The Farm
I went out to the Farm for the first time in almost a month today. Driving the hour or so to Silver Springs is generally a weekend ritual for me during the warmer months of the year, although for various reasons I haven't done it for the last three weeks.
I always enjoy the Farm. I don't think many people understand why exactly I give up a Saturday or Sunday almost every weekend to drive out into the mostly empty desert and labor at a tiny, two-acre Farm. I could say that I like the idea of eating organic produce, or supporting small farms and local agriculture, or just the chance to get out of town on a regular basis. All of these things are true, but none of them are the primary reason.
The truth is, I just love the work. It is fulfilling in a way a modern office job could never be. It connects a person with the environment and nourishes the soul as well as the body. I love making things grow and I want to understand the process of farming better so that I might own a small farm of my own someday. Small-time agriculture, never an easy proposition even in the best of times, is now practically impossible as a paying proposition thanks to globalization and corporate farming. So how I'm going to make this happen, I'm not sure. But I will find a way someday, and when that small farm or ranch of my own becomes a reality, I'm going to want to know what I'm doing.
May is a vital month for us. This is when the vast majority of the planting takes place. Although the farm appears brown and dead right now, I have the advantage of knowing what it will look like come harvest time. The rewards will come, and the rewards will be much more than simply the food that will be produced.
This is the Farm's tiny orchard. We grow apples, apricots, peaches and cherries. Toward the rear we have a few grapevines.
I always enjoy the Farm. I don't think many people understand why exactly I give up a Saturday or Sunday almost every weekend to drive out into the mostly empty desert and labor at a tiny, two-acre Farm. I could say that I like the idea of eating organic produce, or supporting small farms and local agriculture, or just the chance to get out of town on a regular basis. All of these things are true, but none of them are the primary reason.
The truth is, I just love the work. It is fulfilling in a way a modern office job could never be. It connects a person with the environment and nourishes the soul as well as the body. I love making things grow and I want to understand the process of farming better so that I might own a small farm of my own someday. Small-time agriculture, never an easy proposition even in the best of times, is now practically impossible as a paying proposition thanks to globalization and corporate farming. So how I'm going to make this happen, I'm not sure. But I will find a way someday, and when that small farm or ranch of my own becomes a reality, I'm going to want to know what I'm doing.
May is a vital month for us. This is when the vast majority of the planting takes place. Although the farm appears brown and dead right now, I have the advantage of knowing what it will look like come harvest time. The rewards will come, and the rewards will be much more than simply the food that will be produced.
This is the Farm's tiny orchard. We grow apples, apricots, peaches and cherries. Toward the rear we have a few grapevines.
posted by Yukon Sully | 6:18 PM
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