How ya gonna keep 'em in the city

[theoldwolf]

... after they've seen the West Virginia farm?

Yes, it's a lot of work, for not much money (or sometimes none at all!) Yes, you deal with animal ejecta, flies, ticks, splinters, barbed wire, runaway cows, aggressive hungry sheep, piranha pigeons, drenching humidity, sweat, and a host of other minor annoyances, but wow... to live in the midst of such unbelievable beauty, where you can actually breathe the air, see the stars at night, and watch the fireflies rise up out of the grass at dusk... Merciful Mother of Mogg, it's beautiful there. It's darn tempting.

Just came back from a 5-week escapade in Gap Mills, where I played farmhand, handyman, and general nuisance. Did a lot of cleaning-out, animal feeding, fence-mending, mowing, banding sheep, cow-hunting, goat-chasing, dog walking, and lots of other things... if it's so hard, why do I miss it so much?

http://home.comcast.net/~ccdesan/MonroeCounty1.jpg : A panorama of Monroe County from the fire tower up on one of the mountains.

If you ate today, thank a farmer (and a trucker, for that matter).

Off to Sonoma, CA for a week where I will watch a group of powerful teenagers discover their greatness. Watch this space for updates.

Comments

[dhlawrence.livejournal.com]

where I played farmhand, handyman, and general nuisance.

From the way Kathy described it, it was more like farmhand, handyman, and general saint. :P

If the temptation proves too strong, try to get a place out her way--maybe you can work each other's land together like the Mennonites used to.

If you ate today, thank a farmer (and a trucker, for that matter).

And if it involved wheat, thank a railwayman!

[alaskawolf.livejournal.com]

its great to hear about your experiences :)