Living With Libby: A Behind-the-Scenes Account

By Ollie

I sometimes wonder what my life would look like if I'd met someone a little less enthusiastic about absolutely everything.

Don't get me wrong, life's never boring. But I don't think Libby and I have ever approached anything in quite the same way. I'm generally quite happy knowing what we're doing, having a plan and getting on with it. Libby, meanwhile, can wake up on a Tuesday morning with absolutely no plans and by lunchtime we've somehow acquired a new project, rearranged half the farm and got a list of jobs long enough to keep us busy until Christmas.

She has a particular talent for coming up with ideas. Lots of them. The only slight issue is that she expects everyone else to operate at the same speed.

If she has an idea, she wants it done. Not next week, not when we've got a bit more time, not when we've actually worked out how we're going to do it. Tomorrow would be ideal, but preferably today.

I've learnt that the phrase "I've had an idea" is not something to get particularly excited about. It usually means more work for me.

Then there's the farm. I come from a farming background, so I tend to look at livestock in a fairly practical way. Animals need looking after, they cost money, they need feeding and, at the end of the day, a farm has to make financial sense.

Libby doesn't quite see it that way.

I think if she had her way, we'd have every animal under the sun living in our field. It doesn't matter whether it's profitable, useful or even particularly sensible. If she likes it, she wants to keep it. I'm fairly sure she's only a few rescue stories away from turning the place into a zoo.

The problem is that I'm the one who has to be sensible. If an animal isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing, I have to look at the numbers and make a decision. Libby looks at the animal, gives it a name, develops an emotional attachment and starts explaining why it deserves another chance.

By this point, the decision has generally been made without me.

Farming is a fairly traditional industry. A lot of things are done a certain way because that's how they've always been done, and usually there's a good reason for it. But Libby doesn't really accept that as an answer.

Why do we do it that way? Could we not do it differently? Why hasn't anyone tried this? What if we did that instead?

Sometimes I think she'd question the way we've been farming for the last hundred years just for the sake of it. I'll explain why something is done a certain way, she'll come back with another question, and before I know it we're having a full discussion about changing something that wasn't even a problem in the first place.

The annoying thing is, every now and again one of her ideas actually works. Which makes it very difficult to tell her no the next time.

I suppose that's how we've ended up with so many different things going on. She sees opportunities everywhere. I see the amount of work involved.

I don't think we've ever finished one project before another has started.

Libby loves making things, building things, changing things and generally finding ways to improve things that were perfectly fine yesterday. A quiet afternoon can very quickly turn into a DIY project. Usually one that requires a trip to buy materials, which somehow turns into buying twice as much as we actually need.

And then there's the wedding planning. We've got until September 2028, so plenty of time you'd think. But knowing Libby, we'll probably have built half the decorations, designed the invitations, sourced a collection of animals and started making things for the tables before the end of the year.

I'm just hoping I'm told what I'm supposed to be building before the day itself.

Another part of life I hadn't particularly planned for is appearing on social media. There are photos to take, videos to film and occasionally things I'm asked to do that I have absolutely no interest in doing. Sometimes I get away with it. Sometimes I don't. Libby is quite happy dancing around in a bee suit for TikTok, whereas I'm generally more comfortable getting on with the job and staying out of the camera's way.

Unfortunately, staying out of the camera's way isn't always an option when you live with the person holding it.

I think the biggest difference between us is probably how we approach life generally.

I'm quite practical. I like to know what we're doing, whether it makes sense and how we're going to pay for it. Libby is much more likely to think something sounds exciting and work out the details afterwards.

She sees what something could become. I see what it will cost to get there.

She wants to try everything. I sometimes think we should probably finish what we're already doing first.

But I suppose that's why we work quite well together. If we were both like me, we'd probably never try anything new. If we were both like Libby, we'd probably have 47 unfinished projects, a field full of animals and absolutely no idea where the money had gone.

Although, to be fair, we're not too far off that as it is.

Would I change anything?

Probably a few things. I'd like to have one conversation that doesn't somehow turn into a new project. And I'd definitely like to be consulted before agreeing to acquire any more livestock.

But the truth is, life with Libby is never dull. We've built a life together that's a little bit different, a little bit chaotic and certainly not what either of us would have pictured years ago.

We've got a farm, a business, a growing collection of animals, a wedding to plan and more ideas than we could probably fit into several lifetimes.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'd better stop there before she reads this and decides we need to start a podcast.

Written by Ollie.