I was born in a beautiful land, I did not choose to be born there, nobody really does, although today I am very happy with the life that I have had to live, I can say that I am very satisfied, everything in life is not money and much less the material, for me life has a deeper meaning, it has to do more about our experiences, everything we have lived, a whole host of experiences, So, having said that I will begin by telling a little about my day to day in the land that I love the most.
Living on the farm for me from a very young age was quite an adventure, I had to learn manners from a very young age and I also had to learn how to cope with the work on the plains, although I must describe my childhood as fun and full of many pleasant experiences, I can not deny that I lived very special moments, as well as others a little unpleasant.
My days on the plains are full of unique experiences such as seeing the birth of a calf and having to help in the labour of childbirth, this experience undoubtedly marked my life, such a special moment to see how an animal comes into the world in the most beautiful way through childbirth, although it was a distressing moment I must say it was worth it, distressing? yes well it really was, the cow had a lot of problems to give birth, the calf was a bit big and it was difficult for it to come out naturally through the cow's vagina, this process took a lot more than it should have, so it was not easy to see how an animal suffers and at the same time struggled to give birth.
A negative moment or at least sad to say it was to see how a cow suffered from having ingested a plastic bag and this ended up obstructing the intestine, the only solution that could be done was to sacrifice the cow, weeks before I had lost my best pet a German shepherd dog, he was bitten by a snake, although they were significant losses I understood that, not everything is good, there is also the opposite side and it is unpleasant.
Waking up every morning and being able to appreciate how the estuary was covered by the mist was something unique and that today I remember as if it was yesterday, for many years I had the opportunity to live this beautiful experience, it was very cold every morning despite having a little warm weather, every morning seemed to be totally different, the best thing was to get up and get ready for a day with many emotions to live.
My coffee was the first thing I looked for after getting up, then I arrived at the table to have breakfast very early and this was because after breakfast I had to start my routine, for me every day was unique, I knew that I would have a new opportunity to ride the horses and go out to the paddock to look for the milking cattle, I also knew that it was an opportunity to live that experience of feeling that I could fly over the horse, everything moves and looks so fast that it barely gives time to appreciate everything around.
I also remember clearly how I had to get up very early every day to be able to prepare breakfast, many times the women who lived on the farm had to go out to the village to buy provisions and it was up to us men to cook and also to go out to work in the fields.
The lessons that I learned from living on the farm throughout my childhood and most of my adolescence were many, the character that I developed has served me well today, and knowing how to appreciate things, no matter how small they may seem, has been a great lesson, and that is why I am grateful to everything and everyone.
Every morning I had to go to the paddock to look for the beautiful white footed horse, a very kind animal, he really was a very good horse, he liked to run a lot, the first few times I tried to catch this horse, no matter how calm he seemed it was not easy, what I think is that he had very little confidence in me so it was difficult for me to approach him because he always ran away.
every animal is distrustful, that is why it is important to learn how to gain the trust of one, it can be through food, animals eat almost all day, look for food or some fruit like mango is easy to get and also to be able to bring a good diet.
riding any horse as simple as it may seem is not, animals often develop behaviors that are more a way to defend themselves than to hurt others, it happened to me several times with this beautiful colt was that when I mounted the animal began to jump, jumping so hard that without having fallen and my body hurt me, one day I tried to do what no one had done feed the animal and then ride it, For many on the farm it was silly what I was doing, so I just turned a deaf ear and took some food I approached the animal and he began to eat a little then I mounted him and began to walk gently with him, I only took steps I did not intend to put the animal on the defensive again so I did it in the best way.
Collecting the cattle is an exhaustive task, especially because of how annoying it is to find all the cattle together, you should always search well, there are times when a cow or calf is missing and it is dangerous when they are left alone in the paddock because of predators, animals like cattle find it easier to be in herds, that way they defend themselves and in that way they manage to prevail in any situation, that is why it is important not to leave any animal out when collecting the cows and their calves.
