Earliest Memories #04: The Farm

I was born in the Philippines. I was born as a farmer. My grand parents owned quite a large portion of land that they used mainly to grow and harvest rice. Of course, they didn't just plant those. They also had other trees and tons of animals. My grand parents had dozens of cows and cattle, lots of chickens and a few carabaos. Some people most likely wouldn't even know what a carabao is. But I was graced enough to know exactly what it is and how it looks like. Thinking back now, it was always a blast to drop by and go to the farm when I was really young. It is quite unfortunate, things aren't the same anymore. How I wished for the farm to be the way it used to back when I was just but a little kid. But time changes everything and I have come to acknowledge that fact about life.

(This is what a carabao is. Looks pretty badass, I must say.)

I said I was born as a farmer. Yet, in reality, I was only exposed to a tiny bit of farming. Though, I do have experience some tasks that involved the farm. I remember driving a jeep with a trailer hooked behind it filled with rice. I remember being in the mud picking up snail eggs. I remember mixing guano and even dealing with drying rice under the sun. It was a fun time but it could also get tiring. Maybe it wasn't that much of an enjoyment to me at the time, but looking back now, I am glad and proud to have experienced such a life. Growing up and being exposed to such a lifestyle and environment perhaps led me to be more humble and polite since I know that regardless of what I wear now and eat, and the money I have in the bank, I still remember that I was once a person that lived among farmers.

There were so many fun times that I don't even believe I could fit in one entry. And it kills me to know that someday, I might not even remember any of those.

The farm, like I mentioned earlier, had tons of chickens. We didn't have a shortage on eggs and chicken meat at all. And it was a lot of fun playing with the chicks. One time, I decided to chase one of those cute little yellow fluff of adorable. It went behind a tree and when I approached it, a friggin' huge hen came and chased me instead! I was running for my life until it decided to stop chasing me because I went inside the hut. Man, that was pretty hectic.
I also remember having a favorite cow. He was reddish and my grand father named him, "Paulo". Yes, my grand father named his cows. Hehe. Sadly, I don't remember the names of the other cows. I suppose the one that I really liked stuck to me more. I even have a photo with that cow. It was sitting down on the ground and I was just on top of it with a straw hat. I need to find that photo.

(I have experienced the life of a rice farmer. Or at least some parts of it.)

I also remember washing sacks for the rice in an irrigation canal. I was with my grand father and we were dipped in it as we washed the sacks to rid it of dirt so we can use them again. Thinking back now, that was probably a very bad idea since bacteria might get in our urinal tract and cause infection. Damn. But we did and it wasn't really the only time I dipped in unsecured waters. I went to rivers and even actual canals in front of houses when I was a kid. It was nothing dangerous to us, we were kids.
And like I also mentioned earlier in this entry, I walked in mud picking up snails and snail eggs in rice farms as well. I did that with my grand father. Then in the end, we would dump them on the road so vehicles passing by would run over them.

Feeding the cows and feeding the chickens were always joyful tasks. In all honesty, I kinda missed that as well. I mean, I do like animals. So I guess it comes natural that I enjoy that aspect of farming.
The only animal in the place that I wasn't really too attached too was the carabao named "Diego". Yeah, my grand father named his carabaos too. I guess that back then they sort of scared me. I mean, damn. They're pitch black, huge and have titanic horns, man! I was a kid. But they were so calm and just downright chill. They would hang around rivers or close to irrigation canals as well.

So much more to say, but I'm afraid this entry ends here now.