I think the first time I heard the term “bucket list” was when a movie came out with that name. I don’t know if the writers of that movie came out with the term to connote a list of things a person wants to do before dying (kicking the bucket). Maybe it was an old phrase I’d just missed until then. I’ve heard the phrase a lot since then. It is now a part of our collective lexicon.
On the farm, we have a bucket list, too. That is, we have a list of things we do with buckets, and a list of buckets we like, and we even have a list of ways to get along without a bucket if we can’t seem to find one.

When we first started the farm, we were amazed at the cost of chicken feeders. We rustled up a bunch of buckets we had lying around, and Brian drilled some holes and fastened on the bottom of a planter. For about 1/10 of the price, we had feeders for our chickens. Almost four years later, we still have most of them in use.

Ok, so technically, this was a 55-gallon drum, not a bucket, but it made a great turkey feeder. We could put in 100 lbs of feed at a time…..then refill it the next day. Lesson? Don’t have so many turkeys!

These are the small buckets we use to collect scraps for the compost and worm piles. We have to rely on the kindness of strangers to get these–they are the containers for cheap “ice cream,” and I would rather have small amounts of REAL ice cream than mass quantities of…..what is it anyway?

This one is kind of a no-brainer. We use buckets to move stuff around. In this case, we have a bucket full of organic crackers (leftovers, funny shaped, etc) that we get from a local factory. We use this as a small part of our feed for the pigs, and occasionally the other animals have some as a treat as well.
Bella’s daily chore–mixing pig buckets. Organic crackers, sprouted grains, soaked corn, milk, and yogurt. Yum.
When Bella sprouts the grains for the animals, it looks kinda like this too. She sets up several buckets, soaks overnight, then drains the next day. Rinse and drain, rinse and drain, wait a day or two and….sprouts!
This little bucket used to be a planter. We turned it into a feed scoop!
And finally, my favorite use for a bucket:
My milking stool. The kids sometimes join me (and sit wherever–looks like a camp chair in this pic). A friend gave me a fancy milking stool when I got my first cow, but a bucket just always seemed to suit me. I’m a pretty simple girl at heart.