My lovely spouse has given me a gift beyond measure, a life of farming. Leo subsidizes the farm, because I have yet to ever make money at it. The first year, 20 years ago that we farmed, we made $12,000. That was both of us with a new born child. I have yet to hit that amount ever again. But money is not the only thing. Every day I learn something new, and something old that was forgotten. I have put my foot in a river that I can never stand in again. At one time in my life I was a great knitter. When I look at those things, I ask myself, "How did you do that?" And frankly I don't know. I think there's a spirit in everything you ever really try at that gives you a helping hand.
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| Tomatoes and Peppers |
Today was an ordinary day, I got up, I had coffee and toast, fed the ani-mules, planted peppers and okra. So what makes this life special? The quality of light in the morning, the light breeze in the afternoon. The idea that if this row cover isn't working, maybe I could double it and make it work. Did it work, don't know yet, but it might. An afternoon e-mail from a farmer in Italy who would like to send me his heirloom bean seeds to conserve. A thank you note from a farmer that I sent peppers to. Another note from a fellow in Canada who wanted to know about starting corn in flats. Our weather had been so cold, I had done some research and found a study by a farmer in Vermont that I was able to pass along.
I never get over the miracle of seeds. You give them light and water, a little love and a little nutrients and they grow.
There's a parable for life in there somewhere.
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