Before the question was even asked by the fourth grade class my husband and I adopted through the Adopt-A-Classroom program with the Illinois Ag in the Classroom, I took it upon myself to explain what a farmer does during the winter months. Contrary to popular belief and children’s books, winter duties do not include darning socks, housing livestock in the kitchen, or falling into a deep Rumplestilskin-type sleep, although that does sound rather enticing.
I explained the importance of book work and record keeping, equipment maintenance and general winter care of livestock. We sent pictures of my husband and his brother hard at work in the shop welding, greasing, organizing and keeping busy while winter weather swirled outside.
What I neglected to write was that the busy work eventually runs out and soon the farmers – the active, outdoor, workaholics they are – come inside . . . bored to tears.
So what does a farmer do on a snow day? My dear farmer watched movies, spent a day catching up on my never ending honey-do list, and re-read a month’s worth of farm magazines. I found him one afternoon on his knees praying for a good snow, so that he could rev up the snowplow and take to the township roads.
Well, God listened to him. He left the house rather willingly at 3 a.m. and arrived home around 7 a.m. ready for a hot breakfast and a short cat nap. That took an hour to accomplish and then the day stretched before him – long, cold, and empty of miscellaneous tasks to keep hands busy. I suggested, half-heartedly that we could begin reorganizing the bedrooms and closets upstairs, an annual task usually completed half-heartedly by me. To my chagrin – at first – he tackled the task with gusto.
With his work jeans cuffed to just above the ankle (his attempt to keep snowplow dirt off my floors), a pair of brown, sheep-skin slippers covering his feet, and his pliers and phone hooked solidly to his belt, my farmer began cleaning the house. He went through closets with dust rag and vacuum in hand, sorting, organizing, folding and tossing. I could hardly keep up. We emptied our home of almost a dumpster full of stuff that day. Tossed an entire bed frame, but together four large bags of clothes for Good Will donation and wiped down every nook and cranny of practically every room.
By night fall, he was happily putting the final touches on his newly reorganized work closet which now had specific places for work gloves and caps, jackets, boots and coveralls. As he plopped next to me on the couch, pants still cuffed, pliers still in place, he said, “So is that what people do on a snow day?”
Nope. Only a farmer.
Katie Pratt
Grand Prairie Farms
Dixon, Illinois
Comments
we still plan on using it for farm chores. Thanks, Chad Broster