ESL Podcast 942 - Daily Chores on a Farm

rise and shine - a phrase used when waking someone up, especially when one wants to be very cheerful and happy

Rise and shine! Breakfast is ready!

farm - a place where plants used for food or making clothing are grown and animals are raised for eating or producing other products

They own a sheep farm in Minnesota.

chore - a task that must be performed, especially related to cleaning or the care of animals

They expect their children to do many household chores, like setting the table, washing the dishes, checking the mail, and feeding the dog.

sunup - sunrise; the time when the sun appears and the day begins

Sunup will continue to get earlier each day until June 21, when the days start to get shorter again.

to milk a cow - to use one's hands or a machine to take milk from a cow

You can't really appreciate a bowl of ice cream unless you've milked a cow at least once.

decent hour - a time that is not too early or late; a time that is considered appropriate or normal for performing a certain activity

I can't believe our neighbor is playing the tuba at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday! Can't he wait until a decent hour to start practicing?

to feed and water the animals - to care for animals by giving them food and fresh water

Paolo feeds and waters most of the animals on their farm, but his wife is responsible for feeding the chickens and ducks.

stall - a small section in a barn that is separated from other areas by walls, used for one large animal, usually a horse

Sheila's horse is in the third stall on the left.

to groom - to clean an animal and brush its fur (hair), and possibly to cut its claws (nails) and brush its teeth

When you groom a horse, it's important to brush all parts of the body, but avoid walking behind the animal, because it might kick you.

fence - a short wall around a property, usually made from wood or metal, designed to keep animals inside (or out of) an area

Anita and Howard had to install an eight-foot fence to keep the deer out of their vegetable garden.

daylight hours - the period of time during a 24-hour day when there is sunshine; daytime

Before people had electric lights, they had to finish all their homework and reading during the daylight hours, or else read by candlelight.

crop - a plant that is grown for food or making clothing

Corn and soybeans are two very common crops in many parts of the United States.

planting - the process of placing seeds or small plants in the ground and covering them with soil so that a plant can grow

Broccoli, lettuce, and spinach are all good for fall planting, once the weather cools down a little bit.

to weed - to remove unwanted plants from an area to make the ground more attractive and/or to give other plants more room to grow

When weeding, it's important to pull out the roots of a plant so that it doesn't grow back right away.

harvest - the process of taking the part(s) of a plant that one wants to eat or use, collecting it for eating or processing

Most of the strawberries were eaten by slugs, so we had a very poor harvest this past year.

to be cut out to be - to be qualified or prepared to do something, especially when referring to someone's inner qualities rather than skills that can be learned

If you faint when you see blood, you probably aren't cut out to be a nurse.

farmhand - a person who works on a farm, doing physical work

It's hard to find farmhands who are willing to work an eight-hour day in the hot sun without complaining.

city girl - an insulting phrase used to describe a girl or woman who is not familiar with farm life and is not accustomed to doing physical work or being around plants and animals

We were shocked to realize that many of the campers were city girls who didn't even know that carrots grew underground.