Soule: Did 2021 Have a Bright Side?

Concord NH

02 January, 2022

11:00 AM

Description

It has been a rough year for most of us, what with the political situation and the never-ending pandemic. But there are silver linings if you look for them. Our Learning Barn is almost complete and is already home to the goats, a donkey, a lamb, and the pigs. More people than ever are buying locally raised meat, and we now have a new roof so rain won't leak into the store anymore. Not all has been rosy. All of our trucks needed lots of costly repairs, Melissa, a valued helper, started a new job, and in March, I found my favorite ox, Stash, dead in the field. With each setback, I had the option of useless anger or constructive positivity. For instance, at least I own two trucks to repair; there was a time when I had none. I have to stretch to see something positive in Stash's death. I still miss him. I can still see him looking at me from behind his shaggy bangs as he sniffs my pockets for carrots. But his successor, an earnest young steer named Finn, is coming along nicely.As Hamlet said, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so...nothing is really good or bad in itself – it's all what a person thinks about it." Even cows have choices. When I halter-break a heifer, she can fight with the rope holding her or learn that being restrained leads to welcome brushing and extra treats. Read More Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm, where she raises and sells beef, pork, lamb, eggs, and other local products. She can be reached at [email protected].