Farming

My plan had been to spend the last full week of my sabbatical at my brother’s cabin in northern Wisconsin. On the way there I was going to spend a day in Algona helping my dad on his farm. I enjoyed that one day so much, that I decided to spend the whole week farming instead of going to Wisconsin.

Let me give you two versions of my farming experience. Version number one goes like this… Dad needed help baling hay: lots of hay, thousands of pounds of hay! It was hot and dusty. It was hard work. And, who did my dad call to help? He didn’t call my brothers. He didn’t call my sister. He called me. Why? Well, I suppose he thought I could handle it. This version is sort of true.

Version number 2 goes like this… While we did make some hay the old-fashioned way (stacking bales on a rack by hand), we made most of the hay the new-fashioned way (big round and square bales moved around from the comfort of an air-conditioned tractor with good radio reception). And I’m pretty sure he called me because he knew I had some extra time on my hands this summer. My brothers and sister were busy. This version is truer than version number one.

My dad’s farm in Kossuth County is great. He has about 50 cows, many of them with calves. The fields and pastures are beautiful. I even saw the jack rabbits that he’s been talking about so much lately.

More than the help, I think my dad mostly enjoys the company. It was fun to spend that time with him, to hear the things he’s excited about and the things he worries about, to see how he spends his days. Even though it involved a little bit of work, it was a lot of fun. I think I should spend some more time on the farm when I can. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I enjoyed the work and the company and the time.

Pastor