WHEN I was farming, the work was never ending, a bit like the title of this poem.
Spreading a bit of muck today,
Trying to keep the wolf at bay.
Hedgecutting, fencing, setting a gate,
Get ready for milking, before it's too late.
Putting calves to suck on cows,
Saw down branches and tree boughs.
Just got home from a part-time job,
Working out for a couple of bob.
Feed the cows with mixed mineral,
Lots of other jobs in general.
Making silage, making hay,
Not enough hours in the day.
Catching up with VAT returns,
Dosing sheep and lambs for worms.
Burning rubbish and mucking out,
Repair a gutter and fix a spout.
Re-build a cottage, set the roof,
Ensure it's dry and waterproof.
Sorting lambs and trim their feet,
Make sure they're healthy and make good meat.
Make a metal rat-proof door,
To keep feed clean and fresh in store.
Go to the quarry for stone and rubble,
Sowing rape seeds on the stubble.
Have a tea break, paint the shed,
Work nights in a factory, then go to bed.
Wallpaper the kitchen, do DIY,
Dip the sheep to prevent 'blow fly'.
Cutting thistles, topping grass,
Contracting out to make some brass.
Wean a calf from cow to bottle,
Repair the tractor clutch and throttle.
Weighing spuds and cutting corn,
Plant some flowers, mow the lawn.
Eggs to gather for farm-gate sales,
Loading and shifting big round bales.
Delivering milk in village near,
Contractors in for sheep to shear.
Do a lot and leave a lot,
Shoot a rabbit to put in the pot.
Injecting ewes, trimming their tails,
Getting them ready to meet their males.
Penning, selecting the finest dams.,
Re-red raddling the randy rams.
Raining today, can't work this weather,
My wife and I go shopping together.
Planning a barn dance for crowds to attend,
A funeral tomorrow to bury a friend.
Cow down with milk fever causing worry,
Repairing a stall and scraping the slurry.
Digging drains with a JCB.,
Prepairing the van for an MOT.
Building a cattle shed, roofing with sheets,
Harvesting turnips and sweet sugar beets.
Searching field numbers for IACS. forms,
Driving me crackers to have brainstorms.
Gathering rubbish and picking up junk,
Christmas geese and turkeys to plunk.
Carrying bales of silage and straw,
Concrete a yard and make a smooth floor.
I'm building up stock, for when I retire,
'Till my son wants it all, his plans to aspire.
Don't stop me now, it isn't funny,
I've work to do.....to lose more money.
