This seems a little bit strange to me, this writing a blog. I'm not even sure what b l o g stands for. But, it does seem like the next natural step I should take in an endeavour I started almost five years ago.
I'm one of the rare and lucky people who live on the Canaian prairies. Compared to the densely populated areas of the world, we enjoy the luxury of our nearest neighbours living a mile or two away - we can see their yard lights at night, and hear their dogs barking back at the coyotes in the summer when the windows are open, but otherwise we enjoy the complete privacy such distances allow.
My husband and I farm - a small family farm of 800 acres where we have been slowly changing over from grain farming to cattle farming over the past five years. For the first 15 years of our marriage we tried our hand at a huge grain farming business, but circumstances such as weather and debt load have seen us scale down to what some would call a less glorious way of making a living at farming. Actually, the more time passes, the more we feel that we are the lucky ones; our lives are simpler now, the bills are all paid, and while we own less land and older equipment than we did before, the point is that we do own it now.
Five years ago, when our area was flooded and seeding was extremely late, CBC Newsworld asked me to write a diary of our stuggle to put the crop in which they would then post on their website. I'd never tried anything like that before, but it was as if the offer was a gift from heaven. I have always felt that so many times the media distorts the stories they are reporting, sensationalizing them so that the true picture is warped to suit the reporter's take on things. It also is frustrating to have farmers portrayed as whining beggars - most of us aren't - but it's so often the ones that are that find themselves in front of the microphones. All we want to do is make a living at a job that has to be done if people are going to eat. CBC's offer was my chance to say all of that and I have found the opportunity very fullfilling.
With this new year, though, CBC has decided to end my column. On the one hand, I think they are probably right. A five year run is impressive, and I know I've been able to explain the rural way of life to a lot of people; but to go on forever would get stale from their perspective. On the other hand, I have had so much encouragement from other people - fans who sent Christmas cards from other countries to name a few - that I hated to see this avenue of contact end. A blog seemed to be the answer.
So, for what it's worth, my plan is to continue telling the world what it's like to farm in rural Saskatchewan - the people, the places, the work, and the play. Check in every week or so and see what's going on.
2 comments:
Hi Jocelyn, found you through my tracking statistics. I look forward to reading about your experiences. With best wishes, Ally.
I discovered your CBC commentaries only a few months ago, but have looked forward to them ever since. I grew up on a farm and continue to farm with my family, although my contribution these days is living off farm and contributing financially, rather than via sweat equity. I'll miss seeing your commentaries at CBC (and will be writing them to complain about letting yours go) -- your writing is always clear and effective, and you provided a viewpoint that was sorely lacking. It seems we can never hear enough about life as an expat, but the business of feeding people must not be interesting (I, of course, beg to differ!).
In any case, I'll be linking my blog (http://etzikom.blogspot.com/) to yours, in hopes that more people will stop by (I linked to your CBC home on Dec. 7).
Post a Comment