How Much is Work?

People have asked about farming, is it a lot of work? What is it like to have the job of a farmer? How many hours of my day is devoted to working? Hummmm, I get the feeling that they are comparing what I do to a typical 9-5 type job. Well maybe farming is exactly just that to some farmers, especially big corporate farms. But what I am doing as a homestead farmer doesn't equate to what most people deem as a job. 

I find it difficult to make a distinction between work, pleasure, and recreation when working on my homestead. Yes, it's physical labor for sure, sometimes hard, sweaty, muscle tiring labor. But it's something that I enjoy doing. 

Can a person get pleasure doing physical labor? Sure! I enjoy digging the gardens, creating compost, planting trees, harvesting, tending livestock. I'll tell you, if I didn't like to do it, it surely wouldn't get done. I left the drudgery of the 9-5 boring job scene far behind me. 

I have fun creating new experiments to try. It's mental exercise. I enjoy working with my livestock. It's play. It's recreation. 

Homestead farming can be serious but it also can be enjoyable. It incorporates the qualities of a hobby, a job, and a lifestyle all into one. It's hard to say where the work part ends and the pleasure begins. The lines are not only blurred but all mixed up.