Farm Chores Are Less Fun When Days Are Shorter

Last night I was out getting the alpacas some hay and grain, checking their water, and making sure all was well in their field.   It was getting dark – at 4:15.  I had to run back up to the house to get something to cut the twine on the hay bale, and I felt like it threw off my plan and I was suddenly rushing around – I felt like it was a race against time.  I guess I COULD do the chores in the dark, but dark here is DAAAAAAARK (no city lights), and there aren’t any lights in the alpaca field.  I made it… but on the way back up to the house I was thinking about the summer days… when I did leisurely farm chores after the kids went to bed.  I had time to visit with the alpacas, admire my garden while I was watering, and chat with the chickens.  These days, everything feels so rushed… more like a chore, than my favorite part of the day.

Late this summer, the kids and I made some videos for my grandpa, who moved to Arizona in July.  We thought he would like to see the animals and the kids doing their things.  I watched a couple of the videos this morning to remind me of what I’m missing.

I’ll share a couple of them here…

Hungry for more?  (maybe not more of my voice…)  I’ve posted some more unedited videos on the Stevens Homestead youtube channel.   I’m hoping to do more there in the next few months.  Feel free to subscribe there so that you’ll get updates when I add more or edit what’s there.  The kids have plans to have a whole “Growing Up with the Stevenses” series.  There are a few videos there of their craziness (again, unedited), and some fun Homestead Childcare adventures.   Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas of other things I should capture.

Thanks for reading/watching! 🙂