On the surface blogging seems so surreal. Life is captured in pictures and words that exhibit mere blips in time. Much of the ugliness of life is left out of the equation. Those nasty details of dirty laundry, messy children, and crazy dogs don't always fit into the neat atmosphere created here on the web.
So, today I am here to let it be known that it isn't all about barns and sunsets on the farmette. Pretty flowers don't always rule and clothes aren't always clean. And, there is an enormous pile of barn boots in the mudroom, but I will spare you a picture of that hot mess.
Take this handsome fellow for example. Just a few days ago he ran into the house.....with fresh manure on his feet, legs, body, ears, etc.... I think you get the picture. He made a mad dash to the toilet and proceeded to drink heartily. I quickly had a spell and then hauled him outside. 
Why can't he just drink out of the birdbath like she does?
I kid people, I kid.....I do provide them fresh drinking water. Why can't they use it?
Then we have the weed production. If it weren't for weeds, I am not sure the farmette could produce anything at all. I think they secretly scheme during the night to take over...the yard, the garden, etc...
And, lastly what would our dear farm life be without a Super Secret Agent Man in a pink scarf. Sometimes you just have to use what's available when your wife doesn't have the laundry finished.
This photo post doesn't even include all of the hunting paraphernalia spread amongst our home, nor the doggie chew chips hidden underneath the spare bedroom bedspread.
I could go on and on, but I am going to leave it at that.
But, perhaps there is something you would like to share........
Nope. Not me. My life is as orderly and perfect as my blog.
ReplyDelete;)
You're absolutely right..so often we post little snippets of lovely and leave out the ugly.
ReplyDeleteUgly as in- dead squirrel carried into my house by one bad dog. Dead squirrel not discovered until I carried in the fresh bedding and saw a mangled THING poking out from under my bed!
Chaos! :)
I'll have to think about that one. A secret Agent Man in a pink scarf makes for quite a picture!
ReplyDeleteYou posed the question last week, 'Why do you blog?'. Perhaps the answer is also coupled with your post today: to escape the beauty challenged realities of daily life. The blogosphere is a place where we can escape -- and be in control. (Unless, of course, Blogger is acting up. Ahem.) A few weeds? A disgustingly filthy hound? Lots of laundry? And you still carve out time for 'It's a Small Life"? I think you're doing great! (P.S. Love that pink scarf!)
ReplyDeleteOh, you are so right! I guess we don't really want to share our despair. . . okay, I mean our dirt and mess. And if it doesn't stop raining here, all we will have is weeds!
ReplyDeleteAmen! I absolutely agree. The truth of it is once in awhile I blog about the ugly but most of the time I only want to remember the pretty, serene, memorable moments. I have messes, big and little. We all do and it's nice to know that when needed for some encouragement I can always call on my blogger buddies.
ReplyDeleteWashing...? What washing...? Really,Farmchick, you should teach your dog to drink out of his water bowl! He he
ReplyDeleteso true...no one wants everyone to see the dirty dishes...peeling paint...the kitchen sink that decides to drain when it wants to...the carpet that needs to be replaced because some folks don't check their shoes before they come in and manage to track things in that won't scrub out...or the daughter that has a pile of clothes so high in her room your scared to go in their because you might not make it out...oh it feels good to air your dirty laundry so to speak....
ReplyDeleteLiving in a 15 x 20 cabin, sans toilet (outhouse), well...you get the drift. Not to mention 22 sled dogs. Yesterday alone I scooped 66 spots. I'll let you do the math. 22 x 3 x 7 x 52...yep, sometimes life is all about dirty details.
ReplyDeleteI could share the dust that is around my house that I forget to dust sometimes ;0
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing a view into the fact that your life is as normal/abnormal as the rest of us. I view blogging as a scrapbook of sorts where we record and share those moments and photos that we choose to hold onto and perhaps leave the rest "out of sight, out of mind". Have a good week. I must attend to my dirty laundry today!!
ReplyDeleteWell, You know I'm all about keeping it real! haha.
ReplyDeleteOur cats used to do that...drink from the toilet or sink when their water bowl was full of fresh water. ha.
