Why do you do it?

[thistlebloom]

I do it for the money. I have an offshore account I stash it all in.

Oh...wait...

 

[digitS']

Oh, a farmer and his son,
They were on the run
To the hay field they were bounding
Said the bum to the son,
"Why don't you come
To that big rock candy mountain?"
So the very next day
They hiked away,
The mileposts they were counting
But they never arrived
At the lemonade tide
On the big rock candy mountain

Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees
The soda water fountain where the lemonade springs
And the bluebird sings in that Big Rock Candy Mountain

 

[HomesteaderWife]

Why- Raise chickens & ducks?
My grandmother raised about 30 chickens on her farm, free-range Ameracauna mixes. She taught me to love them and bond with them, so it's just always stuck. Now that she's gone, it really makes me think of her and feel close to her. As for ducks- my husband convinced me to because his grandfather raised them when he was a young boy. So now we have a half and half duck/chicken flock! There's nothing like fresh eggs (like I've seen folks agreeing to here).

Why- Grow a garden each year?
It's another one of those things that links back in our family to our grandparents. My grandmother always kept one, and my husband's grandfather used to. We now raise a variety of crops, and are making the switch to strictly heirlooms over time. Not only does it feed us during the growing season, but I got into canning and freezing about two years ago, so we stay fed year round. It's always nice to share extra produce with friends and family too- especially those in big cities or elderly folks that can't grow their own.

 

[Nyboy]

My grandmother lived on Kit Kats, every time I see one I think of her. oops sorry wandered off there

 

[ducks4you]

I do it for the money. I have an offshore account I stash it all in.

...my new BFF. Cayman Islands?!?!?

 

[secuono]

The horses should be obvious, every girl wants one! Lol, so that's the first thing I did after I heard we officially owned the property. Surprise!

But I got land because of my past doberman, wanted room for him to run.

Once we got the farm, I needed something else to eat all that grass. But it kind of backfired, since I now specifically grow grass for the sheep & even went n bought more land! =/

But now I love the sheep, they're the best. I'll be buried before I give up my cottonballs & gelding!

I'm a bit crazy when it comes to animals & plants, so that explains everything else. Lol

 

[baymule]

Why? Because I must.

Growing and planting is in my DNA. My earliest memory is toddling behind my Daddy in his garden. I have gardened off and on throughout my life. I made my great grandmothers spicy sweet pickles when I was in High School-not what your typical teenager is interested in doing. I learned to can in my early twenties and when I didn't have a garden, I bought peas and corn to put in the freezer.

We raise lamb, chickens for meat and eggs, feeder pigs, process the occasional deer or feral hog, and we just got Muscovy ducks for meat and eggs. We eat darn good around here.

We are looking forward to the garden this year as we think it will be the best one since we moved here. We grow varieties of vegetables that would never grace the grocery store shelves.

I want my grand daughters to know what real life is. They need to have rich soil between their toes. They need to hug a newborn lamb-and they need to eat leg of lamb. Gathering eggs, cuddling baby chicks, chasing down and capturing hens is entertainment of the highest order. They need to know that Mamaw's and Papaw's spotted pig is where their bacon and sausage comes from. Feeding horses, playing on the round bale of hay, riding tall on a gentle steed will be a memory they can keep forever. Playing in the horse trailer, running up and down on the flatbed trailer, building cities in the sand, running up and down the piles of woodchip mulch, hiking in the woods, catching frogs, hugging big white hairy dogs, and helping pick vegetables in the garden are things most children will never experience.

Why? Because I must.

 

[Beekissed]

WHY DO YOU DO IT?

Whatever 'IT' is.
Why do you garden?
Why did you choose to focus more on flowers - or on veggies - or on a grain crop?
Why do you raise chickens, or sheep, or horses, or cows or rabbits, or....?
Why to you bake bread or grind grains into flour or brew kombucha or?

What do you get out of it?
What would you loose if you didn't?

Good question!!!

There is no one answer to it, but I'll try to explain it...it's more of a lifestyle, a heritage passed on from one generation to the next. I feel connected to all that have gone on before since the beginning of time as I perform those same rituals of sowing seed, harvesting, baking bread, preserving the harvest, raising food animals, etc.

I plant for the miracle of seeing a seed become a harvest and the beauty of a flower, in all its perfection, being worked on by a bee. To witness God's creation in all its myriad forms being played out in my vision and knowing I get to play a small part in it. I feel more connected to my Lord when I am tending to the land He has given me, pure and simple. The sights, the smells, the sounds of it all are a natural high and translate into a deep feeling of being loved down to my tiniest particle.

To be a good steward of the land and my daily provision by producing food that is good and good for me, as cheaply as I can, and from the work of my two hands.

It's part of my DNA, it's who I am....what would I lose if I didn't do it? I certain fulfillment and richness to my life, I guess. I'm sure God would replace that empty spot with something just as fulfilling but, for now, I can't imagine what it would be.

 

[Nyboy]

@baymule do you like the muscoy better then the runners ?

 

[lcertuche]

Soooo many reasons, but here are the top few.

I love being outside. It's therapeutic in this day of TV's and computers. To stop thinking and just be...

I'm cheap and I like to have fresh produce and meat without all the chemicals, growth hormones, pesticides, etc...To buy organic is too pricey.

I want my children to remember the old skills of gardening, animal husbandry, cooking, canning, etc...There may be a time when they need to know.

It's the only exercise I ever get, lol...