Women at Work on the Homestead

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I was thinking about this today while wrestling with one of those big 100 lb bales of hay.

On an earlier thread, we explored the type of work that women do around the farm / homestead. Most of us work just as hard as the men, whether sawing and splitting wood, building chicken coops, and cleaning barns. We don't have the same strength as most men, especially in the upper body, and this can create difficulties and complications. It forces us to work smarter not harder.

For example, I once knew a man who was in the habit or carrying bales of hay to the goats-on his head! That's right, he balanced the bale of hay on his head and walked uphill to the barn!! As for me, I put it on a child's sled and sled it to the goats. Much easier...

What are some ways you've found to work smarter and get the same job done without exhausting yourself?

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 01, 2002

Answers

We had kids.

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), March 01, 2002.

LOL. Around here that just makes MORE work!!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 01, 2002.

I insisted that my husband buy me an ATV since he sold my lawn tractor. We have alot of hills and woods so a regular tractor would have been dangerous so I settled for the quad. The trailer holds at least 3 wheelbarrows full or whatever and has a dump built into it.

I know this wasn't what you meant but it has saved me alot of hauling, especially since most of the hauling was UPHILL.

Now if I can find a way to have the ATV help me hang the fence, instead of just bringing it to the site, I'd be thrilled. Pass the hammer.

The other thing I do is attach more hoses to save my back from carring water buckets to where I need them. Even if the hoses don't reach all the way to where I need it, as far as it goes is okay with me.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), March 01, 2002.


I have leaky heart valves, so working smarter is a way of life, 1st I think, when does it REALLY have to be done, I run a rehearsal through my mind several times before starting, I use ramps and wheels where ever possible [even when it takes a whole 10 min. to go get the cart!]. I take my time, to enjoy the work while doing it. I think about the $300 and something dollars I paid for a health club once many years ago and didn't use enough to break even.

I don't worry about the stuff that didn't get done, because I did the most important ones for the day. I ask for Gods help and I always do better than without asking.

I use power tools, I like power tools, I wait for some things to get done, until my husband is gone to work because it is less stressful to do it myself, slowly, than to watch him do it at any speed.

I have a book so I can work on the car if I have to, or any thing else that has to be done,[I study and learn new stuff all the time] I just do it slower, a step at a time, with good tools. Invest in the best tools you can buy, this will save you money and agrivation for the rest of your life.

When working animals I spend the time it takes to get them to WANT to do what I say, I like to think it's a mommy thing, but I learned it from my grandmother, she was about 5 foot tall, and less than 100 lbs. but if picked a blade of grass and shook it at her dogs they would roll over and cry as if they where beaten with a club, it was all in the tone of her voice, for large pasture animals she always had a good sturdy stick, about as big around as my thumb and as long as her arm, a well placed tap brought instant respect, she even house broke her milk cows!!! I think I had a good teacher.

-- Thumper/inOKC (slrldr@yahoo.com), March 02, 2002.


Gotta agree that women work smarter.. Men just seem to " bull " their way through things using their muscle rather than their smarts. Of course that probably explains why there are more widows then widowers.

-- Ken in Maine (Kenjan@pivot.net), March 02, 2002.


I sing! Yes-it may not have typical "strengthening" powers, but it gets me through almost anything. I sing when I am pushing my overloaded with wet hay and manure wheelbarrow through 2 feet of snow, and try not to think about how much my hands and back hurt. My young children know that when mommy is singing LOUD-it's time to get daddy out! (No, we don't have any neighbours-so this is okay!!) Quite honestly, it just takes my mind off of the work, and onto the purpose. The more I get done throughout the day, the more time we have to spend as a family when my husband is finished work. I should mention, that my songs are something like..." Lord, Give me strength...I am almost there, 3 feet more....!"

I guess you can do ANYTHING in the country!!

God Bless, Aimee gosse.

-- Aimee Gosse (aimeegosse@hotmail.com), March 02, 2002.


