You've Been to Farm Camp If...

There are certain, shall-we-say, idiosyncrasies, that come with the territory when one lives in a rural area. Living in rural America and/or on a farm is a very unique way of life that most people simply do not understand. I myself am still learning all about what makes this lifestyle unique.  One way to come to grasp the differences is through humor.  A man by the name of Damian Mason definitely understands how to describe rural life while making people laugh.

A coworker friend of mine recently attended an Ag conference where Damian Mason spoke.  She gave me a book she had gotten from his presentation called Farm Camp.  The pocket-sized book is filled with witticisms people who live on a farm/have lived on a farm/know people who live on a farm will understand.  The jokes are written in the Jeff Foxworthy format of "You might be a redneck..." only instead, it is "You've been to Farm Camp if..."

Copyright laws dictate that I cannot post word-for-word some of the great lines from Damian Mason's book, and believe me, some of the jokes are very accurate! There are quite a few I would love to share with you all.  Instead, I have attempted to come up with a few of my own.  If any of my readers think of any of their own, post them in the comments!

You've been to Farm Camp if...

1) You have ever been late to a sporting event or social function because you had to feed the cows (or other livestock) before you go.

2) When you arrive late at to a sporting event or social function because you had to feed the cows (or other livestock) before you left, you have forgotten to change your shoes and therefore may or may not have tracked cow doodoo into the arena.

As a sidenote, there is a good chance Jeff and I will be late to tomorrows Bobcat game in Bozeman because we have had to stay home and feed the cows.  I will try my best to make sure I clean my boots off before I enter the stadium!

You've been to Farm Camp if...

3) Getting "dressed up" to go out to dinner only means putting on a clean pair of jeans.

4) When you get dressed up to go out to dinner, everyone knows where you are going to eat because... There is only one restaurant in town.

5) When you go out to dinner at the only restaurant in town, you don't need to look at the menu to decide what to order because the menu hasn't changed since the restaurant opened its doors.  

Ok so those last few are not exactly farm specific, but they are specific to rural living! :)

You've been to Farm Camp If...

7) You own a pair of Wranglers or Carhartts

8) You no longer read or buy fashion magazines because it simply isn't relevant anymore.  (The cows don't care if you're wearing Yves Saint Laurent!) 

Yves Saint Laurent "Mondrian" dress from 1965.
Photo from www.metmuseum.org
Yes, folks. I was a Fashion Major.  I have traded my subscription to W magazine for the sale flier to the local Big R farm and ranch supply store.  I own not one, but two pairs of Carhartts, at least one of which likely will have cow doodoo on it by Sunday morning. 

Here is a brief YouTube clip of part of Damian Mason's Farm Camp comedy, just to give you an idea.

I hope you enjoyed this brief foray into Farm Camp. If you would like to experience Farm Camp for yourself, come visit us any time!