When you have a farm or homestead, getting ready to travel is usually a little, well, involved. For the last twenty years, any time I wanted or needed to travel anywhere, the pre-travel logistics were like organizing an invasion. Seriously.
One had to consider animal care. If it is winter then back up heating so that water doesn't freeze is essential, especially since the well on our property serves two other properties.
There's making sure you have enough feed to cover the time you are gone, watering considerations, and about a million to-do steps of minutia to check through.
That's not even counting packing your own stuff, making sure the hubs and the kids have all their things, and oh yes, one's itinerary and finances must also be squared away.
Now that I think of it, it's actually amazing that I even traveled at all during the last two decades.
However, tomorrow we are off on a mini road trip to Pocatello, Idaho. My daughter will be attending Idaho State University this fall and wanted to tour the college. ISU, being a pretty dang awesome school, has campus tours that one can take, so we are off to check it all out.
It's only an eight hour drive from the farm, so travel-wise it's not a bad foray. I have just been feeling a bit kerfluffled this morning, because for the first time in a couple decades, I don't have any large livestock on the place.
It feels a bit, well, strange.
Not at all bad either, my brain just keeps swinging back around on a rote mental checklist like a malfunctioning, in need of memory wiping, program.
For instance, I keep asking myself, Are the troughs filled?
No Kat, you don't have to worry about troughs anymore.
Truly, all I have around these days is six chickens, five ducks, two dogs, and thirteen cats. My chore workload has plummeted. Since I am only going to be gone for 48 hours its not like a lot of feed or water needs to be dispensed, but I still find myself doing mental imminent departure gymnastics.
Weird.
I mean, I have two neighbors who keep a hawk-like eye on our forty acre chunk of end of the road heaven so I know the place will be observed. My corgi goes and has sleepovers with the neighbor boy just down the lane when I leave for any length of time and my hound dog has a wireless yard and can go in and out of the house as she pleases since we have a dog door.
The cats are beyond spoiled and have the full run of the farm with on demand food and water, and the birds, well, they have special feeders and waterers too, so it's not like they are going to notice if I am gone or not.
Could it be that I am truly on a break, a much needed, well-deserved reprieve from constant responsibility. I dare say this is so.
And my hotel has a brand new heated whirlpool and swimming pool. And there's blacklight mini-golf in my future. Plus, the children are driving and I get to be chauffeured to Pocatello. Could it be that my life is shifting into a new era?
I think so. And you know what? I like it😊
After spending an entire year of my life in the throes of illness and reflection, I am more than ready to kick up my heels a bit.
Well, maybe after I check the duck's water bucket....