Patience is the greatest virtue

The weather hasn't made up its mind yet, but I believe it's fall.  One week it's consistently below freezing at night (and in the tent) and the next it's nice t-shirt weather.  We do know one thing though; the pigs love this weather.  They're all probably over 210 lbs. and eating more and more and MORE grain.  We truly hope our CSA customers will be happy and have been getting their cutting instructions for the butcher when they go up north on November 5th.

The pigs have taught us patience every time they have gotten out and we've had to herd them; almost always in the late morning.  The lesson here is to make sure they have enough food in front of them or else they'll get bored and hungry.  There are not many things more destructive than a bored and hungry pig.

The season has taught us patience with the streaks of wet weather we've been having which haven't permitted us the flexibility we desired to till in beds or plant cover crops.  We've learned to be patient with all the small obstacles that get in the way of what seemed to be a simple task.  We've learned that finding draft horses and good implements for them to pull is harder than it sounds.  Patience is important when dealing with potential land owners, schools, farmer's market managers, borrowing stuff from other farmers, and more.

In the process of trying to find land, in all of our rush to try to find a place so we can plow it before the end of the year (it will make dealing with weeds much, much easier the following year), we've learned that it will come with time.  We have had some many wonderful opportunities come our way and it takes a lot of time and energy to sort through it all.  Our hearts eventually led us to make decisions that feel right.  With all the uncertainties that come with farming, your decisions are probably about 50% gut instinct and 50% what you know.

So we have learned that you can't work against time, but do what you can to get where you want to go at the pace that feels most comfortable.  There isn't need to stress about how little time you have.  You just do what you can in that time whether it is spending time with friends, enjoying a good book, or of course working (which I tend to do too much of these days).  Good things come to good people; especially people who cooperate with the conditions and community around them.

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
-Anonymous

All photos were taken by Nancy A. Johnson