If you remember from myprevious posts, this is the time of year I met my farmer face-to-face for the first time- down the road from our house on the exit ramp actually!
Anyway, my first visit to our farm was one of my first visits to what you might define as a "big" farm. And not just amount of acres. Family. Equipment. Commodities.
The first few days on the farm I spent it following my husband around with his (now ours) camera.
I basically was his pal around for the week, taking some time to spend with his family in between.
I remember my first visit seeming like the days were full- but not too full.
Now, when I moved to South Dakota just a few months later I moved right before we started chopping silage. And all of a sudden those full days became really, really long days. And nights.
There was a ton of running around, a lot of equipment getting moved, and a lot of caffeine-drive husbands.
And there wasn't any date nights for the first couple of months.
I remember being in awe of what my husband and his brothers had accomplished in such a short amount of time, and the relationship that they must have with their parents in order for them to all work together each day.
I remember my farmer telling me he worked every day of the week, but that didn't really sink in with me that first visit to the farm. It took a good year for me to realize that days off are few and far between- and they normally involve a visit to family.
If your first visit to the farm is coming up, bring your camera along and a listening ear. Make sure to ask lots of questions, chances are this is your match's pride and joy and something he is really passionate about!