Well today is the second day of barn mucking... so if you have a delicate stomach... :-) I had always heard my ex-girlfriend Mimi talk about cleaning out horse stalls... and it's a chore that at first you'd think, would really suck..... but like life... there's always a balance in play. And although the cows & goats don't get milked, the sheep don't get fleeced, and the geese don't lay eggs, we (people) are still their caretakers of sorts. And I get a lot of pleasure in being around the menagerie... so voluntarily sharing in some of the responsibility's makes it all work out in the end. I've been here almost a month now and this particular joy comes around I guess every 2-3 weeks. I'm still on a learning curve with many things here, so I listen and pick up my Q's on the important things when Denise happens to mention them in passing. And just to make it clear... I'm not expected or required to do any of it... I do it because it's fun, it's neighborly to lend a hand... and I'm learning for myself, that it's a large part of living rural...
This is the proverbial Red Barn... home to Miracle, the goats, sheep & geese. It comes with all the trimmings, hay, pitch forks, shovels, etc. The small 'shed' of the left is a chicken coop serving as storage and food bin for the moment. Their plans are to one day have, chickens for fresh eggs, and a pig... but not for the bacon. 
I guess this is about the time & place where you'd say 'the fun begins'... or maybe 'get to the heart of it', or 'dive in', or just 'get the shit over with'... Ironically the smell isn't really that bad. Now I realize that's relative... but when you consider that these animals eat fresh grass, hay and some grains on the side... their 'left behinds'... is very 'organic'. Although I got to tell you, when it's really fresh... that's a different story. The stinky part I guess for me is the acidic smell of the pee. It's much different than walking into a city alley, where you always smell the 'stink' of human urine! ..... No, this is more natural in a way, so I'll leave it at acidic. And so with a pitch fork and a shovel in hand... 
Proper apparel makes it easier for me to walk around the stuff. Plus these boots remind me of when I lived in Germany long ago, and we'd visit my french grandparents at their home out in the country. It was an old wheat mill, so in french you would call it, 'Le Moulin'. There, we would always wear our rubber boots when out playing in the fields, or tromping in the river. My cousins (M & E) and I always had fun over there... getting into some sort of trouble ;-) Anyway... enough reminiscing and back to shoveling... Oh, I almost forgot... one cool thing too about all this, is that it's a great way to exercise and lose weight! I just have to remember to bend at the knees...
Here's where you can take a break... Once the tractor's loaded, you drive it around the corner to the compost pile and dump it, and repeat. Pretty simple really. There are so many things to do on a farm, or any rural property for that matter... and they're no brainers most of them... but they are just labor intensive. While working on one task, you notice 3 more you could get to. And there's distance involved... since everything is 'spread out'... you find yourself walking all over the place... But in the end, working in a business or corporate is kind of the same I guess... Emails to get to, phone calls to make, meetings, meetings, meetings, more phone calls, paperwork, politics... I think one of the main differences is that, one leaves you physically tired, but mentally intact and spiritually fulfilled, while the other can leave you mentally tired, which can lead to physical lethargy and the spirit challenged... I know this is not true in all cases... just a few too many... 
Job satisfaction... One good thing about this joyful experience is that you get a sense of completion and of a job well done. Here is the sheep's 'pen', all nice & clean... just need to spread out the fresh wood shavings and it's done! Although I took 2 days to do the whole barn... it's a time frame I can live with :-)
Another happy and satisfied customer(s)... I don't really know if they appreciate it or not. Most would say "of course they do..... all nice & clean & fresh..." But one of the goats, after being shut outside with all the others, while I cleaned their section....... not 2 minutes after being let back in... stands there and goes whizzzz..... I just looked at him and said "wtf... you were outside alllll day, and now you choose to go" :-) Swine goats... you gotta keep an eye on those guys... ;-)
Now I am definitely not saying that everyone should be looking to bale (;-) on a current and/or unrewarding job/experience... But I would suggest listening to your feelings... and if there's something in you that's questioning your life's purpose... you might want to experiment and look around for an answer... In the end... this works for me for now... gets the blood flowing, sweat on the brow, breaks up the day, puts the 'monkey chatter' on hold, and puts fresh air in the lungs... The list can go on, but you get the point. And somewhere in there... you gotta take a break and have fun... Henry brought me over a delicious ham sandwich, a warm beer and Vit. C... :-) Life is good... 
GREAT post...
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