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!