Now that I'm not as crazy busy I'm finding my mind has the space it needs to think, to dream. In the thick of it I can only take so much in and I really don't think past an hour. I have to really work hard to focus on the task at hand, and there were days that just being present was all I could do. Some days I felt like I just made it though by the skin of my teeth.
But that's a lot of how farming works especially when you have as much diversification as we do. It seems like it all happens at once. Like lambing always happens during the busiest time of planting. and planting is always the wettest part of the year and a dry day has to be taken advantage of. No plans are made off of the farm during that time and the barn will have a soft place for us to sleep if need be. That's the time of year I need a shower the most. Between dirt and amniotic fluid and poop I'm a mess and usually cold. But I love that time of year.
This is quickly also becoming my favorite time a year because I can now step back and take a real good look at it. The good the bad and the disgusting. But you know what? The farm did really well this year! we had some major challenges but we made it and came out on top! Unless some major catastrophe happens between now and Jan 31st, I think 2010 was the best year for Living Kitchen on so many levels. We had the most loyal CSA members and they were our rock of support and really kept us laughing and at ease. And no matter how hard things got we felt like every bit of it was worth it because of them.
So its safe to dream. Soon Linda and I will start planning for next year and what we want the farm to look like. Last year we didn't know what to plan, we were so new on this land. It hadn't shown itself to us yet and the weather was so terrible we could hardly see. So it was just a lets do this and see if we can make it year. And then my farm partner bailed, but in spite of that we've made it. And now its time to think long term. How can we best serve our community? What should/ could we do to maintain the long term viability of the farm and provide pure clean safe food for all of our customers? How can we feed more people better food than they've ever had before? What does that look like to us? Its time for a spirit walk, a vision quest, reflection and prayer. Its time.
2 comments:
A vision quest... I like that.... It's a good time for that, for all of us...
I have to tell you that I grew up on a farm. Times were sometimes good, sometimes not so good. But we ALWAYS had good food on the table, in the freezer, in the root cellar and in canning jars. When I was a child, I thought of my father as a man of few words, a hard worker, a rock. While all of that is true, I also knew him to be a lover of animals, and a lover of farming. Our Sundays were taken up with drives on gravel roads to see how everyone's crops were coming in. No, he didn't make it to many of my sports activities, but he taught me to drive a tractor, sew oats, harvest silage, birth piglets. What more could you ask? I love watching your farm grow.
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