silage fork

I found myself hammering a half dozen welding rod stumps into the wood handle next to the tang of a nearly new fork, which was already loose.  For maybe the tenth time or so, I let the grandsons know that this did not happen when I was their age with anything like the frequency it does now.  Now, we have it all the time, from forks to scoops to hammers and shovels, all of which I will not buy with plastic handles, as plastic does not lend itself to gripping with the hand properly.  The fault is in the manufacture, for we as a culture have now progressed so far that we cannot let a wood piece age and cure properly before installing it.  No, now it must immediately be turned into money and used green, so that as it does cure in use, it becomes loose and unusable, thus, I suppose, leading to yet another purchase. 

A culture that cannot do a job properly because it is too eager for money is a culture in its death throes.  On our farm, we try to do things differently, to see work as something to do well, not escape, to see animals as part of Creation itself, and to care for the soil as if it belongs to God, which it does.  This produces quality products, ahead of quantity.  And that is just how we want it.


Jim