As someone who has done a blog post entirely devoted to cleaning up dog puke, I think I get where you're coming from ;-)
ReplyDeletemy house is full of dog hair, dust and dirt. why do you think i've only posted maybe 3 or 4 'indoor' shots on my blog? let me stick to the beauty outside as the 'earthiness' inside isn't as appealing. :)
ReplyDeleteand here i thought you were going to share something really dark and sad. instead you give us S.A.M. in pink. :)
Yep, life can get a bit messy.
ReplyDeleteAmen....I love this post.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are sooo good. I love the bird bath one, and the weeds oh yes they grow even during a drought...what's up with that? ha
You don't know about dog hairs until you have a Samoyed! At least he drinks from his bowl.
ReplyDeleteFarmchick -- Thanks for the spot check on reality. A mess or two means life exists which is a good sign to me. -- barbara
ReplyDeleteSay what?? I thought all of us bloggers had clean houses and perfect lives!! (snort!)
ReplyDeleteLOL! Nope! My life is perfect! The front hall closet is ALWAYS closed but it's completely tidy inside. The dogs lick off their own feet at the door and sit politely while I get their food. The children are above average and offer to do the dishes for me. And my tiny 1/2 acre repels weeds.
ReplyDeleteI love how pictures can crop all that part of our lives out and just look gorgeous on their own!
Oh yes...somebody finally said it out loud...our lives aren't perfect...sometimes they are one hot mess! But it's nice to read about the good things in life...and our accomplishments...isn't it!
ReplyDeleteI so hear you. Today our oldest said she couldn't find a short sleeved shirt to wear to school. I JUST did all the laundry for school clothes, so I stomped up to find them, but DANGED if I could find ONE! Seriously? I have no clue where they are, but I WILL find them!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the rain washed them all away! ;-)
This sounds like a normal day for us. Remember to give thanks for all those blessings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that 'dark' underbelly. Sometimes we think it's only us... NOT!
ReplyDeleteWell I did celebrate Easter with my "dust bunnies" :) And I save paper by writing notes to myself in the dust! What's sad about this is that there's just me taking care of me and Baron of course. Your Secret Agent is a real trooper in his pink scarf...a real fashion statement on a cold day!
ReplyDeleteMy life is perfect. All I do is cook, blog and go to Bible study. That's why my house always looks like I'm been robbed. I blame the condition of the yard on all the rain we have had. When it stops raining I'll find something else to blame. I have also had groundhogs and opossum come in the doggy door that I forget to lock at night. Everything is fine at my house.
ReplyDeleteYes I could... about the dog. However, writing of the foibles of the female side of the household here would require a bold step on my part..... that might end up with me being evicted. As well as losing my small blogging audience consisting of regulars largely (but not entirely) of the female persuasion. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, you know what they say...
ReplyDeletebehind every successful blog is an unfed husband (and loads and loads of dirty laundry)! ;)
McVal - I wish my dogs would lick their own feet before they came in the house. Gee...how much time/effort that could save me. lol
ReplyDeleteBeverly - You gotta start locking that doggie door! I might die if I found a groundhog in my house!
ReplyDeleteIan - We do have many, many blessings amongst our many messes. Much to be thankful for, that is true :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who runs around picking up after everyone and everything at all times of the day....it never ends, does it?!
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh....freedom! You are SO right.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the not so beautiful....although- I do think your Mr. Man there looks quite stunning in pink:))
We have a 100 lb. lab who thinks he's still a puppy, leaves at least 3 dogs worth of hair everywhere he goes and delights in rolling around in only the most disgusting things before coming in and jumping into my wife's lap. should we send him down to teach your dogs how it's done?
ReplyDeleteBTW: I would like to state for the record that I have never worn any item of my wife's clothing.....at least not where anyone could get a picture of it......I hope.
I absolutely love this post! So true! But none of us are alone. It's all the mess that makes up this thing we call LIFE.
ReplyDeleteShug
Secret Agent Man looks absolutely divine in his pink scarf, dahling.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we blog to escape plainness and ugliness and mess. There is plenty of that and we want to escape it. I see beautiful photos from gorgeous and fascinating places all over the world. Should I reciprocate by showing filth? Nah.