I use my weight. There is very little I cannot move if I just take a good grip on it and use a little leverage. I'm afraid of hurting my back if I really heave on something so I just kind of fall back and tug-tug-tug. I also use a dolly for things I don't want to drag, and BIG screwdrivers or drills when I build. I have noticed these last few years that I can do more than the average 6 foot city guy who hasn't learned how to use his body, and THAT makes me feel good. It was kind of fun to make my nephews eye bug out last summer (Aunt TERRI! I was going to HELP you with that!!!!!) heeheeheehee!

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), March 02, 2002.

I have fun looking at things different than my husband dose. He is retired from the USMC and was in amtracks. He works on cars all the time and from time to time he needs another pair of hands and that is where I come in. He was putting new shocks on my mini van when one of them sprang open and he was having a heack of a time. I could hear a few choise words, LOL then he called me to help. HE wanted me to get the bolt hooked up while he tryed to spueze it together. LOL I just looked at him kind of funny and said wouldn't it be easyer to just stick the jack on the end of it and jack it up there and put the bolt on yourself? He looked back under there and said, you know I think that might work. When he came in the house he said that worked great. He would not have thought of it. He said what made you think of it. I told him I don't like helping him after he is worked himself up over somthing because he get frustrated at me when I don't know what he is talking about or don't know the name of a tool. LOL I usaly just say I'm not one of your troops so slow down. LOL and he dose. I told him it is alot easier to think of somthing when your trying to get out of it. He said I sound like a girl :)

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), March 02, 2002.

Smarts work better than muscles, lots of times, I think! When we had to remove our woodstove to do some repairs on it, then replaced the pipe with new, husband couldn't figure out how we were going to raise the stove up enough to meet the pipe then drop the whole thing down again. I just suggested we use the stand jacks on the front, and the handyman on the back. Voila, simple and quick. If I'd left him to his own devices, he'd still be struggling with it, I'm sure! Usually, tho, I get the "I'm sure that won't work" answer before he finally thinks about it and tries my idea! Jan

-- Jan in Co (Janice12@aol.com), March 02, 2002.

I use my little red wagon for small loads, my lawn tractor with wagon for bigger loads, and when there is something really big to move, I get the big tractor. I use the pigs to till the garden and the chickens to weed it. I have all of my feeders located to cut down on feeding time. All of the animals get the same feed, a mixture of whole oats, cracked corn and soybean meal. ( The horses and sheep get extra hay and alfalfa.) I use round bales for the horses, ( don't have to spend time forking hay). I use a bumper pulled round bale mover, so it's a breeze. The only job I really don't care for is cleaning out the chicken coop, if I could train those chickens and ducks to go outside I'd be happy! Best wishes

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), March 02, 2002.


I know what you mean, as women we all know that a tight lid is removed by tapping or hot water. Men just grunt and twist. A lid that doesn't succumb to those methods may be encouraged to loosen should fresh chicken blood be sprinkled counter clockwise around the jar while dancing naked in the moonlight. (That is you and not the chicken or the jar that should be naked)-- Sosaythi 3:1:02

-- Diana (dvance4@juno.com), March 02, 2002.

I'll second the little red wagon. It belongs to the kids but boy does it ever come in handy. Also, I use smaller portions of things that need moving and then just take longer.

For example: I fill gallon jugs of water instead of five gallon buckets. I'd get one of those fancy garden carts if I could afford one.

I move big things around in a vehicle on the farm--no sense in throwing out my back.

I like being a woman--just wish I were the biggest, burliest woman that was ever made when it comes to farm chores. It really frustrates me to wait for the menfolk to do some things I just can't do myself.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), March 02, 2002.


Hello Ladies,

Please have patience with "us men". After all we are from a different planet!

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), March 02, 2002.


At 5 ft 5 and about 130 lbs there's a lot I can't do the way my 6 ft 4 husband does simply because of size and strength....but "smart" does make up the difference a lot!

I study and figure things out until I figure a way to get them done! I've learned I can stand on my little two-step step-stool (that I keep in the rabbit barn to feed the rabbits on the second level) and from that heighth I have just the right power and angle to swing the metal hammer to hammer in steel fence posts! I've gotten really good at it!!!! My mama thinks I'm really funny looking while I'm doing it but I "get a rhythm" and it goes smoothly!!!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), March 02, 2002.