Another important point is when the cow has just calved, it must be handled with extreme caution, cattle, like humans, are very delicate with their offspring and even more so when they are newborns, so if we make a mistake and unintentionally make the animal feel a threat, it may come after us, maybe not hurt us but it can hurt the animal, We must learn everything as we go along, there are many things that the man who is a llanero already knows and knows how to understand certain situations that occur daily with the animals, in his vast experience he learns to get out of any predicament no matter how difficult it may seem.
Also in this job you can expect anything, being alert is necessary, we must always be aware when we are in the savannah because many cows that have just calved tend to hide their calves, leaving them alone and hiding in the bushes, everything seems fine up to that point, also the cow never returns and ends up separating from the calf and that is also a problem.
milking is one of the most laborious jobs on the plains, every day the llanero must milk, taking into account that he must get up very early and look for the milking cows that have been released to graze, often these cows are difficult to find although on the farm there was no such problem because they were accustomed with food, that is, every time they were going to be milked they were sung to and called by name, also this behavior was reinforced with food, animals are as intelligent as we think they are, they can understand many things and most of them are learned and repeated, we can say that they learn from the repetition and reinforcement of stimuli, which is made simple with positive reinforcers which in this case is food.
"I remember that every morning I would look for a cup of black coffee and take it to the cowshed where the cattle were being milked, then Don José, a worker who had been milking for many years in the family, would fill my coffee pot and I would leave happy with my coffee and milk".
On the plain, milk is very useful, and I think that it is very useful anywhere in the world, from milk we can get cheese, rennet, whey and much more... The importance of milk for the economy of the llanero is very important, I think that on the farm 70% of the monthly income is from milk and the other 30% is divided between crops and meat, so the importance of looking for workers who really knew how to milk, to avoid losing any amount of milk however little it may seem was very important, for my grandfather milk was like sacred water, he knew its importance so he recognized that cows should be treated as queens in reward for providing us with milk.
My grandfather was also a very wise man, he managed to keep the farm in good condition for more than 30 years, I am not saying that it is not in good condition at the moment but, what I want to imply is that it takes a lot of sacrifice and honesty to be able to keep something so big and laborious in good condition, Another important factor is the tact that a farm owner can have with his workers and I believe that this is much more difficult than other jobs, because these workers know little of a full education and one must find a way to be able to maintain a complete conversation with them, avoiding displeasure and fights that end in misunderstandings.
planting also took place on the farm, but to a lesser extent than milking. Most of the planting was done for various purposes, such as commercial purposes, but also to save food for the house and to give to other people who had nothing to eat.
My grandfather was a man of great solidarity, he liked to help many people, for him it was easier to give away food than to sell it, it was not necessary to take advantage of the need and many people had high esteem for his way of being, how nice to be able to say that my grandfather was a loved and recognized person in the land where he stayed for more than 40 years.... He took advantage of the best land in the sector and planted corn, that same corn had several purposes, to keep for the animals, also to eat at home and last but not least to give to those who did not have, with it they could make the traditional arepa that is made from corn, it was very rich indeed I can not envy any arepa made by any company, since the one that was made on the farm was purely made there with a particular flavor that was given by the cooker.
to be able to have a good sowing you have to know the land, in general they are lands with little acidity and they must be fertile and rich in nutrients, also the level of the land must be adequate to be able to sow and avoid that when it rains the water overflows, it is clear that not everybody is a sower and everything is due to the experience.
We also show other types of plants, such as lettuce, yucca, chilli, tomato, all these plants are grown in these lands because of their high fertility and excellent climate, one of the things I learned from my grandfather was that there are always better months than another, so it is also important to take into account the season we are in, this is because arid months do not help us at all, it should be done before the winter arrives and not after....
In the winter you should always have a bit of luck, some climatic cycles are not as expected and this has a direct impact on the plants, so you should have extra plans for any problems...
well dear friends, I hope you have a happy day, greetings....