Work is Good!

"How much did the hay barn cost?"

That's a good question! 

Our hay barn cost about $2,000 for the wood, nails, and cement to build. We built it ourselves so we didn't have to pay anyone. It was a lot of work for us, but we like hard work. It's nice to be able to look at something we've built ourselves and say, "We did that!"

It was a lot of work to build the hay barn,
and it's a lot of work to unload hay from a trailer and
stack it in the barn.

Our hay barn has enough hay to last until next May for all the animals. In April and May the pastures start to grow enough grass for them to eat. There is still grass for them to eat right now, but not very much so we feed about 1/2 bale of hay a day.

Sometimes hard work is NO FUN! Sometimes the fun is when we're all done and we can say, "Look at what we did!" Sometimes we have fun when we work. I bet you will be surprised that we have people who love to come help us on the farm! One little girl comes every Saturday morning to help with the chores. She fills all the water buckets, and she loves to milk the goats.

We have people who like to help us unload hay, too! We have people who like to come help clean out stalls! That may not sound like much fun to you, but many people like working with animals and working around a farm. They don't want the responsibility of doing it every day, but they love being able to help us, and they really like working hard.

By October we will be feeding at least 1 bale of hay a day because there won't be any new grass growing on the pastures.

Miss E is growing!
She is so sweet, I love going out to the barn.

It's my responsibility to feed her every morning. Sometimes I'm tired and don't want to get out of bed. Responsibilities are good things to have because they make sure we keep doing good things every day.

Miss E is starting to eat hay and graze on the pasture. She was born August 13 so she is one month old. Calves drink milk for about the first month, then they start eating other food like their mama. 

I am also responsible for feeding, watering, and milking every morning. If I don't go out to the barn and do my chores, the animals won't be able to stay healthy and happy. They would be hungry! All the people that like to get milk from Echo and our goats wouldn't be able to get milk, either. That would make them sad. 

Everyone has jobs and responsibilities.

Chippy is our little speckled hen.
Her job is to sit on eggs.
She has been sitting on eggs and keeping them warm since
August 25. They should hatch this weekend.

If a hen doesn't do her job of keeping the eggs warm , they would never hatch. Quin loves Chippy and he checks on her every time he comes for a visit. He's so gentle when he pets her and checks on her. He makes sure she has food and water near her so she doesn't have to go very far from her eggs. Quin wants Chippy to stay happy and healthy while she sits on her eggs.

Chippy will take good care of the chicks once they hatch, but our responsibility is to take good care of her.

This is Side-Kick and Chuck.
Chuck is our steer (boy cow) and Side-Kick is his sheep friend.

Many farm animals need a friend. They aren't happy if they live in a pasture or a barn all by themselves. Chuck was by himself, and he wasn't happy. He needed a herd-mate so my friend sent Side-Kick to be his friend.

Side-Kick and Chuck are not the same at all, but they know how to be friends. I bet you have friends that aren't like you. That's the way it is with animals on a farm, too.

Scout, our dog, and Carson, the neighbor's horse, are good friends and love to play tag along the fence. This video was taken last winter, but it's still fun to see them have a good time playing.

What responsibilities and jobs do you have at home, or in the classroom? What hard work do you do that makes you feel good when you're done?

Don't be afraid of working hard, or of helping other people. You'll get such a good feeling inside when you're done!