Last Farm Chores

Today was my cabin’s last day of farm chores! It was so sad to think about how I was doing every chore for the last time. For the past two weeks, my cabin has woken up at 6 o’clock and has rolled out of bed by 6:15.  Here is a typical day on morning farm chores:

We first head to the kitchen to pick up the Slop and Compost (Slop is leftover edible food waste that we feed to the chickens and compost is all other food waste such as banana peels or coffee grinds). At the farm, I take care of Sal, the enormous draft horse. After brushing her I lead her over to her hay and grain. The first morning I did this, the horse powered past me and went to the food, leaving me behind. I had to learned how to deal with her spunk and make sure she knew that I was in charge. Each morning, I fill two buckets of water for her; I grab a bucket or water and one of grain and head to the chicken coop. I hear them squawk all morning, so I know they will be excited to see me. I inch my way into the door, careful not to let one sneak out, then fill their trough and water bowl. I get to throw all their water from yesterday into the woods and watch it splash against the rocks. My cabin mate Liz and I then measure out twenty pounds of hay for Sal for the afternoon and then begin to sweep the barn. The morning is the most beautiful part of the day I think. Now that the sheep and cows are in pasture and out of the barn, the barn is silent and peaceful. Since the barn is basically a long corridor, the light comes in on each end—it is simply beautiful. Liz and I then stop by the fields to say hello to the milkers and the one year old calf, Clementine, grab the eggs from the fridge to be taken to the kitchen, and head to breakfast–most likely pancakes, hard-boiled eggs, fruit, and cereal. There is no better way to start your day!

-Margot Hughan

San Francisco, CA