What can I say? There’s just something about Farmer Brown … or Farmer Dowdle in this case … that just harvests my crops. (I just made that up.)
- Haybailers, by Eric Dowdle
My man and his "tractor"
We recently purchased enough land behind us to build a humble (but Dowdle-esk) barn. Eric loves his animals. We have chickens, peacocks, goats, two barn cats, a rabbit and the moment I acquiesce, some pigs (ugh). I watched Eric put on his farmer hat and go to work clearing the land for his farm. And I must say, it did something for me. He was sweating all over, filthy dirty and determined to push through any obstacle with man-worthy grunts. There was even a time when he was using the front loader and at least five spiders were crawling on him. He didn’t stop. “I’ll get the pesky critters off later” he said in his perfect John Wayne impersonation. Now that’s a real man [swoon].
Eric clearing the land
From the painting above you can see that Eric doesn’t believe in drab unimpressive barns. And neither do I. Their charm is almost important to us as the house. Maybe more.
I have the Haybailers painting in my family room. I love it! It tells a story of an Amish farm and the hard working family that runs it. White farm houses, red barns (with Amish quilt block patterns painted on the side), as well as holsteins, orchards and hay bundles dotting the countryside … oh bliss! Even the little outhouse with the moon-shape cutout has its charm. However, I’d build it only for a little potting shed or some storage. I’m a big advocate of modern conveniences.
Getting me a little Farmer Dowdle lovin'
The farm and its equipment are nice. But without the good God-fearing, family-loving, country-proud farmer, it’s just another ordinary piece of real estate. God bless our farmers!
Eric running heavy (but small) equipment is not a very comforting thought. Hope the rest of the neighborhood is still intact.
bwahahaha! Fear not. We’re all safe and thriving.
He keeps this tractor work up and Cody may have younger sibling on the way. LOL.