The Life of a Farming Family

The life of a farming family a long time ago is nothing like the life of a family farming in the 21st century with all its farming technology advances. No, farming in history is much, much different than it is today.

The farming families I come from would habitually get up in the mornings before the rooster began crowing. I think my grandfather's enjoyed the idea of going to bed with the chickens and getting up before the roosters.

Imagine, getting up every morning, weekend or not at 4:00 - 4:30 am and then going to bed before it gets dark and then you might have some idea of the hours a farming family years ago might keep.

I am not so sure about the hours a farmer who is farming in the 21st century might get up and then go to bed. However, I am sure the work in between waking and retiring is still hard regardless of the conveniences of using farming technology advances today.

Nevertheless, the life of a farming family a long time ago generally began very early. However, this might be because the work was harder way back then without the use of all the new conveniences. The days were hot and long during the warmer weather so, getting up before the sun to begin the necessary work was really the best decision. Waiting until later meant that you as a farmer would suffer more from the heat of the day. Cooler months were not much different and then later when the temperatures dropped. Various chores were taken care of early and maybe then, you might be able to get in some hunting or fishing.

Imagine being snug and warm in your bed asleep, sound asleep. You can smell the coffee brewing in the percolator coffeepot on the stove. The scent was strong since the coffee granddaddy makes everyone swears can be useful for paving a road. Strong, dark and robust coffee that can stain china and melmac coffee cups. If the scent of coffee does not get you up out of the bed, the bellowing of granddaddy could wake the dead as well as those who wished for just a few more winks. Everyone gathered at the kitchen table for same meal everyday of cathead biscuits, fried eggs, grits, bacon and juice or milk or some of granddaddy’s robust dark coffee. Talk about some good eating and granddaddy made it all by himself and plenty for everyone too.

After breakfast during the week, the kids would get ready for school and take care of any quick chores before getting on the school bus and then leaving for the day. All the adults would both leave for work and then return later in the day. Anyone who stayed at the farm had chores that needed attending. Whether that was hand-milking a cow or two, slopping the hogs (and that is a smelly job), feeding the chickens and turkeys, feeding and then making sure that the horses and cows had all they could eat and plenty of water to gathering the chicken eggs by hand. The dogs ate table scraps and lived healthy long lives.

Of course, this might not be all that may need attending to in the life of a farming family. There is land to cultivate, plants to plant and then tended to prevent animals or bugs and other pests from eating away before harvesting. Farming families generally eat off the land, the crops they harvest and the produce that comes from all the plants as well as the animals they keep. Work is hard, but the food is some of the best you can find anywhere.

Can you imagine taking the saltshaker out to the tomato patch, sitting down in the middle of a row and then eating your fill since there is still plenty for the table or for sale? Imagine for a moment what the true taste of snap green beans straight off the vine might be like before being processes, canned and placed on a store shelf.

If you can imagine the natural sweetness of these vegetables, you might come close to understanding just part of the life of a farming family before all the farming technology advances of farming in the 21st century but that was so long ago and you might be able to imagine how much I really miss my granddaddy...

Sara Valor is a work at home freelance writer, she enjoys sharing information!