When you're taking a break from your usual activities this weekend, maybe enjoying a cold beer or a glass of wine, maybe sitting through a commercial while watching a favorite TV show, take a moment to send out some positive thoughts to your old friends at Double K Farms.
This weekend, we are hoping to plant 1,000 baby aronia berry plants on our farm. If you haven't heard, aronias are the latest superfood. They are higher in polyphenols and antioxidants than blueberries and are reported to fight cancer!
In order to accomplish this somewhat monumental feat, we need the following (focus those positive thoughts):
- the cooperation of Mother Nature (right now, she's a bit rainy)
- the help of good friends and family (got it! Thanks, everyone. You're the best!)
- the tractors to work properly
- the tires on the tractors and carts to stay inflated
- the deer not to take too much interest in the little plants
- and whatever else I haven't anticipated (and I'm sure there are at least a couple of things that fit this category!)
Thanks, in advance, for your warm wishes.
May all the harmonies converge this weekend in southwestern Iowa!
October 1, 2009
September 1, 2009
The Necessities of Life
I'll bet you don't know what items are indispensable for the college crowd these days.
As a parent of a teenager going off to college, I imagine your list would look something like this:
mattress pad (for the bare bones dorm bed she was assigned)
sheets, blankets, pillows (of course)
cleanser (the dorm room was dirtier than we had expected)
toilet paper (no explanation necessary)
towels
textbooks, pens, pencils, notebooks, etc. (regular back-to-school stuff)
a lamp
some hangers and storage boxes for the clothes and shoes
a bus pass
a meal plan
All the normal stuff, right? Well, if you stopped there, you'd be falling short.
On the night before leaving my future leader of the free world at San Diego State University, I was informed, somewhat urgently, that, after settling in, there were a couple of items that she still absolutely needed to be able to be fully engaged in the life of the mind:
a beach towel
perfume
ice cream
I do not make this stuff up.
As a parent of a teenager going off to college, I imagine your list would look something like this:
mattress pad (for the bare bones dorm bed she was assigned)
sheets, blankets, pillows (of course)
cleanser (the dorm room was dirtier than we had expected)
toilet paper (no explanation necessary)
towels
textbooks, pens, pencils, notebooks, etc. (regular back-to-school stuff)
a lamp
some hangers and storage boxes for the clothes and shoes
a bus pass
a meal plan
All the normal stuff, right? Well, if you stopped there, you'd be falling short.
On the night before leaving my future leader of the free world at San Diego State University, I was informed, somewhat urgently, that, after settling in, there were a couple of items that she still absolutely needed to be able to be fully engaged in the life of the mind:
a beach towel
perfume
ice cream
I do not make this stuff up.
August 21, 2009
Lucky Girl
One friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, three are hardly possible.
Henry Adams
Here I am with my dear friend of 25 years. You may have surmised that this is not a recent photo. It is, in fact, from 25 years ago when we met in Paris as poor students. We've vowed to get back on our regimens and meet up again next year for a new shot which will, no doubt, rival this one.
So stay tuned!
And call an old friend.
Henry Adams
Here I am with my dear friend of 25 years. You may have surmised that this is not a recent photo. It is, in fact, from 25 years ago when we met in Paris as poor students. We've vowed to get back on our regimens and meet up again next year for a new shot which will, no doubt, rival this one.
So stay tuned!
And call an old friend.
July 28, 2009
Guys and Dolls
One of our favorite things to do anytime of the year, but especially during these warm days and cool nights of summer, is to sit on our patio in the evening and talk, sip something, watch the passing deer, and linger until we're ready to drop into bed. Most times, the topic of conversation is pleasant but unremarkable: current farm happenings, what the kids (far and near) are up to, how the neighbors are faring, religion, politics, etc.
But last weekend, the talk turned to relationships.
In particular, our personal relationships: the one with each other and, even more interestingly, the ones in our respective pasts. Until this moment in time (Friday, July 24th, 2009), we had only cursorily dealt with prior loves (and we've been together for almost 16 years). So, it was pretty momentous.
Heady from our evening of verbal intimacy, the next day we were working on the gables of the barn. Hubby was on the ladder about 20 feet up and I chose that time to ask him a little more about our recent breakthrough convo.
"So, Honey, what did you think about last night?"
"NOT NOW, Honey! I'm on the ladder!"
Oh, gotcha. Sorry!
Here's hoping for another opportunity before 16 more years pass.
But last weekend, the talk turned to relationships.
In particular, our personal relationships: the one with each other and, even more interestingly, the ones in our respective pasts. Until this moment in time (Friday, July 24th, 2009), we had only cursorily dealt with prior loves (and we've been together for almost 16 years). So, it was pretty momentous.
