Farming is hard work. It's hot. Today the temperature is in the high '90's--as is the humidity. The gnats are annoying. As we manuever a 4'x8' sheet of 7/16" OSB over our heads, I wonder why we are doing this.
One thing that does keep us going is the support we have. Sharon, Janice, Susan, and Tom have been long-time egg-buyers--even after the peanut butter debacle. Boots, Dottie, and Dennis were all out there in the damp cold as we set out 400 blueberry starts. Before we bought a tractor, John V twice used his 4-wheel drive to help us out of a sticky situation. To the delight of the chickens, Boots brings day-old bread and stale crackers. Asa and Lucinda, Carol and Bud, have given us coffee cans, margarine tubs, and plastic detergent bottles that we have reused in a myriad of ways. Asa's old 1-bys are the trim in our processing shed along with Randy and Melissa's old window. We've used Dennis's front-end loader to save our backs. Merry and Walter, Deb and Krys, Eric and Becky, John and Boots, Melissa, have all given us plants. Ken and Frieda have given us all kinds of materials and advice. My mom Arlene, along with Joe when he was able, has been incredible. Aong with all the other things my mom has done for us, she's the painting queen.
Of course, this (partial) list doesn't answer the question of why we are doing this. To know that, you need to join us at the end of a hard day as we sit on the front porch, gaze out over the farm, drink a cool beer, and count our blessings. We'll save a rocker for you.
