Friday, June 25, 2010

Ruby gets a lung replacement

Pulled out the tractor's air filter yesterday thinking it might be time to get a new one. The maintenance manual suggests replacing it every few hundred hours of use. Turns out it the replacement may have been just a weeee bit overdue...

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Gratitude


I have these moments - sometimes they are fleeting, but sometimes they stretch on for days. Moments when I am so intensely overwhelmed with gratitude and wonder. I could spend hours just watching the crops grow or wandering through the beds touching their leaves, grinning at their tenacity and rapid growth, appreciating the contrast of colours in the chard...the lettuce...doing a jig over just how well the onions are coming along..loving how beautiful and alive it all is.  

Things are growing really well. 

The pest situation in the brassicas has abated.
The weather has been reasonable.
We are (other than an unfortunate twitchy disaster in the cucumbers) winning the battle against the weeds.
I have really solid help, and plenty of it.
We had a good showing of produce for our first CSA pick-up this past week, which was received by wonderfully enthusiastic members.
I have supportive family and friends, knowedgeable mentors willing to make time to help me problem-solve, and a community of farming peers who bolster my confidence and identify with my stresses.
Best of all, for the first time since I began farming 3 years ago, I'm just not feeling anxious or overwhelmed.

I usually suffer from an obsessive - almost superstitious - need to balance the positive with the negative. It's growing well but... We're on top of the weeding except... This time, I don't think I'm going to. It's good. Really good. 'nuff said.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Life busting on through

Just look at how they erupt from the ground!!


Even the wee beets are powerful enough to shove the earth out of their way as they bust out into the world. THIS is what makes farming so incredible - the raw wonder in these discoveries & feeling like I can see life happen in these awe-inspiring moments that leave me bowled over by how GOOD it all is. By how determined life is. By how unbelievably gorgeous it is. Damn.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Backyard Chicken Coop Tour!!

The Waterloo Hen Association is organizing a tour of urban chicken coops on June 19. Meet a variety of chicken keepers and egg-laying breeds and check out some different coop styles. More info at waterloocooptour.com - sounds like an awesome way to spend a Saturday. Go go urban chickens!!