so anyways this summer I am working on a farm as a summer job one could say, but it is more voluntary due to I just love working there :D I wanted to work here for a bit just to see how farm life is like and get a reality check as to if this is really what I want to do in the future. since a couple years back I wanted to be a vet and then after I volunteered at a vet hospital for over 2 years I realised it just wasn't for me. so that is why I am working at this farm just for a few weeks before I head off to Phoenix for a month!!
I absolutely just love the atmosphere of working there, the farmer is super nice and chill as he comes and goes from the farm to his house to help out with his family as well. for example he will give me a task to do of cleaning out the pig stalls and then he continue doing his own chore and then head home after lunchtime to help his kid with some homework before returning back to the farm an hour later. I just love how flexible this lifestyle is, you do your work on your own time, you are your own boss, you make the rules, and plus you are outside all day doing what you love and being with animals. how much better does it get!?! farming has truly become my passion and I cant wait to explore more of it in college/university when I take courses on it and I can dedicate my education to it!
so the farm I am working at, at the moment is a pig/sheep farm. so there are many different chores that have to be done. one of the first things I always do straight away when I get down to the farm in the morning is to milk the lambs. there are two lambs in the herd that have been neglected by their moms who wont give them milk so we have to give them milk out of the bottle. these two lambs that need milk from the bottle are called 48 and 49 since that is their register number on their ear tag, so it is easy to figure out who is who in the field. I feel they need proper names since they are sooo cute and adorable and both have very separate and different personalities, so I believe they deserve better names supposed to just being called by their registry number.
so the first time the farmer showed me the formula they get for their milk and told me their number and just to go searching in the field. I was a bit sceptical because I didn't know how I was going to find these 2 lambs amist all the other sheep and lambs which would just run away from you if you got to close. as I was walking around in the field I was starting to think it was a hopeless case but then suddenly this lamb looks at me at sees the bottle and just starts charging straight for me, I was confused because it was doing the opposite as to what the other sheep were doing. then I realized it was 49 that had come to me, it was just a blissful moment having a baby lamb run up to you as if you were their mother. :) after it finished the first bottle it wanted more so as I started back towards the barn to make up another batch of warm milk it followed me all the way up until the fence stopped him. I could already tell we were going to be good friends during the next couple of weeks. when I returned from making the second bottle 48 had shown up and boy was he thirsty! once he saw me round the corner he got so excited he climbed through the small hole in the wired fence to reach me first before 49 even got a chance. I was so shocked and I didn't know what to do, out of pure panic because I didn't want him running away since he was basically free now on the other side of the fence, I climbed over the fence into the field on the other side trying to encourage him to climb back through the fence. he was confused and couldn't figure out where and how he got through in the first place :P but he found a hole and managed to climb back through.
that day my main task was to walk around the field spraying all the weeds and unnecessary plants with poison. it was one tough job that took a good 4 and 1/2 hours since it was a big field. even the farmer apologised for it being such a tough task on my first day, but I was up for the challenge!! I hauled a big plastic container on my back containing the poison up and down across the field that day and when I say field I don't mean a nice calm flat field I mean a field that has no flat land it just goes up and down with steep areas with rocks sticking out of the ground and slippery mud just waiting for you to slip on. so I got my workout that day and by the end I couldn't feel my legs or my back.. I did some yoga when I got home to try to relieve the tension in my back. it was tough work but I sure enjoyed it! I love doing hard work outside because I never get tired due to the fresh air giving me energy, the fantastic view of the sea that is only about 200 m away from the farm and the lambs following me around as to motivate me to keep on working. it was such an awesome first day!!
the next day I woke up bright and early to get some yoga in before heading down to the farm. when I went out to the field I couldn't see where the lambs and sheep were so I climbed the steep hill going to the top of the field where I guessed they would be. halfway up I see a lamb appear at the top baaing at me. I soon realised it was 49 so I kneeled down shaking the bottle to show him the milk and he came running down the field to greet me. I couldn't help but smile. he had a wet fur coat since it had been raining earlier that night. that day I had the job of cleaning out the troughs in the pig stalls before the new pigs arrived that day. when the pigs arrived the farmer and I herded them into separate stalls, 13 in each. we categorized them by size since some were bigger than others. after that we went over to talk to the guy that drove them over, and all I can say is he was one sketchy looking farmer! he had a heavy Norwegian accent with torn up clothes and 2 missing fingers on his right hand. ya you can say rough and sketchy alright... so after talking to him we got back to work, I cleaned another set of stalls in the other part of the pig house and prepared it for new pigs as well. it was another long job as well, took me about 3 1/2 hours and boy did it smell. I can see why they compare pigs to being gross when people say "you're a pig!" because they sure make a mess and I know from first hand experience!
when I went to go milk the lambs again before I left (they get milk 2 times a day) I took my phone so I could take some pictures of them since they are so cute! I saw two small lambs by themselves on the side of the hill near some trees so I figured it was 49 and 48. I started my trek over there and when they saw me they came a running and even with my poor eyesight I could see that it was indeed them (48 and 49). I quickly whipped out my phone to take a video and got another cute video of them milking from the bottle. after they were done they both just sort of stayed with me so I kneeled down on the grass and just started to pet them. they surprisingly loved it and wasn't afraid of the touch of my hand. 48 leaned in close to me and loved it when I rubbed his belly and stroked his head just like nickie my dog! 49 started to eat the grass beside me while 48 just loved being cuddled. when I took pictures he would look straight into the camera as if to smile :P he got so tired and relaxed of me cuddling and petting him that he layed down beside me. occasionally after a while of petting him he would look up and give me little kisses on my face, it was pure love and bliss. my day got 10 times better after that moment. its funny how one tiny little second can change your whole day just with the power of love and kindness. so remember that you can find pure happiness anywhere you just have to be open, look for things that make you happy and give things a chance. you can always find happiness in a dull moment.
so remember the power of positivity can alter your way of thinking and make you one happy person! give it a try! I challenge you to find something positive with everything that happens which seems negative. I also challenge you to smile at, at least 8 strangers today and say 1 positive comment to someone you do not necessarily like. the power of kindness is way stronger then the power of revenge. so if someone made you mad today simple say a nice comment back, it will through them off guard and there will only be positive outcomes of this action. the more positivity and kindness you share with the world the more you will receive back from the world around you :) so stay happy and positive through those rough times it will help ease away your problems, I guarantee it!
Quotes of the day:
Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough”
― Oprah Winfrey
“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
byebye I got to go take my dog out for a walk then do some peaceful yoga <3 remember stay golden ;)
(I will post pictures of the lambs from my phone in not too long)
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