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In America many people have a romantic idea of life in the countryside. Many living in towns dream of starting up their own farm, of living off the land. Few get round to putting their dreams into practice. This is perhaps just as well, as the life of a farmer is far from easy, as Jim Doherty discovered when he set out to combine being a writer with running a farm. Nevertheless, as he explains, he has no regrets and remains enthusiastic about his decision to change his way of life.
在美國(guó)，不少人對(duì)鄉(xiāng)村生活懷有浪漫的情感。許多居住在城鎮(zhèn)的人夢(mèng)想著自己辦個(gè)農(nóng)場(chǎng)，夢(mèng)想著靠土地為生。很少有人真去把夢(mèng)想變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)。或許這也沒(méi)有什么不好，因?yàn)椋缂贰ざ酄柕佼?dāng)初開(kāi)始其寫(xiě)作和農(nóng)場(chǎng)經(jīng)營(yíng)雙重生涯時(shí)所體驗(yàn)到的那樣，農(nóng)耕生活遠(yuǎn)非輕松自在。但他寫(xiě)道，自己并不后悔，對(duì)自己作出的改變生活方式的決定仍熱情不減。
Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life
Jim Doherty
1 There are two things I have always wanted to do -- write and live on a farm. Today I'm doing both. I am not in E. B. White's class as a writer or in my neighbors' league as a farmer, but I'm getting by. And after years of frustration with city and suburban living, my wife Sandy and I have finally found contentment here in the country.
多爾蒂先生創(chuàng)建自己的理想生活
吉姆·多爾蒂
有兩件事是我一直想做的――寫(xiě)作與務(wù)農(nóng)。如今我同時(shí)做著這兩件事。作為作家，我和E·B·懷特不屬同一等級(jí)，作為農(nóng)場(chǎng)主，我和鄉(xiāng)鄰也不是同一類(lèi)人，不過(guò)我應(yīng)付得還行。在城市以及郊區(qū)歷經(jīng)多年的悵惘失望之后，我和妻子桑迪終于在這里的鄉(xiāng)村尋覓到心靈的滿(mǎn)足。
2 It's a self-reliant sort of life. We grow nearly all of our fruits and vegetables. Our hens keep us in eggs, with several dozen left over to sell each week. Our bees provide us with honey, and we cut enough wood to just about make it through the heating season.
這是一種自力更生的生活。我們食用的果蔬幾乎都是自己種的。自家飼養(yǎng)的雞提供雞蛋，每星期還能剩余幾十個(gè)出售。自家養(yǎng)殖的蜜蜂提供蜂蜜，我們還自己動(dòng)手砍柴，足可供過(guò)冬取暖之用。
3 It's a satisfying life too. In the summer we canoe on the river, go picnicking in the woods and take long bicycle rides. In the winter we ski and skate. We get excited about sunsets. We love the smell of the earth warming and the sound of cattle lowing. We watch for hawks in the sky and deer in the cornfields.
這也是一種令人滿(mǎn)足的生活。夏日里我們?cè)诤由鲜幹郏诹肿永镆安停T著自行車(chē)長(zhǎng)時(shí)間漫游。冬日里我們滑雪溜冰。我們?yōu)槁淙盏挠噍x而激動(dòng)。我們愛(ài)聞大地回暖的氣息，愛(ài)聽(tīng)牛群哞叫。我們守著看鷹兒飛過(guò)上空，看玉米田間鹿群嬉躍。
4 But the good life can get pretty tough. Three months ago when it was 30 below, we spent two miserable days hauling firewood up the river on a sled. Three months from now, it will be 95 above and we will be cultivating corn, weeding strawberries and killing chickens. Recently, Sandy and I had to retile the back roof. Soon Jim, 16 and Emily, 13, the youngest of our four children, will help me make some long-overdue improvements on the outdoor toilet that supplements our indoor plumbing when we are working outside. Later this month, we'll spray the orchard, paint the barn, plant the garden and clean the hen house before the new chicks arrive.
