"Dear God, thankyou that I had a good day at school. Thankyou that we had a waterplay afternoon and that I had swimming. Thankyou that I don't have to come home and do chores. Thankyou that we don't live on a farm!!"
Okay, to explain, we are currently reading the LIttle House books and are up to Farmer Boy. (we're reading them slightly out-of-order...)
This is Laura's telling of Almonzo's childhood (she marries Almonzo as a young woman).
We read the first few chapters tonight, and my goodness, what an incredible story! He is 8 years old, lives on a big farm with his family, walks about 5 miles to and from school each day in the freezing snowy conditions, comes home and works for a couple of hours doing farm chores (really exhausting chores), eats a big dinner (oh to be able to cook like his Mother!), goes to bed around 9 pm and is up again at 5am doing more chores. Oh, and then off for the big walk to school again.
And apparently in the wintery 40 degrees below zero temperatures (aagghhhh!!!!), cattle can't be left to sleep all night because they will freeze in their sleep. So at midnight Almonzo hears his father heading outside ...... in the -40 degree temperatures...... to "exercise" the cattle!!! He runs them around, whipping their behinds to make them walk and run and warm up enough to then resettle them into a safe warmer sleep until he heads out again for milking at dawn. Hmmm.
Saraya found this absolutely hilarious, and I think for the first time ever is fully embracing her quiet surburban lifestyle. :)
5 comments:
WOW! I never knew that about "exercising the cattle". That is truly amazing.
Hope you Ferns are all doing well!
Farmer Boy is my 2nd favorite Little House book. When I was a kid, I always loved reading the descriptions of all the food! Man, those farm families were big eaters!
I remember that book from when I was a girl.
You're right - I don't think I would want to live on a farm like that. Now days I expect sheds are a bit more insulated in that kind of weather.
Heather - farm families are still big eaters - if there's food out - it always goes when we have friends over (I always make twice as much as I previously would).
I remember reading this as a little girl. I must admit, I was rather glad we didn't have to look after cattle in the middle of an Alaska winter.
~Laura
I have read that chapter in the last few years. I think about it sometimes.
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