Pointing It Out To You! Golden Years

Everyone needs a break from time to time. We all need a chance to relax, rewind and reflect on past experiences, it is a fundamental part of the process that keeps us going from year to year.

For my family, it is an easy process as we are no longer maintaining an active flock. Our breeding days are in the past, and while bittersweet and full of both good and bad memories and there it lay.

Breeding and raising good healthy gamebirds are a series of processes in itself, every day is a new adventure into maintaining and producing good stock. Every action is calculated, and risks are associated with each effort. For years we kept a rigorous schedule on everything we tried to accomplish. It is trying to say the least. Each year ticking off, one after the other with these magnificent warriors at the center of every action.

F B McGuinness is a strict taskmaster but not near as time consuming as the health and care of these birds. After a year of schedules…when to breed, when to worm, when to delouse, when to move, when to condition, where we were going to show were all factored into every decision, and this has nothing on the sudden emergencies that often arise on every yard. Bad weather, rogue stags, predators (the ones that fly and the ones that creep in after dark), broken cords, neighbors’ dogs, and even feral cats are all constant threats to every yard and each requires constant vigilance.

At one point in our career, it seemed as if every time we left the farm some catastrophes hit all at once to threatened us. We stopped all family vacations to make up for the time we were away for shows. We quit visiting family; we cocooned ourselves into the routine of the farm. I didn’t realize how time-consuming it was until it was over. I don’t regret a moment I spent on these ole birds, but I do regret the years of family memories I missed. I miss the times I could have spent with my son, Jamie who passed in 2005. It’s all water over that dam we call life, and time keeps moving. No use regretting what you can’t change, but that doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge it.

Do I miss the crows of the roosters? Do I miss the clucking of the hens as she gathers her brood around her? Do I miss the interactions of farm life? Do I miss the routine of conditioning and feeding out a show? Do I miss the never-ending list of things to do with no chance in hell of accomplishing 70% of it? Do I miss the constant chatter of “talking roosters” with fellow enthusiast?

The answer is yes to every question. I miss it with every fiber of my being.

But…I also enjoy the added time to go to music concerts; I love the idea that I can go on an extended vacation with my family. I love the fact that I worked hard enough all year long that I can enjoy my week at the beach every year, sucking down Banana Coladas and waiting on the steaks to finish grilling, and the shrimp to stop sizzling.

I am enjoying this new facet of my life that includes more poultry shows and gamebreeder meetings. I enjoy the interactions with my customers. I enjoy meeting young cockers and giving sound advice on problems that every cocker faces every day. I plan to enjoy these “Golden Years”. Keep ‘em crowing.