5:30 AM and All is Well

The alarm goes off, but I’m already awake. Farm life does that to you - your body learns the rhythm of the land, the needs of the animals, the pull of responsibility that never sleeps.

I slip out of bed, trying not to wake Sarah (though she usually stirs anyway - twenty years of marriage to a farmer teaches you to sleep light). The coffee’s already programmed from last night. First cup goes in the travel mug, second cup stays warm for when I come back in.

The Rounds

First Stop: The Chickens

They’re already awake, of course. Chickens don’t believe in sleeping in. The rooster - we call him Frank - gives me his usual judgmental look as I refill their water and scatter feed.

“Morning, Frank,” I say. He doesn’t answer. He never does.

Egg collection is like Christmas morning every day. Never know what you’re going to find. Yesterday it was 14 eggs. Today it’s 16. The brown ones from the Rhode Island Reds, the white ones from the Leghorns, and - if I’m lucky - a few green ones from our Ameraucanas.

Second Stop: The Cattle

They see me coming and start moving toward the gate. Cows are creatures of habit, just like us. They know breakfast is coming.

I check the water troughs first - always water first. Then I throw hay into the feeders. Count heads while they eat. All 23 accounted for. Bessie’s limping a little on her front left - I’ll keep an eye on that.

The sunrise hits the pasture just as I’m closing the gate. Pink and orange painting the sky above our fields. This is why I do this.

Why I Love This

People ask me all the time why we do this. Why get up before dawn every single day? Why deal with the weather, the prices, the uncertainty?

It’s mornings like this.

It’s knowing that every egg in our basket came from a chicken we raised. It’s teaching our kids that milk doesn’t come from a store - it comes from taking care of something bigger than yourself. It’s the quiet satisfaction of work that matters, work that feeds people, work that’s been done by generations before us.

It’s the sunrise over our fields and the knowledge that this land - these animals - depend on us, and we depend on them.

The chores are done, the family’s fed, and the day stretches ahead full of possibilities. Time to see what the farm has in store for us today.