I use the little red wagon too, along with the sled in winter, and the garden cart. I've found that cleaning out the barn for hours is exhausting and leaves me tired for a day or two. Now I just clean it in 15 mintes increments, every couple of days. There a big compost pile right near the barn, or sometimes I will load up the sled or garden cart and spread it on the pasture. 15 minutes every few days makes a real difference, and is about all the time that can be spared anyway.

I love to split wood, and here I have found that using a heavier maul, an 8-9 lb rather than a 6 lb, is more effective and less tiring. The weight of the maul does a lot of the work, with a lighter maul it just has to be swung so many more times to do the same job. A lot of men I have watched lift the maul straight up and bring it back down, OK if the log is small or partly broken up, but tiring to do all the time. Swinging it back and around gives the blow more momentum and force. Of course, there are the cracks and checks to watch for and aim at. :) Few things aggravate me as much as watching some guy pound away at a knot when there is a good check in the log. Finally they go off to get the wedge and sledgehammer, makes me tired just to think about it!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 02, 2002.



Rebekah, the reason it is easier for a man to carry things using his upper body, is because he is built so very differently from a woman. Women's skeletal and muscular structure favors using leg and whole- body strength as leverage. When women carry things, they tend to carry them like babies, close to their body, in front. Men are made totally differently. Their skeletal and muscular structure causes them to swing their loads up and use upper body strength in their work. Perhaps it is easier for a man to swing a bale of hay up and carry it, than it would be for him to pull a loaded sled up the hill. Pulling a sled takes more leg strength, while carrying on top of the head uses upper body strength, and simple balance. If men do work the way women instinctively do it, it can hurt their backs really badly. So let your men do the work the way they feel comes naturally to them, and respect them for it.

Another issue I think should be addressed, is how women can use their brains and their womanly ways to make their men feel admired and special in their male role. I feel that men often are trespassed against in our present society, because women have pushed their way into male roles, doing jobs that used to be a man's work. In the process, we lose our place of being honored as special in OUR role, as the one to be cared for and provided for. We lose their respect, because we dont respect their natural function as provider, protector, and rescuer. And the final result is that neither of us feels as needed and respected in our relationship.

an example: I am perfectly able to take the pickup and go get hay for the cow. I can unload and stack it very well. I am built very strong, and can do heavy work. But my husband has the basic male need to be admired for his strength. So I make it a policy not to let him know that I feel I could do it myself. I always tell him I need him for these things. And he feels more fulfilled because of it. And I feel more cared for, because he willingly does what brings him admiration and gratitude from me. Okay, I'm done preaching. lol

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), March 02, 2002.


I purchased an Allis Chalmers B tractor, got a wagon for it, bought chainsaws, a metal fence post driver, a large metal WHEELBARROW (darned near can't live without it), extra garden hose, handyman jack, floor jack, 25' of 4K lb. test rope, hammer/nail pouch, and everything else I could think to buy (a little at a time and lots of sales). With the tractor and rope I can pull down round bales, reposition the rope and then stand it up to unroll it for animals. If my yard/area looks messy, it's coz it is! I leave things where I can get to them easily. I got a chain fall to butcher goats and leave the pipe for the chain fall up in the tree. I think about leverage and how I can do things the easiest I can. Rabbit cages on top of saw horses, etc. I'd say the tractor and wagon have revolutionized my ability to cope with animals and the place. I would suggest buying a tractor with a three point hitch though. Lots more stuff hooks up to it... GL!

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), March 03, 2002.

