Brown: Farmer's to-do list never seems to end

Feed the dog and bring in the mail.

Yeah, there’s a bit more to it than that.

When considering an overnight departure from the place, a farmer must find someone to check up on things while away. This job can’t be trusted to just anyone, and just anyone probably wouldn’t want it anyhow.

It starts relatively standard. Take a look at the house, check on the dogs. Make sure they have feed and water, and hopefully they haven’t had any close encounters with a porcupine. If said encounter has occurred, please remove quills as needed.

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While you’re there, feed the chickens, and the duck, and don’t let the cats stay in the chicken yard — but the goat is OK. The goat is supposed to be there and make sure he doesn’t have his face stuck in his wool. He doesn’t get along so well when he’s stuck on himself like that.

Pet the milk-cow-in-training, she thinks she’s a dog, and she ought to have hay and water, too.

Help yourself to the coffee pot and anything you can find in the fridge, but don’t forget to grab the pitchfork and the pickax from off the porch in the winter — you’ll want ’em when you need to break ice in the cattle and horses’ water.

If it’s cold, you’ll need to take a look at the heifers’ water over in the west pens and the cows’ tank on the east. Hopefully the ice isn’t so thick. We’ll assume the snow isn’t so deep that you need to put out any more hay. That’s the thing about cattle, they don’t need too much attention.

The rest of the time, when it’s dry and hot, you’ll also need to check that the sprinklers are moving and putting out enough water. There’s two running on the west place, fields 6 and 2, and one over on the east farm, the one we call ‘new.’ You know the ones I mean, just make sure they haven’t stopped and they’ve got water all the way to the end.

There’s a list of the pumps that are supposed to be running, in case the electricity blinks or it rains. If it does shower more than 2 inches shut ’em all off and the sprinklers as well, please.

There’s plenty to forget to tell you about, so if you see anything else, just take a look if you would.

Thanks for your help, says the farmer; be back probably tomorrow afternoon.

Audra Brown knows how to break the ice. Contact her at:

[email protected]