery and still rejoice that the best part of being out on the farm is watching things grow, and the sunrises and sunsets. Oftentimes those are better than any view you would see on a tropical island (cheaper too!).
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