Heady from our evening of verbal intimacy, the next day we were working on the gables of the barn. Hubby was on the ladder about 20 feet up and I chose that time to ask him a little more about our recent breakthrough convo.
"So, Honey, what did you think about last night?"
"NOT NOW, Honey! I'm on the ladder!"
Oh, gotcha. Sorry!
Here's hoping for another opportunity before 16 more years pass.
July 20, 2009
The Times They Are A-Changin' *
As Hubby and I were cleaning out the garden barn, our eleven-year-old joined us and mostly sat on the lawn mower and watched. At that age, children are too cool to do anything in the barn. To her credit, though, she is a very helpful girl and assists willingly in the slightly less earthy areas of life around the house.
We had transported an old desk to the farm to put in the barn as a work table for me. We put a pallet on the dirt floor, put the desk on it, and happened to place a chair nearby. Our daughter asked Dad what Mom was going to be doing in here. He turned to her and jokingly replied that Mom could sit and write at the desk. Our girl pondered this image for a moment, a bit confused as to how one would write without a computer, and, after arriving at an idea that translated into her vernacular, in all seriousness, said, "Oh, you mean old-fashioned blogging!"
Of course, that's what he meant.
*Song title courtesy of Bob Dylan, who is even older than I am.
We had transported an old desk to the farm to put in the barn as a work table for me. We put a pallet on the dirt floor, put the desk on it, and happened to place a chair nearby. Our daughter asked Dad what Mom was going to be doing in here. He turned to her and jokingly replied that Mom could sit and write at the desk. Our girl pondered this image for a moment, a bit confused as to how one would write without a computer, and, after arriving at an idea that translated into her vernacular, in all seriousness, said, "Oh, you mean old-fashioned blogging!"
Of course, that's what he meant.
*Song title courtesy of Bob Dylan, who is even older than I am.
July 10, 2009
Some More Tao of Farming
Let us gaze upon the beautiful wheat of this summer that will probably not be harvested to be used as food for people who make bread. Such are the ways of the world these days.
But wait! This is not a negative piece. I simply wanted to thank Mother Nature for producing the awesome sight seen here. Because of the current system of economics and insurance, it is more profitable for us to forsake our lovely wheat and collect the insurance for it. (For the gruesome details, see previous post.) Nevertheless, there is no cost to appreciating it for what it is -- the fruits of our labors and the bounty of Mother Earth. Also, it will not be totally forsaken as it will be baled along with the clover for hay for some very lucky cows!
If we look at this event as an instance in time along a continuum of life, the monetary rewards become stripped of their importance, to some extent. Not everything valuable is directly related to money, fortunately. So, I take a page from the fabulous writings of my daughter, Julie, and give you a list of those farming things that do put a smile on my face, time and time again:
(Here is that smile, by the way)
True? Definitely.
*A reference to the good ole' boys of Boston Legal as they solved all of life's problems at the end of every show on a fancy balcony with a glass of brandy and cigars (we use wine and snacks).
But wait! This is not a negative piece. I simply wanted to thank Mother Nature for producing the awesome sight seen here. Because of the current system of economics and insurance, it is more profitable for us to forsake our lovely wheat and collect the insurance for it. (For the gruesome details, see previous post.) Nevertheless, there is no cost to appreciating it for what it is -- the fruits of our labors and the bounty of Mother Earth. Also, it will not be totally forsaken as it will be baled along with the clover for hay for some very lucky cows!If we look at this event as an instance in time along a continuum of life, the monetary rewards become stripped of their importance, to some extent. Not everything valuable is directly related to money, fortunately. So, I take a page from the fabulous writings of my daughter, Julie, and give you a list of those farming things that do put a smile on my face, time and time again:
(Here is that smile, by the way)- cooking over the open campfire in the firepit we made
- watching the children run wild and grow like weeds
- sitting on the patio watching the deer walk up the ridge across the pond, stopping at their salt lick, looking over at us, and heading on to the forest (maybe minus one during hunting season)
- enjoying 'Denny and Alan time'* complete with matching wool pajama tops
- hiking our land...yes...OUR land!
- taking pride in the home and barns we built ourselves
- checking on the beavers and their dams on the creek and wondering just how many trees to share with them
- putzing in our respective barns
- taking the raft out on the pond, disturbing the great blue heron so that she dropped her fish (sorry!)
- cuddling farm kittens and enjoying their antics, watching them grow
- tractoring around
- napping
- gardening
- mowing
- fishing
- viewing the moon and stars without the interference of city lights
- welcoming friends and family from near and far (Marlin can't wait for Jayne's visit)
- basking in the friendship and protection of our beloved neighbors
- reveling in the changing of the seasons and enjoying the charms of each one: planting new items in the spring, harvesting wonderful fruits in the summer, witnessing the colors of the fall, catching snowflakes in the winter
- looking forward to retiring on our little slice of heaven one day.
