Life on the "farm"

Since moving to Utah nearly 8 years ago, I have experienced one of the most crazy learning curves! I went from living in a very urban environment to a more rural experience. While I thankfully don't live out in the middle of nowhere, I do live on a 5-acre piece of land that provides many opportunities to be tutored by nature. I am NOT an expert on ANYTHING, but I am learning...along with my family. I am learning how to grow and process produce and livestock...and I am learning I don't always love it and am not always good at it. Nevertheless, I keep learning. I am honestly not sure I would have survived 100 years ago! I have a new appreciation for all those families who had to do this day in and day out to simply survive. I have read stories about my ancestors who were skilled in farming or livestock. In some ways, I wish I would have gleaned more from my grandparents before they passed. There are so many skills that are being lost in the convenience of modern day. Alas, we are now left to our own devices, but are lucky enough to lean on the mercy of wonderful friends and neighbors who were smart enough to learn those skills! Today was a day of processing everything from fruit and veggies to a nearly 600 pound boar! We all started early. Jonas and I focused on picking fruit and making breads, cookies, and jams while Dad and Danny fixed fences, sprayed weeds, and did yard maintenance. I really need to be better at learning how to bottle our produce and then actually use it in recipes...all a part of the learning process.

That evening, we slaughtered our nearly 600 pound boar! This pig was HUGE! We got him in hopes that he could assist our sows in the natural reproduction cycle, but he wasn't quite tall enough to do his job so instead of feeding him through winter, he will now feed us. Our kind neighbor offered us his expertise. It took us nearly 6 hours from kill to clean up. We thankfully had a lot of help or else we might still be out there! It was a good learning experience for everyone. Jonas was fully engaged in the whole process. I actually enjoyed being able to show him some of the anatomy (e.g., heart, lungs, liver, etc.) too. The funniest part of the evening was when Jonas fell asleep on the pillow of sausage. It was a long day but a good one. I am grateful for a family who will work hard! (Next weekend, we'll get to play hard too.)