One of Those People

Merry Yule!

I am rereading The Barn at the End of the World by Mary Rose O'Reilley and I find I understand her search so much more this time around. I used to be one of those people who wondered how country folk got so many animals. And why they would want so many. I wondered why they would want to be tied to their farm routine and surrounded by feathers and fur and poo. You may wonder this yourself.

And then I moved to the country. I sat on the fence between land with domesticated animals and land without them. I enjoyed the serenity of only wild things. The freedom. They did their thing and I did mine and we tried to stay out of each other's way. Maybe I could have been satisfied with my love of plants and viewing animals from afar.

But then Smudge the cat appeared. Unwanted and often returned. She would have it her way. And she would bring kittens. Animals pushed their way into my heart. And I found I liked having her more than I liked being alone. Now we have four outside cats. And then the chickens came. To us they represented a tiny step towards independence. But they are so much more. Lively and funny and important nutrient elements to our farm. Now we are planning on goats and pigs. Their needs and their contributions fill my head. I find as I age I yearn for connections to things which are not human.

I have come to believe that one of the great losses of our technological society is the loss of our kinship with animals and plants. When you run from your house, to the car, to the office, back to the car and into the house, you don't have much connection to anything. When the only time you venture outside is to mow the lawn, or ride your ATV, you don't connect with the living world around you. However, humans evolved with other living things. We are supposed to be in relationship with them. But now most of us aren't. What do we lose? I think we lose a bit of our humanity, a bit of our hearts. Oddly,what makes us more human and special is only truly appreciated by interacting with the rest of creation. Modern people are lonely. So lonely that we try to fill ourselves with movies, tv, computer games, casual sex, and compulsive shopping and eating. And yet the loneliness remains. Could it be we are lonely not only for deeper connections with other people but also deeper connections to the life around us? Of course a farm is not the only or best way to interact meaningfully with plants and animals. But it is a very practical and important way.


I am riveted by old books detailing a time and way of life lost to progress. I read The Farm Book by E. Boyd Smith with wistful nostalgia. Why am I nostalgic? I never experienced a farm in my childhood or even much of the countryside. Sentimentality? Maybe. But I know now that if I don't venture into the land of farm animals and with all the muck and musings that comes with them, I will always wonder and regret. So looks like I am venturing down the country lane of domestication and slowly becoming one of those people.