Daffodyl Lady, what is so wrong with a woman being capable and strong, and able to do something if her man is sick or absent, or is she finds herself widowed or abandoned? Or maybe he is just at work and the task needs to be done now? Or maybe the guy has no interest in doing the task, or doesn't know how. Whatever, there are a lot of scenarios when it is definitely in a woman's interest to be able to do tasks that might not be classified as part of the female role. For myself, I feel much better and more empowered knowing that I don't have to sit around waiting for a man to build me a goat feeder or to take a bale of hay down to the barn, or to dig a garden bed, or to split firewood. I can't see that it would be ideal for me to let the goats go hungry, the garden unplanted, and the fire go out and the house get cold. I've tried that before, it only made me feel very resentful of the man for allowing us to suffer that way. Well guess what, it was partly my own fault for enabling him to act as he did. Sometimes a man is willing to do such tasks, but he simply doesn't have the time, or maybe doesn't feel well. I don't mind it if a man knows how to cook or do dishes, or sew a button on his shirt, how in the world could it devalue their role for me to be able to stack hay or build something?

Another issue I think should be addressed, is how women can use their brains and their womanly ways to make their men feel admired and special in their male role I think we did discuss that, in 'The Good Wife'. I for one, would like to discuss the woman's role as defined in Proverbs 31. She certainly wasn't a helpless little thing who cowered at home waiting to take her husbands shoes off.

We lose their respect, because we dont respect their natural function as provider, protector, and rescuer. And the final result is that neither of us feels as needed and respected in our relationship. For my part, I have SO much more respect for a man that is manly enough that he doesn't have to constantly prove it by throwing his weight around all the time and acting macho. The kind of man that can be gentle and kind, and talk about what he's feeling. The sort of man that respects my work and isn't threatened when I'm capable of physical labor, that I can work happily side by side with at the same task. A man who is honest and fair, he may be small and unable to lift a bale of hay, but he will have my respect.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 03, 2002.


Rebekah, I dont think you got the picture of what I was talking about. I do NOT recommend a woman being a weakling, encouraging a man to be ridiculously macho, throwing his weight around. I just see too many women who disrespect the way their husbands are made. I see women who tear their marriages apart without knowing they are at fault, sometimes.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), March 03, 2002.

Daffodyllady, I am courious as to which of the 11 women [as far as I can tell] posting on this thread before your 1st post provoked your need to offer correction, I didn't read any male bashing, just some honest observations on the differences in the way men and women do things, which are there for a reason.

-- Thumper/inOKC (slrldr@yahoo.com), March 03, 2002.

What I like best about homesteading is that the work can be arranged to suit ourselves without asking permission from an earthly supervisor. We simply do what suits us best. It sounds like daffodyllady's husband finds real meaning in doing the heavy work. Fine. They like it that way. My own husband finds it a real relief to know that I DON'T need him to do the heavy stuff. Also fine. I don't have to wait to get it done. It's ALL good; what is important is that everybody has arranged their lives so that it "feels" right, and that we are satisfied with it. I am not offended that others prefer a different split of the chores, heavens, why should I be? They are just chores, and adults pretty much arrange their lives to suit themselves.

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), March 03, 2002.

I asked my husband whether men mind a woman doing men's work. He said men generally don't as long as the woman isn't better at it than the man. And she definitely shouldn't point out her proficiency or brag about it....lol

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 03, 2002.

Because my husband is the breadwinner and has to commute 2 hours a day, I try to do everything I can around here, especially since it is really my place (He hates it) So, if that means I have to lug a roll of 330 ft woven wire through the woods and hang it, that is what I do. HOWEVER, if he offers to help, don't think I'd be crazy enough to say no.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), March 04, 2002.

My husband is physically disabled, so I have to do the physical labor around the house even though we are still living in town for the foreseeable future. When we finally are able to buy a country house I know that our agricultural activities will be limited to what I personally am willing and able to do.

What do you think, Daffodyl Lady - does that make him less of a man???? My husband and I respect each other as human beings and individuals, because we are children of God, and not because we fit into some stereotyped pigeonhole of a Real Man or True Woman. Respect that is conditioned on how well you play some role is not real respect. I feel sorry for you, that you think that is what marriage is about. And you are waaaaaaaaaaay out of line telling others that they are not good women when they are just trying to exchange practical advice.

-- Lia (wardenetta@yahoo.com), March 06, 2002.


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