To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1
July recorded the passing of a number of monumental items, not the least of which is the movement of passing the mid point of our first season on the farm. The first six months now committed to history, the next six to be experienced, lived, full of hope. Those first six months were a blur of disappointments, unplanned work, project completions, and interspersed small victories that encouraged us to keep the faith.
I guess it seems obvious to most people, but this transformation, the work that we have to do will take time, it will come in its season. That can be very frustrating, and July was a clear reminder to be patient and understand that things will happen in their season. What I could not make myself abide to, understanding the time needed to get this farm started, was granted to me in the form of an injury, a hernia.
Early this year while putting in the floor in the flower shop, I felt as though something was wrong. I continued on working – farming is tough work (duh) – and chalked up my pains to thirty years of an office job. When it could no longer be denied, I got an official adjudication from a doctor, and an appointment with the surgeon.
The fall is one of the busiest times on the farm, and honestly was one of the seasons that I most looked forward too. Last year, I did not know what to do in the early fall regarding refreshing the soil, planting and winter preparations. We had committed to putting in a large high tunnel this fall, and the hernia would impact the ability to do that.
Frustration was my first companion, thinking about what could have been. Frustration stuck around and invited his good buddy Do it Anyway. Do it Anyway got me into a little trouble as things that I knew would aggravate the injury stayed on my list. Resignation, resolution and commitment followed and I focused on what I could do.
Prior to the injury we finished the cooler, and what a game changer that is. The Cooler is 10 foot long by 5 foot wide, by six foot high. We are using a technology called a CoolBot – it tricks a standard air conditioner into thinking it is 70 degrees when in fact it is less than that. This allows us to cool the cooler down to 38 degrees. This helps us by allowing us to cut flowers throughout the week (when they are ready) and then to share later.
Speaking of long lasting flowers, the Lisianthus came on in early July. What an incredibly beautiful, and long lived flower. We had a bouquet of Lisianthus last two weeks. We grew three varieties this year, a light pink, white, and a brighter purple. All were a hit with our customers, and will feature prominently in our 2019 gardens.
Lisianthus is a more challenging crop to grow from seeds, as it requires a tightly controlled germination period and temperature – not varying over 75 or below 70 degrees for several weeks. We are building a germination chamber to help with the growing of the Lisianthus and we expect to greatly expand our offerings next year.
Lisianthus in their native habitat, prior to predation by their biggest nemesis, the scissorasaurus
On a personal note on the farm, we had a good bit of work done in the kitchen. As you might have read, the farm house is almost 70 years old. The kitchen upgrades have made a tremendous difference to the house.
Old juice can found in the walls behind the kitchen cabinets
God bless the Farmers Wife as she has put up with what has been a glorified camping experience for these last months. It is fun to go camping, and it was fun to start our farm life in a camping state. Moving forward though, having a working kitchen was a necessity for our life. Of course, what would a kitchen renovation be without Pinterest, a web savvy wife, and 600 odd feet of shiplap – the ceiling is shiplap for crying out loud. I am thankful for the farmers wife and her frugality, her work ethic (she outworks most people I know), and her patience with me – I am going to trim the old stove power cable tonight.
Having a committed spouse for the farm life has been a tremendous blessing for me. We share the triumphs and tragedies. We share the work, and when things get tough, as they have with this hernia, we rely on each other.
We also grew corn, and it was so good, we ate it tassels and all
One of the seasons in life is learning to wait. Particularly hard when you are so excited about where you are going, and when you see the calendar reminding you that cold winds are soon to blow. But resting, and preparing can be as important as planting and building. I’m learning that anew this season.
God bless you my friends.
You must log in to post a comment.