my answers to the farm questions

Question 1:
Farm life. Hmmm, I'd say it seems better once it's not your everyday existence. The bottom line is that it's hard, dirty work. There aren't off days: cows don't respect holidays or human sickness or sleeping in or plans. The hours are long especially during planting and harvest. The farm determines so much of the rest of life; it's not a job you "go" to. It is your life. This means it will limit your freedom, your vacation, and the timing of everything - from when you get up in the morning to when you take showers (not before all the work is done for the day :). All that being said, I'm not sure I could ever really explain it in words. There is something about being drenched in cow milk/snot/blood/urine/manure/

cud/placenta/infection that really doesn't lend itself to being explained.

Those are the hard things, but of course there are also good things. I'd say I learned a ton about what it means to work hard, what life and death look like, and how hard my parents worked to provide for us. I know what it means and how it feels to have earned your dinner. I have years of work expeiences in common with my siblings and parents. Plus I have a ton of handy skills: feeding calves, pulling calves, moving calves, holding tails for operations, milking cows, giving shots to cows, herding cows, herding cats, going over/under/through gates, and chewing on alfafa.

Question Two:
Hmmm, I know that my parents know the neighbors a lot better than I do. There is certainly a community of farmers in the same area...not sure if that always extends to the families or not. We didn't spend the majority of our social time with other farm families, although we all knew each other and where everyone belonged. I also don't know if my experience in Annville, PA is representative of the general farm community or not.

thought you'd enjoy seeing my responses. i also included mom & philip's comments. Thanks!