Precious moments...

The shift back to Standard Time over the weekend seemed to cause my to do list to grow. It's amazing how such a small change can make such a big difference. Even though I feel pressed for time on occasion, I know that each day God grants me with just the right amount of time necessary. I just have to be a good steward and use it wisely.

We have a mile long list on our farm of things to do and are in the beginning stages of several agricultural ventures as well as finishing up a couple of off farm jobs. Taking in to account my full time day job, spending time with family, and completing the off farm business, I've not got much time left for completing my farm jobs. I find myself grabbing a bit of time here and there to work on my list. Even though it's usually hard work, I find myself looking so forward to doing it. Recently, it has been clearing a roadway and potential new pasture of dead trees and brush.

Our small woodlot makes up about half of our 18 acre farm. The majority of it is yellow pine with a decent sampling of hardwoods. A pine beetle infestation from a few years ago left a great deal of pines dead and they are now falling. Fortunately for us, the trees most affected were grouped together on about 2 acres and are adjacent to another 2 acre pasture already existing. So we've gotten busy cleaning up our roadway into it and clearing this area, so as to create some needed pasture for the future. And on the side we've been finding the occasional downed hardwood and cutting some firewood.

At the end of our last outing, my wife commented about our fresh stack of firewood. She was amazed at how gratifying it was to walk out to our carport and see that neatly stacked wood. Our whole family had taken part and it felt good to be outdoors, accomplishing something useful, and sharing time together as a family. Each of our children took part, and we even took our less than obedient German Shepherd, (on a nice long tether of course). Each child did their part, except for the 19 month old, who basically sat in the cab of the truck pushing all the buttons he could find, including switching from the front fuel tank to the rear, which was empty. That took us a few minutes to figure out when the truck wouldn't start. My oldest son, the fitness nut, learned what an intense workout swinging a twelve pound splitting maul can be. And my wife managed to sneak in a school lesson or two on wood characteristics and tree growth. It's always fun conducting school when they don't know school is in session.

All in all, it was good day. I felt more fulfillment from my afternoon on the farm, than I get in a month at my job. I had done something real, that added value to my life and to my farm. My list hadn't gotten much shorter, but a lot had been accomplished!

Mike