February-Back to the Wild Rumpus

Every so often Rich and I conspire to get away with the kids. Whether it's to catch up on lost time with our New York or Michigan family, or in the rarer case to see someplace new, we endeavor to adventure. But every time, some part of me wonders whether it will really happen. Lodgings procured, sometimes flights even reserved and still I think, at least one of us may need to stay back at the farm. If not for following through for the kids, maybe we would cancel the plan.

I say that as if I haven't done it before. Last year I pulled out of our getaway to explore the Outer Banks over the kids' spring break from school. I had gotten the idea to go there, inspired by a curiosity of those mystical barrier islands, the wild space and "banker horses", Kitty Hawk dunes, and the diverse ecosystem which hosts the boundary between many southern and northern plant species. The plan was to be there before the tourism season began in earnest, practically having it all to ourselves as the bikini-donners would be a few weeks out. It's too nippy for all that the first week of April off the coast of North Carolina.

We scheduled the trip in an attempt to play by the school district's truancy rules. Spring break week fell just after our first round of spring seeding instead of during our off-season, which is a much more convenient time for us to get away. A culmination of discomforting factors weighed on me. With no employees trained to the exactitude of watering various families of plant babies, with weather that could warrant opening the manual sides of the high tunnel to let it breathe and cool down only to close it up again at nightfall, with the flock of sheep just a month away from being sold and at least two ewes pregnant, I was feeling that keeping it all alive and well would be a big burden for a farm sitter. My feet were growing colder as March approached. This time around, we didn't have flights booked and my mother-in-law would be along for the ride to enjoy the trip and help manage two little dependents :). I insisted I stay behind. If anyone needs a break from the farm, it's Rich.

Rich and this place are so bound together, it's difficult to disentangle his mind from the duty he feels. It offers him much, this life on the land, but he reciprocates both body and mind. Between the 115-year-old farmhouse which we are keeping up and making our own bit by bit, project by project; the farm infrastructure and equipment, and all that grows here, we are quite interdependent at this point. Rich and I play distinct parts in this narrative, having settled into unique roles. I am the communicator between the farm and the community, vendors, our kids' school, the bank, and solicitors. I float between the field and farmers market, restaurants and grocers, and school. I take on the administrative duties. But Rich is the keeper of this place. He is the feet on the ground, the grand orchestrator of the field, and the one who shoulders the burden of keeping all cogs moving. He is the foreman who works all day under the sun and many evenings throughout the year, comes inside to enlighten himself...always reading into what we do or teaching himself how to repair some piece of equipment.

Both of us have suffered our chronic pains due to overextending this or that part of our bodies with repetitive motions. I disturbed my rotator cuff midseason last year and saw it rebound just in time for Rich's to give way. Rich has been spending twenty minutes a day since then coaxing it back into play with a stretching and strengthening routine. He's getting there. His achilles nearly went down last year as well. Thankfully his ergonomic mindfulness and new footwear brought the hobbling to a stop a few months in. Mechanizing some of our work and learning more passive ways of managing the field lend to stronger, more resilient bodies. Honing this mental acuity could be the key to farming comfortably longterm. I've started to think that getting away plays into longevity too.

Not in the societal way of "working for the weekend" (or vacation), but in the way that experiencing another place recalibrates our perspective. Sure, the mornings feel luxurious, waking to the freedom from (most) responsibility (our responsibility to our young kids never rests). But the real treat of stepping away is the notion that we have made a nice little existence for ourselves. There are some really lovely sights to be seen and novel experiences to be had, but man do I like the life we live at home. Its feeds the spirit and brings a great sense of peace to our lives. In fact, when our work slows down in January, I find myself getting bogged down in the great many problems of the world beyond my jurisdiction.

So this January, we decided to do it again. All four of us packed up and travelled south to a condo offered for us to enjoy at our disposal in Siesta Key, Florida. Our stay lasted for about as long as it took to prepare the farm for our absence. I've hashed out how to get away from the farm with a fellow farmer friend of ours and we both come back to, "it takes a lot of work to get away, but you've got to go". At least the field is asleep this deep into winter, none the wiser that we're gone, and with no chance of the weeds outgrowing our vegetables. Capitalizing on the oppourtunity, we farm rats played in the sand, hunted sea shells, found amusement in the quick-footed piping plovers, marvelled at the local alligators, drank good coffee and missed our dogs. And on the ride home, like stepping through a portal back into our reality, all of our open projects jumped back into our conversation.

We are ripping out the last of the carpet we inherited in our house in 2018 and installing cork flooring. Having taken the measurements, we just need to place our order and make plans with the green building supplier on how to possibly deliver down our narrow farm lane and gravel drive. And then back to finishing the construction of our new and improved heated growhouse. First getting the roof up, then just insulation and siding left to go. You see, next week, we will be seeding the first of our field crops for the year: alliums of all varieties, brassicas too, and another rotation of lettuce, spinach, carrots and radishes for the high tunnels. Not to mention May's first sleepover birthday party and basketball game of the year to tackle :). And don't forget about the donuts to pick up from the local donut house for Jack's birthday celebration at school. We'll be back to taking weekly orders too with our feathered friends laying like gangbusters and veggies to be sold fresh or in veggie pot pie form. There's much purpose to be found in feeding people and in raising them too. I'm so glad that we didn't cancel our plan, for I feel that much more reinvigorated and galvanized to come home and start another season of life here on the farm.

Monthly Updates:

-High Tunnel Contract Nearly Complete: When we applied for the USDA/NRCS grant to install these two 72-foot high tunnels, there were many contract items to be completed in order to receive the cost share funding. The first,biggest and most costly step was erecting the two structures. We were gunning for that to happen before the end of 2024, knowing that when President Trump was in office last, he cut funding for these projects. We were hoping not to have that funding delayed by the start of his potential second term. Mission completed just in the nick of time! However, the installation of drainage ditches and materials to help with water flow were delayed due to weather until just last week. Of course with the freeze on federal grants this month, we are wondering if and when compensation will come in for that. Due to the fact that our contract became official in June of last year, we have a good feeling we will see it at some point. Either way, the high tunnels are functional and all that's left on the contract is to install a few acres of native prarie and pollinator habitat come spring. We are so fortunate to have received this grant as the next four years likely won't see many farms being awarded with this federal assistance.

-Weekly Ordering Begins Again: We have few veggies this time of the year, but we have lots of eggs, veggie pot pies, bread, granola, and some other fixings. Microgreens, pea shoots and sunflower shoots will be here as soon as possible. The growhouse should be ready to grow in by next week and I will start seeding then :).

-First High Tunnel and Field Veggies of 2025: We will direct seed and begin the first transplant seeding for the high tunnels. Also, those cropsp which take a long time to germinate and grow such as onions, shallots, and negi will be seeded this month to be planted in the field when they mature.

-Head to the Grindstone: We are feeling more inspired than ever to do what we do, to improve upon it and to give to our community as it gives to us.In 2025 we will grow more veggies than ever, having signed up for another year at the Oakwood Farmers Market and cotinuing our relationship with Dorothy Lane Market, awesome restaurant partners, etc. In this new era we are living in, we hope that you are feeling rooted in your community and in your life and we appreciate that you are a part of ours :).

Thank you for reading.

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