Exhausted

There's really no other way to put it: I am exhausted after my first day at work. 

I got up at 4:30 this morning so that I could get barn chores done in time; I had to be at the farm by 7:30! The following day was long, wet, windy, tiring, but fun. By lunch time the rains were coming down so hard that the term "monsoon" kept coming to mind. It was a fierce, hard driving rain that made us all get wet despite our rubber rain gear. I was soaked to the skin by 11am. Today's to-do list was for us workers to split up and harvest carrots, fingerlings (tiny potatoes), big potatoes, beets, turnips, brussel sprouts, and lettuce. I did all of that except the last two things. 

By 4pm, my energy was seriously flagging. I had been soaking wet for five hours, and I was tired... So tired. My boss, Casey, grinned at my slowness and shouted out, "Welcome to farming!" I laughed and shot back, "No, it's 'welcome to vegetables'!" I was dog tired after this day, but as I thought about it, it really was the veggies that did me in. To me, "farming" has always been milking animals, feeding animals, moving animals to new pasture, pounding fence posts, trimming hooves, slaughtering, and all that lifestyle entails. My body is used to that kind of exertion and is limber from years of livestock work. And then I started working with vegetables... As of today, I have realized that while I can work for hours on end working with animals, this whole veggie thing is going to take a few weeks to get used to. In short, it's a lot more physical. I have a very strong hunch that I am going to be sore tomorrow.

But despite the wet clothes and aching muscles (and aching head!), I really did enjoy the work. When we were finally done with everything, I came to the conclusion that this work is just far more satisfying to me that working in a store would be. We worked all day. In the rain. And wind. And mud. And flood water. But when we were done we had an amazing amount of food for people. I liked that. :) It was also really nice that a good friend of mine was working that day too. The first day of anything is hard; having a familiar face was an absolute boon and he really helped make my day easier. 

When I finally got home, I was given the awesome news that two of my Pumpkin Hulsey eggs had hatched during the day! I was ecstatic to hear this, and couldn't wait to see my two fuzz balls, but before I went and saw them, or did anything at all, I took a long, hot shower. After a day like today, I was filthy (I laughed at my own reflection when I saw myself in the mirror!), sopping wet, and freezing cold. I looked like I had been in a mud fight, and felt like an icicle. Once I was feeling human again (meaning clean, and in fresh clothes), I went upstairs and peeked in on my chickies. Oh dear me... They are so stinkin' cute! Okay, so yes they rather look like any ordinary chick, but they're still cute! I'll see about posting pictures tomorrow.

So now I'm tired. And my fingers are swollen from harvesting potatoes. And I will bet an acorn to an oak that I am going to be horrifically sore tomorrow. But I rather enjoyed today. After all, what's not to love about singing "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" in the rain, covered in mud, harvesting potatoes, with a good friend? (It's a long story)

So toodle pip and cheerio my dear friends. I'm off to crash and burn somewhere with a warm blanket.