Passing On Our Passion

It’s the day after Christmas. We had a wonderful time together, and were able to connect by phone or facetime with those dear to us who could not be in person. This a transitional day for me, as I “put the house back together,” after our festivities and begin to take decorations down. I do have to say that the Christmas tree Jim cut has lasted beautifully and given us much enjoyment. And as I ponder on this crazy last year, I can’t help but realize that this has been a life changing year for us in so many ways. Covid has definitely changed the world as a whole, and we are still in a period of great uncertainy and change. To a large degree, Jim’s daily life has not changed much at all, since he is almost always here at home on the farm, or at the woodlot. So much is still the same with the same routines for him and the horses. My working life, as a nurse changed with the pandemic but we have transitioned into the “new normal” at least for now. We sometimes wonder if the advent of Covid opened up an opportunity that may not have been possible otherwise. More people at home, able to watch Youtube that would not have been watching previously. More people interested the a simple life and being more self sustaining. All these things growing our channel, one subscriber at a time. Whatever the case, the start of workinghorseswithjim has changed our lives. Sometimes we stop and wonder “who would’ve ever thought?”

Jim had no interest in technology and still says he didn’t know how to turn a computer on a year ago. But he had a burning desire to share what horses can do and how a person can work with them to make a living. This would not have been possible without our daughters Trudy and Abby, and also Jed, an apprentice we had here for several months last winter who helped set up things up to make editing possible. Jim’s life has changed in that now during most of his spare moments he is editing, editing, editing . It has changed our discussion around the dinner table many times. We share ideas, plan new videos, or talk about dreams for the future, and talk about questions people have asked. It has helped us realize we need to try to make the most of all the spare moments in life to keep up with it all. Jim’s persistence fanned the spark of this idea into a flame. Now we are all on board, since there’ s plenty of work for everyone. We have an excitement for the future of this channel and what we can share. Jim keeps coming up with ideas and says that as long as he has them, he will continue to share. The questions people have raised fuel new ideas as well, so keep them coming! I guess I would just like to encourage anyone reading to work towards doing those things that you dream of doing. Work towards getting the help and resources you might need to make those things happen. The most unlikely things can happen with persistence.

One of Jim's first videos- still one of my favorites.