Every farm girl has a dream. If you've determined that you are a farm girl, then I'm sure you have these same dreams. Read on and see how you relate!
Farm Girl Dreams Every Homesteader Has Dreamed
By Kathy Bernier
Everyone dreams of hitting it big; of winning the lottery, of finding that special someone, of being famous, or of some other permutation of an enchanted life.
Some women hope for jewelry, Caribbean cruises, designer clothes, nights on the town, or maybe even just an evening at home with a box of chocolates and a pair of fuzzy slippers.
We farm girls thrive in a different kind of world. Our lives are not the same out here on the open range, or tucked up on a lush green hillside next to the creek, or sprawled out on a tract of northern pine forest. Farm girl priorities are usually too wrapped up in grain runs and vegetable weeding and calling in the cows to worry about flawless manicures and spendy high heels.
But we have our dreams, too. Even amid the wondrous beauty and rich rewards of farm girl life, we still wish upon the stars now and then.
What do farm girls dream of? Here are some things that would make the lives we live even more idyllic than they already are.
Farm Girl Dreams
We dream that every seed we plant will grow into something beautiful.
Stunning ephemeral okra blossoms and edible orange nasturtiums green leaf backdrops, towering heads of sunflowers, and graceful cascades of climbing beans fill our lives with joy.
Click to read more about flowers.
We dream that every barnyard delivery is just like the ones in the textbook.
Easy, graceful, and fast. Nothing complicated, nothing too big or too small or too early or too late. No backward lambs or folded-over forelegs or reluctant mothers. Perfect!
Click here for the best goat breeds for your homesteading needs!
We dream that the rain will hold off until after the haying is done.
The fields need to be harvested at just the right time—too soon and there won't be enough, too late and it gets tough and weedy—and it's all about waiting for the weather to cooperate. After the hay gets in, we hope for enough to fill the storage tanks and keep the gardens watered, but not too much. It's always a tricky balance, but we farm girls are optimistic enough to shoot for the moon.
Learn to read weather like a sailor!
We dream that every batch of cheese and yogurt and butter comes out just right.
All things lactic have minds of their own. We know that doing the same thing we did last time won't necessarily result in the same end product as last time. Drinking what was supposed to be yogurt and crumbling what was supposed to be soft cheese comes with the territory. But please oh please—can't we just have it come out like it says in the recipe every time?
Click here for the best goat cheese chevre recipe.
We dream that every farm baby is bouncy and bubbly.
From the newly-hatched fuzzy chick to the big-eyed calf to the prancing foal to the toddler wearing dressed in only a diaper and a cowboy hat—we dream of them flourishing and blossoming and nothing ever standing in their way.
Click here to see the cutest pygmy goats
We dream that every lid will seal, every time.
All those late night canning sessions at the height of harvest, all that prep work for peach chutney and beef stew and green tomato pie filling, all those sticky jam dishes, all that time spent on a hot August day standing over a steaming stockpot—in a dream world, it would all result in a one hundred percent success rate.
Click to learn our canning secrets.
We dream that every one of the wild predators within striking distance will find all they need to eat in the forests and fields.
Even though we know that foxes and fishers and hawks are just trying to feed their families and nobody can be blamed for doing that, we are committed to protecting our flocks and herds from danger. We lock up our goats overnight and plug in the electric fence around the chickens and keep vigilant, but the best case scenario is that wild food will be so abundant that no hungry carnivores will ever come skulking around the barnyard.
Click here for 15 dangerous creatures and how to avoid them.
We dream that the old tractor will keep on going forever.
It is held together with chewing gum and baling twine, and replacement parts are getting harder and harder to find. But we are used to it—the way the clutch goes real hard at that certain height, and that particular spot where the bucket lever grinds a little without easing just ever so slightly to the left—and besides, it's paid for. In our wildest dreams, the old thing will never quit.
Click here for 34 must have tools for homesteading
We dream that all the Japanese beetles and squash bugs and tomato hornworms will all find the taste of someone else's gardens better than ours.
And while we're at it, why not include all of the evil little beasties that like to fly, crawl, inch, and slither their way into our vegetable patches and avail themselves of a free meal—let's dream of them all flying away to the land of the never returning.
Click here for a natural pest repellent.
We dream that no animal will suffer, ever.
We farm girls are earthy and realistic enough to know that births and deaths are inseparable from life itself. We accept that fact, but we wish for our pets and livestock what we wish for ourselves—which is not to unduly suffer as we all travel the journey of life. Pain and agony and misery are things we'd rather live without, and we dream of that for our animals as well.
Click here for tricks for raising animal babies.
We dream that all of our fences will always stay upright and latches will work properly until the end of time.
Yes, I said that with a straight face, as if it is not the most ridiculous item on this list. We farm girls know it is hilariously unrealistic. But let's go ahead and dream it anyway.
Click here to learn how to install a fence yourself.
We dream that every bee will find plenty of nectar and live happily ever after.
Without bees, there are no flowers. And without flowers, eventually everything dies. Plant life, animals that eat plants, animals that eat animals that eat plants. And us. We know that pollinators are at risk around the globe, and one of our fondest dreams is that they are able to bounce back somehow.
Click here to create a bee friendly garden!
Who needs diamonds and Coach bags and Noguchi tables and villas on the Mediterranean? We farm girls are dreaming of bigger and better things. Out here on the farm, we wish for things that matter. Some of us might not mind having nice nails or a night out every once in a while, but we know when we have it good. And there is nothing finer than living and dreaming like a farm girl.
Want to see how a farm should look like? Take a tour with this video from Weed 'em & Reap:
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