The Barefoot Farmer

Part 1. Summer.

The sun burned through the slatted blinds and warmed the eyelids of Wesley Dell. A new day had arrived. Sitting up slowly, he took in three deep breaths and grabbed a pair of dirty trousers that hung messily over the chair by his bed. He snapped on the old crimson suspenders his father had given him as a child and walked out into the kitchen. Cletus, his 12 year old Irish Wolfhound, yawned and looked up at him with that same pleasing look he did every morning, he’d made it through another night.

“Mornin’ ol’ boy,” Wesley mumbled.

Cletus stretched, slowly rolled onto his feet and walk out the back door that was always open. The only time it ever shut was when a strong wind blew through the valley, and that was rare. Wesley popped on his tattered straw hat and followed behind with a steaming cup of coffee. The early morning sun warmed his bare chest and bare feet.

Wesley never wore shoes. He didn’t believe in them. They were a barrier between his feet and the earth. He liked the way each part of his land felt different beneath his toes. The goat pen was soft with old hay and decomposing manure, he didn’t mind. The hay field was prickly and dry but he had calluses so thick that he no longer felt the pricks and prods of the straw. The creek was rocky in parts and sandy in others. His vegetable beds were soft as pincushions, rich with soil he had been perfecting for years. It was almost the perfect mixture, a soft, crumbly loam that grew the most delicious vegetables in the valley. The cement in the barn was always cold on the feet and felt good on hot days.

Cletus led the way into the goat pen where Wesley’s four prized goats waited for their morning hay. There were two dams and two kids.

Grabbing his pitchfork he pierced four flakes of hay and set them in opposite corners of the pen. Gurty, Wesley’s oldest goat, liked her hay fluffed up in her old beat up stainless steel trough. Tess, the second oldest and tamest of the crew, liked her hay moist. Wesley always sprinkled it with a little water from the water hole in the middle of the pen. The kids, Bessie, a jet-black goat, and Starla, a blind little white goat, didn’t mind much how they got their hay, as long as they got it.

Next he grabbed a bucket full of chicken feed and whistled the four-note medley that let the chickens know that it was feeding time. One by one they came running toward Wesley and Cletus from every direction. There was no pen for the chickens so they could go wherever they wanted as they pleased, but they never strayed to far. Life at Sunset Meadows was too good to leave, and they knew that.

It was the first day of summer and Wesley could smell in the air that it was going to be a hot one. Cletus could smell it too.

Wwoof Is… video contest.

The buy nothing new challenge is coming to an end and I found that opting out of buying new things has grooved with me quite well. I enjoy being thrifty, finding alternative ways to get what I need and buying used whenever necessary. Used items have more character and let’s face it, they don’t make ‘em like they used to.

Take time to enjoy the little things in life

I’ve always enjoyed the simple things in life, motivated to find pleasure in things that don’t cost money. Growing up in the country may have contributed to this, having to use my imagination to find pleasure in what was available to me. I’ve encouraged friends to start thinking the same way. I’m spending more time with the ones I love doing things that don’t cost money, finding myself less distracted and enjoying their company that much more. Also, my bank account is looking better than it ever has.

Had I not taken on this challenge I likely would have made a few superfluous and impulsive purchases of clothes, electronics and lord knows what else. But I didn’t, and I am still a happy dude. We are conditioned to believe that buying and giving new things will bring us happiness, but I don’t think it does.

I have given homemade gifts that were much more meaningful than the typical Hallmark card and trinket. At one point I wanted to buy a cute little toy for my niece. Instead, I went home, wrote her a song and recorded it for her and now she’ll have and enjoy that forever – something made just for her.

For Mother’s Day, I sent my mom a half hour recording of “Kyle’s Radio Show – Special Mother’s Day edition” filled with songs and musings by yours truly for her to listen to during Mother’s Day dinner because I wasn’t able to be there with her. She loved it, and now my dad is expecting one for Father’s Day. I have a feeling I’ll be doing this for many Mother’s and Father’s Days to come and that is definitely okay with me because it won’t cost a thing and will be something they look forward to each year.

I’ve taken solace in visits to thrift stores and used bookstores. I’ve strengthened relationships with friends and family by exchanging borrowed items with them. I have enjoyed tackling the challenge with my lovely girlfriend who believes we could live our entire lives and never buy anything new.

I like the sound of that.

So, guess what else I’m adding to my new, more solidified way of life? I hope to minimize the amount of food I purchase on a daily basis.

How you ask?

Well, I’m becoming an organic farmer.  Stay tuned for more on that.

Example. I met a girl a while back who is an aspiring photographer. We became friends on Facebook, had a quick back and forth and that was that. Another connection made in this wonderful world of eccentrics and avant-gardes.

Fast forward to 6-months later. After posting a profile picture on Facebook of myself and my sweetheart, she got in touch and asked if we’d be interested in doing a professional photo shoot for an upcoming Valentines Day promo that her studio (Next Top Model Studios) was looking to do.

I asked my lady, she said heck yes, so off we went. It was a great opportunity and we got some great pictures out of it. Have a look. And remember, cherish all connections you make in this wild journey we call life, who knows what you could get out of them.