It’s been said that if you choose a job you love you will never have to work a day in your life. But I think that applies more to a job like a motorcycle tester than an Amish farmer.
Wendell Berry wrote: “There are only two reasons to farm: because you have to, and because you love to. The ones who choose to farm choose for love.” I wonder if the horses feel that way too?
“There’s a metal train that’s a mile long and at the very back end a lightning bolt struck her. How long till it reaches and kills the driver, provided that he’s a good conductor?” Bo Burnham, New Math
I stopped to photograph this Amish farmer getting his field ready for planting and it was such a tender moment that tears came to my eyes. It might have been the near freezing temperature and biting wind, but the scene reminded me of many things.
Time passing so quickly, the changing of the seasons, the beauty of spring and the hard work of these farmers. As the smell of horse manure rose into the air, I thought of the show Green Acres, and Oliver deciding that working with his hands was more important than working as a lawyer in the big city.
I would say that farm livin’ is the life for me, keep Manhattan just give me that countryside. But I don’t like getting muddy, or working in a field all day, or having obsessive photographers standing there taking my picture while I’m trying to do my job.
“Wherever he saw a hole he always wanted to know the depth of it. To him this was important.” Jules Verne
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Anything Construction Related
I went to Columbia River Park this afternoon to get some exercise and be near the water. I saw this guy standing there for a long time and asked him if he was thinking about going swimming. He smiled and told me he was praying and that his name was Knowledge.
We stood there and talked for almost an hour about money, about work and about peace of mind. By sheer coincidence neither of us have any of those things but we did seem to have a lot in common.
Confucius (allegedly) said: “The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat.” Thinking back to our conversation I believe that’s what he was trying to explain to me.
“I don’t know of a better argument in favor of farming with horses than trying to start an old tractor in the winter time.” BoJack Horseman
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Things with Engines and Motors
“You have to be what you are. Whatever you are, you gotta be it.” Johnny Cash
Note: Out of respect to the Amish I instructed one of the horses to block the farmers face and he did it perfectly. Click on the image to see it larger.
“We have neglected the truth that a good farmer is a craftsman of the highest order, a kind of artist.” Wendell Berry, The Gift of Good Land
“Everything’s dead, but good, because it’s dead before coming alive, not dead after being alive. That’s how I look at it.” Alan Sillitoe
