A Flight Attendant and Her Farmer

I never thought I would google something like “can a chicken get an egg stuck?”or “how much does a duck poop?” But here I am!

My husband and I made the decision to move from the suburbs out to what we considered the country 21 years ago. At the time we were looking for a little more room to stretch out, not feel so closed in by our neighbors, and have a space large enough inside to accommodate our large extended family. What we ended up with is a whole lot of animals.  We didn’t acquire them all at once but gradually over time, each one needing a new home.

The exception to that would be our horse Watson and we did get him on purpose. Actually, we had three horses in the beginning but circumstances changed and two of them went to live with people who actually had the time to ride them. A couple of years later we added 2 goats to the family and I thought… Well, certainly that’s the end of the animal acquisitions! 

However, for a long time my husband had been wanting to add chickens to the mix but I was not on board; I thought they would be loud and stinky. I lost the battle however when last year our granddaughter informed him that a  real farmer had chickens. So while my sister and I were away on a girls’ trip the two of them went and got six baby chicks. I can tell you that  was quite a surprise to come home and find! Fortunately, all my fears were for nothing and now we have delicious, farm-fresh eggs every day from our hens: Esther, Della, Big Red, Lucy, Goldie, and Oprah.

The latest addition to the farm has been five ducks. A friend of our daughter needed to rehome them as she was moving. Of course our daughter thought Papa’s Farm would be the perfect place and so ButterCup, Petunia, Momba, Dennis, and Claire joined the family. Of all the animals they have probably been the most work.  Farmer Greg is still fine-tuning their pond and I think will be for the foreseeable future. There appears to be quite a balancing act between water and duck poop proportions to keep everyone happy.

Overseeing all of this are our two dogs, Winchester (Springer Spaniel)  and Trooper (Bernese Mountain Dog) who seem to take each new addition in stride and wait for the day someone leaves the gate open long enough for them to slip into the pasture and they can live out their fantasy of being herd dogs.

Right now our son has taken the opportunity to move home temporarily to help out with farm projects as the college where he  teaches is doing online classes this semester. With him came his dog Jack (King Charles Cavalier/Shih Tzu mix) so now he is part of the herd too.   

Our 7 year old granddaughter, Olivia probably loves Papa’s Farm the most. I’m sure if you ask her she’ll say we bought it just for her 14 years before she was born. Before the days of Covid 19 she could hardly contain herself waiting for Papa to get home from work so they could do farm chores together. Now that he’s working from home she feels as if he’s there just for her and they should be able to be out on the farm all day. Of course her idea of farm work is driving the tractor around the pasture while Papa does the real work. She has turned into an excellent egg gatherer and now most eggs make it into the house without incident. She loves animals and is the chief reason we have so many. I’ve no doubt that she’ll be able to get Papa to come around to her way of thinking about getting that sheep she has her heart set on.

We’ve had many wonderful times here with family and friends over the years. We’ve hosted little league parties, rehearsal dinner, graduations, showers, birthday celebrations, bible studies, and potlucks galore. Being able to share our home with others has blessed us in ways big and small. There is nothing that means more to me than to be able to share our home with others. Something magical happens to people when they sit down at a table with others over good food. Walls come down, guards are dropped, and true fellowship can happen. Is there anything better than hearing people laugh together? 

For me our little farm is the place I can hear Jesus speak loudest. It’s a place that makes me slow down and listen. Pre-covid19, you would have found me 35,000 feet above the ground flying the friendly skies! For the past 7 years I’ve been a Flight Attendant and getting my wings was one of the happiest days of my life. Exploring new cities, meeting new people and experiencing new things are all things that bring me great delight, but nothing beats home. This place has become a sweet retreat from a world that seems to have gone mad. It’s a quiet place to block out all the noise and confusion that seems to be everywhere these days. 

Because of the virus my airline has asked as many as possible to take a leave of absence in an effort to cut costs and hopefully prevent mass furloughs, I was in a position to be able to do that so I have been grounded since the Middle of April and likely won’t go back to work until April of 2021. While I miss flying and my co-workers, I feel like I have been given a once in a life gift of something incredibly precious…time, time without many commitments or obligations. Time to pray, read, think, listen. Time to just be still.  It’s something I didn’t even know I desperately needed. But as always God was 25 steps ahead and He knew exactly what I needed. Nothing is ever wasted with him, even down time in a worldwide pandemic. I’m excited and looking forward to what he has in store for me. I know He is good and can be trusted.

XOXO,

Shan