On the Farm

I just got a new digital camera, so hopefully I can take some sweet shots at the farm. Brian, Kylie and I spent the day on the farm in Whitney, Idaho (right next to Preston, Idaho--hometown of Napoleon Dynamite) fixing tractors and trucks. It was so great. I love being on the farm and getting (kind of) dirty. All the alfalfa in the valley is cut and the air is so fragrant and sweet, especially when the dew comes down. Mix that with the Russian Olive Trees and you can get drunk off the sweetness. Brian and I chased an electrical problem in the John Deere. I got to drill holes in the cab's hood to install a new light, poke wires with a light tester, use a wicked air compressor, get splinters in my finger, chase tools, drive Kylie on the 4-wheeler to look at the horses, and get grease under my nails. The highlight of the day was when I jumped on the David Brown tractor that I haven't driven for nearly 8 years. It was like riding a bike. I even remembered how to lift the forks up front so I could actually move forward. Our '74 Dodge has been sitting at the farm for a couple years waiting for money and space to be worked on. Brian wanted to start it to make sure it still ran after all these years. The engine was all bound up, so I backed up with the David Brown, chained it to the front of the truck, and pulled Brian around in the truck while he turned the engine over. We finally got it to start. I jumped in the truck and we kicked up clouds of dirt all over the yard! Old trucks are awesome. Today we improvised 4-wheeler ramps to get a 4-wheeler up into a truck bed. The 4-wheeler ramps that we had were too short. So we pulled out a bale of hay from the barn with the David Brown, leaned the ramps on that, then backed the truck up to the bale of hay. The 4-wheeler slid in without any problem. On our way into town for a "beer run" with my nieces (aka Sobe's and cookies run) we saw the llama from Napoleon Dynamite who resides a couple fields down from the Bodily farm. I am definitely getting that picture! Look for it soon. It is so amazing to stand out there, looking around at the valley, and feeling almost oppressed by the quiet and solitude. It is liberating yet imprisoning at the same time. The land is so open, flanked by mountains on all sides. Every now and then a rooster will crow or a horse will whinny. You might see 2 cars pass by the entire time. I am used to the fast paced work of a law office where results are quickly seen. Out there on the farm the work seems so painstakingly slow, with no employee manual to tell you how to solve the problem of a broken sprinkler head with no available parts. I nearly go crazy with the pace unless I am an active participant, finding a solution to the problem at hand. And yet when I take a moment to look around at the sectioned fields, swaying cottonwood trees, and grazing horses a sense of euphoria rushes through heart and limb and I think I could stay here forever.