Ever since our many daughters were little, we’ve asked the same question every night before bed. “What are you grateful for today?”
Like most things we manage to do and stick to with some success as parents, that was Mrs. Evans’ idea now.
The idea behind it was to teach children the value of not taking anything for granted and finding happiness in everyday pleasures and activities.
Good food, spending time with friends, getting high grades in school, being successful in sports, going for a family walk around the farm, a sunny day – all of these things apply.
See also: Crop establishment that saves important time during the rainy season
This is a nightly reminder to be grateful for what we have in our lives instead of focusing too much on what we don’t have.
We’re probably all guilty of the latter to some extent, especially in the fast-paced consumer society we live in.
rich heart
I think it probably helps with mental health as well.
With everything going on in the world of agriculture right now, not to mention the increasingly frightening world events, I try to ask myself these questions every day.
It’s easy to feel anxious and uncertain about the future, and months of rainy weather didn’t help.
This week we are fertilizing the grain. I was relieved to finally be able to go out and work in the fields, but considering how they were doing, it was not a pleasant experience.
We are now putting the last of our spring barley in the ground and don’t really expect it to be anything special at this late stage.
Harvest 2024 certainly won’t be vintage.
This is on top of recent rent increases, grain prices that are less attractive than the average red tractor inspection, and ever-increasing input and machinery costs.
Moreover, I believe that despite our political leaders regularly offering us warm words and platitudes, their actions (or lack of them) are a sign that agriculture is being thrown to the wolves. I strongly feel that this is just showing that we are.
the future of agriculture
I often try to imagine what British farming will look like in the coming decades.
I’m a hopeless optimist about most things in life, but it saddens me to see fewer and fewer people able to make a full-time living on family farms.
That’s why my question is so important to remember.
Despite the depressing mood, there is much to laugh about. I love my job because I don’t have to commute. It’s diverse, interesting and challenging.
I am fit and healthy. I am part of an amazing community of people who have chosen to live this life in an unusual way.
I have never been more than a few meters away from nature. In the past few days I’ve heard the sounds of tawny owls hunting, seen a few rabbits hopping along the tram tracks, and the young elm trees I thought died last summer are losing their leaves. I noticed that it was growing. And what makes me the most happy is that today I saw the sandpiper return to its usual field.
Perhaps most importantly, many of the girls we ask questions about every night are lucky enough to experience a childhood on a farm while surrounded by family.
They and we have so much to be thankful for.