但如此美妙的生活有時(shí)會(huì)變得相當(dāng)艱苦。就在三個(gè)月前，氣溫降到華氏零下30度，我們辛苦勞作了整整兩天，用一個(gè)雪橇沿著河邊拖運(yùn)木柴。再過(guò)三個(gè)月，氣溫會(huì)升到95度，我們就要給玉米松土，在草莓地除草，還要宰殺家禽。前一陣子我和桑迪不得不翻修后屋頂。過(guò)些時(shí)候，四個(gè)孩子中的兩個(gè)小的，16歲的吉米和13歲的埃米莉，會(huì)幫著我一起把拖了很久沒(méi)修的室外廁所修葺一下，那是專(zhuān)為室外干活修建的。這個(gè)月晚些時(shí)候，我們要給果樹(shù)噴灑藥水，要油漆谷倉(cāng)，要給菜園播種，要趕在新的小雞運(yùn)到之前清掃雞舍。
5 In between such chores, I manage to spend 50 to 60 hours a week at the typewriter or doing reporting for the freelance articles I sell to magazines and newspapers. Sandy, meanwhile, pursues her own demanding schedule. Besides the usual household routine, she oversees the garden and beehives, bakes bread, cans and freezes, drives the kids to their music lessons, practices with them, takes organ lessons on her own, does research and typing for me, writes an article herself now and then, tends the flower beds, stacks a little wood and delivers the eggs. There is, as the old saying goes, no rest for the wicked on a place like this -- and not much for the virtuous either. 在這些活計(jì)之間，我每周要抽空花五、六十個(gè)小時(shí)，不是打字撰文，就是為作為自由撰稿人投給報(bào)刊的文章進(jìn)行采訪(fǎng)。桑迪則有她自己繁忙的工作日程。除了日常的家務(wù)，她還照管菜園和蜂房，烘烤面包，將食品裝罐、冷藏，開(kāi)車(chē)送孩子學(xué)音樂(lè)，和他們一起練習(xí)，自己還要上風(fēng)琴課，為我做些研究工作并打字，自己有時(shí)也寫(xiě)寫(xiě)文章，還要侍弄花圃，堆摞木柴、運(yùn)送雞蛋。正如老話(huà)說(shuō)的那樣，在這種情形之下，壞人不得閑――賢德之人也歇不了。
6 None of us will ever forget our first winter. We were buried under five feet of snow from December through March. While one storm after another blasted huge drifts up against the house and barn, we kept warm inside burning our own wood, eating our own apples and loving every minute of it.
我們誰(shuí)也不會(huì)忘記第一年的冬天。從12月一直到3月底，我們都被深達(dá)5英尺的積雪困著。暴風(fēng)雪肆虐，一場(chǎng)接著一場(chǎng)，積雪厚厚地覆蓋著屋子和谷倉(cāng)，而室內(nèi)，我們用自己砍伐的木柴燒火取暖，吃著自家種植的蘋(píng)果，溫馨快樂(lè)每一分鐘。
7 When spring came, it brought two floods. First the river overflowed, covering much of our land for weeks. Then the growing season began, swamping us under wave after wave of produce. Our freezer filled up with cherries, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, peas, beans and corn. Then our canned-goods shelves and cupboards began to grow with preserves, tomato juice, grape juice, plums, jams and jellies. Eventually, the basement floor disappeared under piles of potatoes, squash and pumpkins, and the barn began to fill with apples and pears. It was amazing.
開(kāi)春后，有過(guò)兩次泛濫。一次是河水外溢，我們不少田地被淹了幾個(gè)星期。接著一次是生長(zhǎng)季節(jié)到了，一波又一波的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品潮涌而來(lái)，弄得我們應(yīng)接不暇。我們的冰箱里塞滿(mǎn)了櫻桃、藍(lán)莓、草莓、蘆筍、豌豆、青豆和玉米。接著我們存放食品罐的架子上、柜櫥里也開(kāi)始堆滿(mǎn)一罐罐的腌漬食品，有番茄汁、葡萄汁、李子、果醬和果凍。最后，地窖里遍地是大堆大堆的土豆、西葫蘆、南瓜，谷倉(cāng)里也儲(chǔ)滿(mǎn)了蘋(píng)果和梨。真是太美妙了。
