Out with the "OLD" Macdonald

I am not your "A" typical farmer by any means. I'm a woman, for starters (I mean how many of you while singing "Old Macdonald" pictured a woman?) See? I don't own any cows, pigs or horses. I was going to add sheep to the list, but there might need to be a "yet" following that statement, however that's a story for another day. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't mind getting dirty by any means, I just refuse to wear overalls while doing so.

In fact, I kinda like to think of my farming venture in a category all its own. If I had to describe it in a few words or less, they would be fresh, fun and fashionable. I can't help it. I like to mix up my wardrobe and keep it as fresh as the flavorful jams and mustards I hand make ( i.e. Strawberry chipotle jam, or spicy orange blossom mustard).

And sure, I play with bees which requires donning certain precautionary garb. But I will be darned if I'm not wearing skinny jeans and a boho-crochet knit top with matching earrings underneath.

Farming, much like being a mom, is what you make if it. And by that I mean that you don't have to trade in your soul in order to do it. It's inevitable that in either situation, there is BOUND to be poop. You just need to make the conscious decision that you aren't going to let it stifle who YOU are. I like to think of a poop-mishap as an opportunity for a wardrobe change! If there is a kid involved in this scenario, multiply that by two, if it's a farm animal, you may just need to find your pitchfork. Either way, you deal and move on.

I kind of like catching people off guard by not being what they "expected". For me it's all part of the fun of what I do. "You herd goats and keep bees?" (in that? is what they are really thinking) As I get the up and down "once over" scan. Yep, and I'm gonna milk them when I can and make cheese too, IN THIS.  Well, probably not in THIS but an outfit of similar taste and style.

Don't get me wrong, I am most DEFINITELY NOT downing the women who do what I do and a WHOLE lot more, and don't make a fashion statement whilst doing so. Because they are still doing "them" just as much as I am doing "me". The point I am making, is that we are all DOING. And there is no mold to which we must conform to in order to be taken seriously.

So I walk my goats on a leash in a dress at times, or allow my 4 year old son to "cuddle" a baby chick for 5 miles while I run, training for my next half marathon?  Farming is not just for the "Marlboro" men in wranglers, riding through their hundreds of acres of land on tractor or horseback all day and then coming home to a nice home cooked meal and a cold one at night like we hear about in the songs. It's the single mom with a small coop and 2 chickens on the patio of her town home. The inner city family with a rooftop hydroponic garden. The suburban dad who commutes an hour each way to work and owns bee hives in 4 different states.

I guess all I am trying to say is Farming, homesteading, whatever name you call it is fine, it's just the mental image that silently creeps in at the mention of these names that perhaps needs a little change...