Thanksgiving in the Country!

In my eyes, there is no better way to spend Thanksgiving than on the farm.  Albeit, my family is gone to the cottage and I am left to do chores at both farms.  I am content staying home and mucking stalls because it means I get to just be home (which doesn’t happen very often).  My dogs are extremely happy!

The imagery of harvest frames my front entrance.  Gourds and pumpkins, apples and leaves sit appropriately around the porch surrounding the door, as a welcome to fall and a welcome to visitors during this beautiful season.  I decorate for each season, but fall is definitely my favourite of all and it is rewarding knowing I grew my own autumn porch display items.   

Each day I try to consciously think of what I am thankful for, usually while driving to work or cleaning the stalls.  If I don’t then I sometimes forget what is important to me.   When it comes down to it, all the things I am most thankful for relate to my life in the country and experiences I have only been able to have because of my lifestyle here…

-Clean fresh air and wide open spaces to realize the grandest gardening ambitions

-Raising meat and vegetables and having a chicken coop in the backyard that I can collect fresh eggs from each day

-Owning big dogs and letting them run free

-Having a horse and stable of my own

-Drinking tea on the porch

-Picking apples from nearby orchards

-Long walks on a quiet country lane

-Being able to wear an old wardrobe that dates back to the 1980s (the animals don’t care and no one can see me)

-Surprise visitors (this is also one of the things I dislike about country living, as they often catch me when I am wearing that wardrobe I mention above and when the house hasn’t been vacuumed in two weeks)

-Blaring my favourite country tunes on the kitchen radio, knowing my neighbours are too far away to care

-Cutting down a Christmas tree from the back forest

-Eating locally because so many residents grow something!

-Bonfires, even when no one can come except the nearby critters

-Witnessing and assisting in the birth of lambs, kids and calves annually

-Photographing the natural beauty around me

-Handwritten letters in the mail

-Standing in a rainstorm on a humid day

-Picnics (they are few and far between, but are long remembered when they actually happen)

-Lilacs and sunflowers

-Cars and trucks that never stay clean so I never need to wash them!

-The sound of rustling leaves, the sight of old barns and century farmhouses, and the feel of a warm breeze in the fall and a cool breeze in the summer

-My tree swing

-Going to the manure pile for garden fertilizer and dirt (this is something I definitely take advantage of and need to remind myself that some people have to pay several dollars per bag)

-Well water

-A good job, food in the fridge and wood for the long winters

-Watching the enjoyment of the chickens and pigs, as they eat the rusty lettuce and split tomatoes from the garden.  It is fascinating!

-My down to earth, country lovin’ girlfriends

Mostly, I am thankful to have all my senses and limbs intact, so I can enjoy all those mentioned above.

I was able to enjoy many of these country blessings this Thanksgiving long weekend.  I picked apples from the Johnson’s Farm, pulled bounty from the vegetable garden and cooked carrots, cabbage and squash, watched and photographed the leaves falling and the horses cantering, ventured with the dogs in my clothes from the 1980s, blared country tunes and spent a whole day with my girlfriends. 

Gladly, the girls were not too busy to visit for brunch, where we had coffee, tea and all the regular breakfast fixings’.  A nice warm autumn ray of sunshine came through the sliding door as we chit chatted with chick flicks playing in the background.  We invited a new friend to this brunch (Bailey) and she tasted very good in our coffee!   

A decade ago, I remember us girls attempting to create a fabulous turkey dinner while our families abandoned us for more exciting Thanksgiving adventures.  Most of us home from university, slaved away all day to be able to enjoy a meal together on the Sunday evening.  We stuffed our faces, followed by little movement on the couches as we lie horizontal trying to drink wine and eat more pie.  I remember that night as the most full I have ever felt and the girls piling on top of me.  (See picture of us in 2007!)  Only now, we are all a few pounds heavier then we were back then and a few babies join us…  Piling on top of each other is not as appealing as it used to be, but with a little more Bailey’s...it may happen in the future!   
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It is easy to take advantage of all these privileges and Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to remind myself of all I have to be thankful for.