Our Own Time Zone

Living remotely and being self employed allows our life to travel at a different pace. Most of our daily tasks don’t have a scheduled completion deadline. While our wall calendar bears many scribbled notes, most are for livestock records and tax purposes. It’s as if written in a different language, barely decipherable, as bales of hay, lost livestock, and the occasional appointment in town. These reminders, though scattered, are vital to the business end of our ranch operation.

The daily time clock doesn’t seem to hold much importance either. Sunrise and sunset are more motivating than the hours and minutes. Our current life revolves around morning and evening chores, squeezing in extra activities in between. The daylight & weather dictate what we can get accomplished for the day. Homeschooling allows us this freedom, as well. While we do strive to do schoolwork Monday thru Thursday, it can happen anyday of the week. As for time frames, school is accomplished sometime between morning chores and before lunch. I am so often thankful for a wristwatch that displays date and time. Helping to keep us ever so slightly on track with the world. The only dates that alter our routine, are birthdays and holidays. The little cowboys anxiously count down the days to exciting events.

The natural seasons do seem to keep our circle revolving. The melting of snow, means the rain and mud season are soon to arrive. The sudden increase in daily calf births, a reminder that spring is here. The different birdsongs at daylight, signaling the spring migration has begun. Mother Nature’s clock doesn’t follow our human calendar. Instead, we try to adapt to her’s, naturaling falling in line with her cues. I once read, “The more we try to change nature, the harder we have to work”. I try to remind myself of this, as I anxiously await the next season’s tasks.

Today, we are blessed with bright sunshine. The water tank’s ice is thinner, telling of the increase in nightly temperatures. We allow our woodstove’s fire to go out during the day, the walls retaining the heat longer. We spend the afternoon working on inside projects. Our routine for the moment. Soon we will spend most of our waking hours, outside. Our house will become just a place to sleep and occasionally shelter from the heat. All inside activities will cease until the weather insists otherwise. Again, we become in tune with Mother Nature’s rhythms. Making hay while the sun shines.