So, another year comes near to close.
I spent Christmas day and the day after working on racing books and business, trying to bring complete order to everything as we – my horse racing trainer, Robin Graham, and bookkeeper, Suzanne Trunnell – head into 2019.
One of my goals for next year is to get Christmas cards made and sent out for the first time since moving to this farm – life has been that busy and still is, a little overwhelming at times. I’m also planning to participate in our local 2019 4-H Fair, through a few photographs. I’m grateful I can see enough light heading in that direction finally.
The little white shed on the farm has been closed up for winter, as Candy and Gunnar have permanently moved into the house with me.
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Except for the last two cows, a mom and her bull calf, all the cows are now off the farm. Life is a little easier, but I sure am missing watching the parade of cows as they graze across the mountain behind my home every evening. I spent many an hour just hanging with them and it used to bring me great joy to tractor out round bales late in the dark hours of the evening, in snow and rain, when I’d get home from work at 6:30 each weekday winter evening for the past five years. The cows and horses would trail behind me as the bales were rolled out, just a beautiful sight and memory. Those days are long over now.
| Copyright © 2018 by Bettina Sperry |
None of my business, but are you saying it is no longer a working farm? Being at my age such a thing scares me to death, I can fully understand if that is the case.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your interest, Ed. For the past 5 years I've had both horses and cows (bull, cows, and calves each year). There are several things taking place that are causing some change on the farm (at least for now). For 2 years we had extremely dry summers and the grass dried up considerably. This past year we've had excessive rain in this part of the country – a lot of flooding. Last week I actually had my first mudslide on the farm. As a result, either inadequate grass or too much mud, I've eliminated the cow herd. Adding to the dilemma, the priority of the farm is thoroughbred racing and this year I have 2 horses entering racing – horses that I bred and raised, so we will be looking at whether the time is right to have another foal or two to continue the racing business in the years ahead. Having no cows provides the space for incoming babies. Change is on the way in some capacity, just now sure what it will look like. It is a sad fact that there are a lot of farms that are simply shutting down across the country, that is true, but this farm will not be one of them. This farm is not dependent upon the production of income for survival.
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