Husbandry, a novel

[Sweetened]

How to train your husband in only 10 days.

Just kidding.  

I’ve decided I’m not a farmer, I’m a Husbrandry Practitioner.  A quick look at the definition of the two words and it’s easy to see why.

Farmer, noun.  1. A person who owns or manages a farm (Synonyms include ‘peasant’); 2. A person to whom the collection of taxes was contracted for a fee.

Husbandry, noun. 1. The care, cultivation, and breeding of crops and animals; 2. Management and conservation of resources (Synonyms include ‘conservation’ and ‘management’).

Farmer is practically defined as an ownership role, one involving money (not goods and product) as an ultimate goal.  It insinuates a lack of joy and, simply, defines a job.  Husbandry comes across as a steward, a protector.  It is filled with hope and a defining of resources.  To me, it seems enjoyable and sustainable, not really a job but… a life’s calling.  

Thus, I am a Husbandry Practitioner.  It would be nice for this to make money, eventually, and to make a few dollars here or there, but if I can feed my family and some day break even, that’s great.

Ryan and I have been watching the Victorian and Edwardian farm series and I have been both enthralled and mortified.  The thing that has stuck out most to me is the way they farmed – horses and a tow behind, leading them and ploughing the land, deep and straight, the ground folding over into long, straight rows as if asked to.  The horses feet stay atop the split ground and barely looks as though it had been walked over.  In an Edwardian episode, they bring the first tractor onto the land to try to market and sell it to the individuals working the land – they demonstrate it.  The tractor carves through the dirt, heaves it and rips it to shreds.  It’s hard to walk on and lumpy, it’s loud and smokey.  There are no lines, no straight edges, there are clumps of grass everywhere, not neatly folded over.  The guy says: “What a mess…”  The side by side image of the two methods is shocking.  

And it broke my heart.

I posted on my facebook: When did we stop working the land, and start beating it into submission?  And I have said the right thing isn’t always easy, and the easy thing isn’t always right.  It’s easier to farm like we do today, but it’s not right for us or the land, and it’s not sustainable.

And that breaks my heart.

[Sassy]

Oh, I've seen a few episodes of the Victorian and Edwardian farm series. So interesting! And yes, l loved it how they farmed the land with the horses and how neat it was done. Beautiful, like art work.

But it is very hard work and I' sure in those days people were worn out very fast because of this. There was a reason why things got motorized. :-)

[Davinci]

Hmmm. How about stewardship? Shepherding? A birthing coach, bringing forth abundance and plenty from the ground?
A coordinator of creatures, plants and everything in between?

This could be fun.

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