Farming

This picture (from last summer, obviously) is of the family farm I grew up on. The land is rented out now that my dad is retired but I still feel a connection to it. The corn field there was a cattle pasture when I was young and I spent many hours roaming and playing the summer hours away.

I've been watching a recent UK program called My Dream Farm (in spurts because we kept losing power with last night's freezing rain). I definitely understand the appeal to getting back to the land, being raised on a farm combined with a personality that likes to put deep roots down makes it a strong pull. Naturally, land here is much less expensive than the UK; we also don't have the uber-restrictive regulations and high taxes to contend with. On the negative side, our winters are generally much harsher, the economics of farming are dire, and the farms aren't usually so breath-takingly beautiful.

Ideally, I'd need to be independently wealthy to farm (especially on the small scale which is all I'd be interested in). In reality, I'd have to have a partner/husband who farmed while I continued working. I did wonder why the wife in the show wasn't out working because that's the only way small farmers can survive these days (here, at least, maybe not in the UK). Still, it's something fun to think about.