Several years ago, PBS aired a riveting documentary about a young, Nebraska farm family. “The Farmer’s Wife” is one of those rare television experiences that captures your heart and soul — truly unforgettable. I just happened to catch the first episode and was immediately captivated by it. I ended up being able to record the entire thing and have watched it several times over the years. My daughter, Lisa, also loved it and we have watched it together a few times.
Filmmaker David Sutherland gives the viewer a fascinating glimpse into the lives of Darrel and Juanita Buschkoetter as they struggle to keep their farm and their marriage together through very difficult times. It’s an extremely intimate portrayal of their lives, as well as an eye-opening look at the difficulties facing small American farmers.
If you get the opportunity to see this on PBS, locate it in your library, or purchase the DVD, I strongly recommend it. I promise you will never forget it, nor will you ever look at farming the same way again.
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Okay, so we are in no way farmers, despite the fact I refer to our 40 acres as “Apple Tree Farm”. We do, however, have chickens, horses (one belongs to our married daughter and one to her best friend), and a tiny bit of a garden. I love to read about farming and homesteading, although I am quite certain I’m not cut out for that lifestyle myself. I don’t mind putting on a pair of jeans and boots for a short period of time in order to take care of outdoor chores, but I’m truly happier in a skirt and makeup in an air conditioned house most of the time.
Still, there is a certain satisfaction I get from hearing the gentle cluck cluck of my chickens as they peck about their yard. And while I am not really a *horse person*, I do like to stroke their velvety noses. We’re not going to be planting crops but homegrown tomatoes are one of summer’s blessings. Most of the time I enjoy living in the country on my fantasy farm.
The other night, after several days of temperatures hovering around 110 degrees, a cool front came through. The drop in temperature combined with a nice breeze were much appreciated. David and I sat out on our back patio for quite awhile just enjoying the outdoors. I mentioned that I sure would like to see a deer and no sooner were the words out of my mouth than David spotted one! We apparently have quite a few living in our woods. There are currently a couple of fawns which everyone else out here has seen but I have missed thus far.
We also have been seeing a black cat pretty often and a few days ago discovered that she has two kittens. They are wild and won’t come anywhere near us, but I do enjoy little glimpses of them. I just hope they are handling the heat okay and finding enough to eat. I keep thinking about putting out some cat food for them but I try to remind myself that I can’t personally feed every wild creature living on our property. Can I?
I wish someone had told me that before I aquired 5 cats…and a dog…at one time, while we lived in Ruston (please, no calls to the city) I had 8 cats and a dog and we had a possum that lived under our house…and we lived in the middle of town. Can you imagine what I could have done in the country????