Ha! My house is perfect as long as that dog who frequents the pond stays outside. Hhmm, like that's gonna happen! : )
ReplyDeleteCute post and you're right - blogging let's us "crop" out all the ugliness - thank goodness. And there is plenty of maneur and weeds on our farmette too - but I love it anyway!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, lovely pics, oh the doggie is so cute!! Well my house is in perfect order as I cant stand untidiness and uncleanliness!!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week:)
I am so happy to know that we can let our hair down now and then. You posted it quite nicely though for me it would be hard to do the same but then again we are limited to one photo a day. Maybe in my next life (blog).
ReplyDeleteWith your post you reminded me of many things I will not share!
ReplyDeleteOh I love your border collie. I love this post it is so true manure and mud I like sharing some but it is much nicer to share the sunshine and roses. Good job. B
ReplyDeleteawesome post! I love your thoughts and yes- we need to remember to share everything because that is life- life is not perfect!
ReplyDeleteYou mean like the dried corn sitting in my kitchen-waiting for someone to take it to the woods-or the old newspapers, paper mache, and paint that is all over my kitchen table : )
ReplyDeleteReal life at its best, moms had to keep me away from blogging just to catch up with the house work, hang on how does that work I'm a dog!! I don't do house work, but I can make a mess lol!!
ReplyDeleteHave a good week
See Yea George xxx
great post! I was thinking about this the other day- strange thing blogging
ReplyDelete:-)
oh yes, time and again blogging has brought me into trouble ... leading to the closing of two former sites, many times even struggeling to keep the remaining one alive.
ReplyDeleteif life could only be easier.
wishing you all a good and kind thursday.
Not you! Surreal? How about some mud room pics? Close ups of worn mud crusted leather boots? They could be very interesting actually. I let my warts show all the time. I haven't hid that I'm nuts, which might explain why I don't have over 300 followers.
ReplyDeleteMost sane people don't follow crazy people.
I try and be a bit entertaining in my mess.
I love your place, silly dogs and all. My dog stinks at the moment-he needs a BATH. Cain't photograph stink.
I'll show you my laundry room if you'll show me yours. LOL I had a lot of extended family over for Easter this past Sunday and I made sure to lock the UR door out of fear it might scare someone to death or they think me a hoarder.
ReplyDeleteHas the weather been rough in your neck of the woods. I have it in my mind you are slightly to the northwest of me and when I was watching the radar last night I thought of you all. I just took a peek at tonight's forecast and I'm hopeful we'll get a break from this weather. Take care.
Oh yes! I can agree that real life comes with its not too pretty momenta that for the most part are not blog worthy! lol! Blogs, like glossy magazines, only show the pretty side, but I wouldn't trade the messy real life stuff for perfection. Perfection is dull and boring!
ReplyDeleteI could have an immaculate house, but it'd probably mean that God wouldn't have blessed me with my four kids, my husband, nor that He'd put homeschooling on my heart, so the house would be empty most of the day.
ReplyDeleteSoooo, this is what I tell myself when my kitchen worktops are *never* clear; my laundry pile only knows how to increase, not decrease; my dusty shelves never seem to be spick and span.... And so it goes on!
Praise God for messes! That's what I say!
(Well, it's my excuse anyway!)
Well, it is good to know that behind every bloggers perfect blog, there lurks the same dirtiness and ugliness that we have to deal with everyday. Don't need to see it on a blog though, I can just look around at my own mess. I would rather be blogging than doing laundry or dishes, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wonder if any of my blogging friends have a messy house, dirty dishes or a boring life like I do. Every one seems to be so organized and their counter tops so neat and tidy. I like the dog drinking out of the birdbath. One of our neighbor's cows got loose once and came over to our birdbath to get a drink.
ReplyDeleteI have shared my hot messes before...Ughghgh...I feel for you!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like confession time here. Orderly life ... I wish... all that and a complex one.
ReplyDeleteI have just finished phase ! of a house renovation that has taken longer than I thought... 5 years, I have struggled to keep up with the garden far less the other things mentioned above in this column. we all seem to be trying to present the perfect blog and yet there are thoughts, secrets and desires behind the published page. The dual concept that I started with, seems to have added a third.