This is a working farm, and there are no off days. Cattle have to be looked after. This morning I was part of the crew, with my youngest daughter (it was her idea) to take care of the milking cows. The idea of getting up to milk cows and goats at the crack of dawn sounds good on a Sunday afternoon, but not so much on a cold and wet Monday morning.
On the bright side, everything went according to plan, the cows were their usual curious self. It still takes a calm hand to quietly direct cows to their milking stations. Then of course we had to take care of the goats. Two farm hands were there with us, and by 8 am we were all done. My daughter was smiling and like me looking forward to a well-earned breakfast, we stopped by the chicken coop to pick up overnight eggs (only five) and made our way to the house.
The kitchen was a hive of activity. This Christmas morning the entire clan was up and about. A real breakfast was being prepared, our eggs, bacon from a neighbour's farm, blood sausage from the same farmers and toast from the local baker who produces spectacular breads. She even makes her own flour! A real feast was at hand. Jilian, our future daughter-in-law was sipping a cup of tea, and my wife had prepared oatmeal for her somewhat delicate stomach.
At first, we were going to have breakfast in the dining room, but our children overruled us and asked that we have breakfast in the kitchen, they even brought a small table to add four place settings. As we were about to sit for breakfast the doorbell rang, it was our priest seeking the keys to the chapel. He joined us for tea and toast and a quick blessing.
Our granddaughter is still too young to fully enjoy Christmas, but she was keen to get some toys. Needless to say, she was spoiled rotten, As for the rest of us, we had agreed to small gifts all around, our future in-law's joke gifts were a beautiful necklace for my wife and a rather spectacular bottle of whiskey for me, They clearly broke the gift rule. Roger, my future in-law even had an extravagant gift for his daughter and my son, a fully organized and paid honeymoon in Morocco leaving on the 29th (how he arranged that in 48 hours is beyond me)
After the gifts, we separated into three groups. The ladies wanted to go to a Christmas fair to "look around". All the boys wanted to go for a "walk" which I suspected was an excuse to go to our local (in the countryside some pubs open earlier than advertised), and Roger my future-in-law wanted to "see the farm". Over the next few hours, he and I toured the farm. He was really impressed with the biodigesters.
Roger and I are now ensconced in my study, sampling some fine whiskeys. The cook will have lunch ready in about an hour, and I just texted the boys to make sure they remember to not overindulge and head back to the house. Our cook even found five young people looking for work during the Christmas break, who will help her, considering that we will be between 12 to 20 at each meal over the next week.
It's funny Roger had no idea as to the size of our farm. He was surprised to see half a dozen vehicles in the farm forecourt on Christmas day. I told him that farming was a seven-day-a-week business, with very little off time, because our clients are also seven-day-a-week businesses. Excluding the farm manager we have staff on the property from 5 am until 7 pm every day. Today and yesterday are the only two days of the year where we have no scheduled pick-ups.
I made sure that the fireplaces in the game room, the music room and the living room were ready to be lit. I think the boys are keen on a game of poker, we shall see what my wife says about that... We are planning to listen to the king's Christmas Day address and enjoy this day to the fullest.
Happy Christmas
Comments