But why isn't it pretty?

Unless we were raised on a farm or homestead, we all seem to have this iconic vision of a farm: the green, sloping pasture, the grazing cattle (probably Holsteins), the red barn, the straight and well tended fence line, chickens gathered here and there around the yard.  Well, that's bullcrap.  I have never been on a farm with a perfect fence.  And while I've seen plenty of green pasture, it's usually dotted with, well...bullcrap.  Homesteading is even less picturesque.

One of the things I'm most proud of is how good we are at using found or recycled materials. The only materials we purchased for building our chicken coop were screws and nails.  Not to toot our own horn, but (toot, toot) that's impressive, y'all.

However, frugality often means things aren't as pretty as they would have been had we bought new materials.  I'm impressed by our thriftiness and ingenuity, but sometimes I fret that our property isn't more like that iconic farm in our minds.  I don't know why.  I know that Zuckerman's Farm (home of Zuckerman's famous pig, a.k.a. Wilbur of Charlotte's Web) does not exist.  Why can't I shake that image?  I think that people should be more exposed to what real farming is, especially as children.

A farm is not a place where the barn is always clean and the animals are all chummy and never get eaten.  Sorry, kids.

Why do we show kids pictures of barns that perpetually look like they've just had a fresh coat of paint?  Why do we pretend that the pig and chicken are merely ornaments in said barn that serve no real purpose? Why are we so afraid to show kids where their food comes from? Could it be because showing kids what farms really look like would traumatize them?  The truth is that the majority of their food comes from horrific sources.  Should we be showing them the factory farm that produced the meat for the burger they just ordered at McDonald's?  Are you joking?  The adults in their lives can barely face that reality.  So we create the pretty, pretty picture of Ma and Pa down on the farm.

Then there are those of us striving to change how we produce food.  We are advocates for local food networks and small farms that provide for the community in which they are situated.  It's a labor of love, that's for sure; we certainly aren't raking in the dough.  There is no way we could afford to devote time or money to simply making things more aesthetically appealing. And I refuse to feel bad about that anymore.  I love what we're doing and have got to give up the idea that we're not doing it right because it isn't pretty enough.  But kids should see how their food is grown as is.  Show them the muggy greenhouses.  Show them the industrial sprayers.  Show them the old tractor tires piled up behind the barn, the muddy pig pen, the shed made of pallet wood, the compost and manure piles.  Take them to the farms and let them smell the chicken coop, feel the soil, do a few chores, get some poop on their shoes.  Then, and only then, can our kids start making informed decisions regarding their food.  And we can finally stop pretending that chicken breasts don't come from actual chickens.

The not-so-pretty picture:

We use the corners of our log home to store hoses.

Pallet wood serves many purposes around the farm.  It holds compost, forms pig pens, etc.


 
Ducks swim in old canoes and kiddie pools.


 
Old barrels make feed troughs and waterers for the pigs.

An old wheelbarrow top makes a great feeder for piglets while they're still too small to reach the trough pictured above.