Monday, June 16, 2008

Week 3: The 3 W's

Six months out the year my life is focused on the three W's: weeding, watering and wildlife. That is pretty much all that happens between now and October/November. Once in a while there is a break in the monotony when I spray a little Round Up or fertilizer. Eventually harvest time comes and it is all worth while. Raspberries will be ready for harvest in August. We may have Gala apples this year if the deer and the bugs don't decide they want them first.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Week 1: Farm Miracles

Desperation was pretty much my mood on May 23 as I headed for Utah and left the farm behind with mountains of weeds and a mile long list of farm tasks to be done. It wasn't life threatening, but I knew that this was a monumental task and I couldn't do it by myself. Long story short: Upon returning from Utah two of my former farm workers appeared looking for work. One I haven't seen for probably 5 years and one for 2 years. The miracle is that they both came when I felt hopeless and overwhelmed. The second miracle is of what they have accomplished in one week. 700 lavender plants pruned, 7 rows of berry trellis removed, weeds have disappeared, a long overdue task of removing T bars from 45 rows of now non-existent berries has been finished (that's 450+ Tbars) and the field mowed. There are some things I can do myself, but heavy work is not one of them. Tomorrow my farm helpers should have all the fields mowed, and one area rototilled. I plan to have them begin pulling down apple trees. I will whittle the orchard down from 600 trees to 300, keeping 5 rows of Galas, 5 rows of Braeburns and 5 rows of Red Delicious. The store and the barn also need to be painted this year. This weekend I will plant corn and beans and tomatoes. P.S. Really Strong Winds again the past few days. This IS the year of the wind!