True? Definitely.
*A reference to the good ole' boys of Boston Legal as they solved all of life's problems at the end of every show on a fancy balcony with a glass of brandy and cigars (we use wine and snacks).
July 8, 2009
The Tao of Farming
Live and learn.
You win some, you lose some.
C'est la vie.
All these axioms may help us face little failures in life but I'm seriously considering putting farming in a class by itself.
Farming's axioms could include:
No matter what you do, you will fail.
Everything is for naught.
It's a zero-sum game and you'll get zero as the sum. Every time.
You get the idea.
Here is a photo of our beautiful wheat that is just about ready to be harvested. Last year, we lost most of our wheat crop to the floods and we didn't have insurance. We did manage to recuperate some of our losses as organic wheat went for $18/bushel (as compared to regular wheat that was going for about $5/bushel) and we got about 50 bushels off our land. (We should have gotten over 700 bushels.) So, we were able to pay for the combining, had a little money from the wheat, and milled some of it into flour for our CSA members and ourselves.
We re-planted wheat for this year AND took out insurance on it. (We're pretty bright.)
Well, last weekend, we traveled around our land and were thrilled that the wheat was looking very good (full heads, ripe, drying out like it should) and the clover and grass we planted this spring was coming up just as we hoped under the wheat to make hay in the late summer and fall. Of course, not all the fields were primo, but the fact that SOME were really excited us. Our farm was really coming along. It wasn't simply comprised of weed fields anymore. Our planning was working out. And, remember, we were insured.
What could go wrong?
We did what we always do. We called our mentor, Dan, to schedule the combining of our lovely wheat. He had the sad duty of informing us that organic wheat prices had fallen to $6/bushel.
WHAT???????
OK. OK. Let us recover ourselves. OK. We'll be OK. We had counted on the insurance to pay around $9/bushel. But that would only happen if the crop failed. What do we do now that we have good wheat that will only bring $6/bushel?
Do you see how unfair this all is?
So I proceeded to call the local grain dealer to find out the exact going price of organic wheat. Kevin was very happy to take my call but also had a sad duty to perform. Not only is organic wheat going for very little, it is not going AT ALL. He knew of NO ONE wanting wheat. Everyone he knows has wheat leftover from last year. He is recommending that we find a place to store our wheat (another expense) for at least two months and then, MAYBE, we'll be able to sell it. No guarantees.
Too bad we didn't have the floods this year.
You win some, you lose some.
C'est la vie.
All these axioms may help us face little failures in life but I'm seriously considering putting farming in a class by itself.
Farming's axioms could include:
No matter what you do, you will fail.
Everything is for naught.
It's a zero-sum game and you'll get zero as the sum. Every time.
You get the idea.
Here is a photo of our beautiful wheat that is just about ready to be harvested. Last year, we lost most of our wheat crop to the floods and we didn't have insurance. We did manage to recuperate some of our losses as organic wheat went for $18/bushel (as compared to regular wheat that was going for about $5/bushel) and we got about 50 bushels off our land. (We should have gotten over 700 bushels.) So, we were able to pay for the combining, had a little money from the wheat, and milled some of it into flour for our CSA members and ourselves.We re-planted wheat for this year AND took out insurance on it. (We're pretty bright.)
Well, last weekend, we traveled around our land and were thrilled that the wheat was looking very good (full heads, ripe, drying out like it should) and the clover and grass we planted this spring was coming up just as we hoped under the wheat to make hay in the late summer and fall. Of course, not all the fields were primo, but the fact that SOME were really excited us. Our farm was really coming along. It wasn't simply comprised of weed fields anymore. Our planning was working out. And, remember, we were insured.
What could go wrong?
We did what we always do. We called our mentor, Dan, to schedule the combining of our lovely wheat. He had the sad duty of informing us that organic wheat prices had fallen to $6/bushel.
WHAT???????
OK. OK. Let us recover ourselves. OK. We'll be OK. We had counted on the insurance to pay around $9/bushel. But that would only happen if the crop failed. What do we do now that we have good wheat that will only bring $6/bushel?
Do you see how unfair this all is?
So I proceeded to call the local grain dealer to find out the exact going price of organic wheat. Kevin was very happy to take my call but also had a sad duty to perform. Not only is organic wheat going for very little, it is not going AT ALL. He knew of NO ONE wanting wheat. Everyone he knows has wheat leftover from last year. He is recommending that we find a place to store our wheat (another expense) for at least two months and then, MAYBE, we'll be able to sell it. No guarantees.
Too bad we didn't have the floods this year.
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