‘Tis the season…for rocks

It’s that time of year when the excitement of budding leaves and warmer temperatures is squashed by the dismay of emerging field rocks.

I grew up assuming all farm kids were subject to the cruelties of picking rocks every spring. It’s a mindless job, but it’s one that feels like it never makes any progress. You can spend all day in one field, walking end to end, only to be crushed by the reality that tomorrow holds the same fate, just in a different field.

We don’t meticulously pick all our fields, but there are always a handful we tackle based on what’s being planted and which location it is. Small grain and bean fields usually get the most attention, but cornfields sometimes need to be walked. There are certain fields of ours that are notorious for producing more rocks than others. Some produce an abundance of baseball- to watermelon-sized rocks, while others have fewer rocks in total but produce larger boulders.

Growing up, our strategy was always to recruit a couple of teams to tackle the field together. It usually included myself, my siblings, a few cousins or neighbors and one or two adults to lead the charge. The cousins and neighbors usually came a couple of times before they figured out the absurdity of the job and never returned. My siblings and I couldn’t escape.

The only positives were getting a good suntan (most likely a sunburn the first day) and building some solid muscles. My arms and shoulders benefited greatly from heaving rocks all day, and no gym can simulate the work of walking miles up and down hills of loose field dirt.

It wasn’t until I was dating Aaron that I learned my rock picking experiences weren’t exactly shared by all farm kids. My father-in-law grew up on a dairy farm in sand country, so imagine both of our astonishment when we shared spring fieldwork stories. I was jealous to learn there were farms basically clean of rocks every year, and he was flabbergasted at the number of loads we could collect off one field.

Last year, I made Aaron dig through some of our stashed rock piles to find some large rocks to display throughout our landscaping around the house. This was much to my dad’s dismay, as the thought of using rocks as decor is an abomination in his mind.

My boys are at the age where rock picking is fun. My youngest is ultra competitive, so for him, it’s all about how big a rock he can lift and how many more rocks he can spot than his brother. My oldest is more concerned about when it’s his turn to drive the skid loader.

There are lots of life lessons to be learned while rock picking. Aside from the safety skills of driving a machine, learning where to walk in relation to the skid loader or tractor and when it’s appropriate to throw rocks into the bucket and from what distance, I’m also trying to make sure they learn things like perseverance. The first couple of passes down the field are easy, but after the fifth stop at a rock colony and noticing you are not even halfway across the field, it takes some mental toughness not to break down in tears.

However, there’s also the confidence factor I hope to keep building in them. There is much responsibility in operating a skid loader or loader tractor. In the field, at a slow pace, is the perfect place for them to keep building those skills. It’s fun to see the pride in their faces when they dump a load by themselves or maneuver the machine unassisted.

And let’s not forget the skill of working smarter, not harder. I remember watching my uncle use a pitchfork to scoop and throw rocks, thinking he was a lazy goof. Now, in my older age, my back can appreciate that hack; the distance to bend down to the ground seems a lot further than it did 20 years ago.

There are also science lessons to be learned along the way. Trying to explain how rocks can keep showing up year after year is an interesting concept to explain to children. It seems easier just to believe that rocks grow in size and reproduce.

So, if you feel like you didn’t get the same rock-picking experiences as I described, please feel free to head over to our place and participate in a fun-filled day of rock picking. We will gladly take anyone who wants to give it a try.

Jill is a stay-at-home mom who helps part time on her family’s 140-cow dairy farm near Forest City, Minnesota. She and her husband, Aaron, have two children: Hayes and Nash.