Tilling our Earth and Finding our Groove

A few months ago I mentioned to some friends that I was "freaking" out about all of the changes we were going through; I had no idea. One of my friends spoke up that struggle is closely tied with living, and so many people just wander through, but at least we were living it. Well, if that is true we are now fully present, completely conscious, and living in the moment. I have given up listening to public radio, which is big for me, because I feel like every half hour they are highlighting our obvious struggles. We have yet to sell our home in Seattle, Toby works in the hemorrhaging financial sector, we are trying to plan out a way to live on the farm, and we are attempting to launch the farm into business that can both support and nurture us. Our struggles are not unique, but how often do you pick up the paper, listen to the radio, or, God forbid, turn to network news and feel like they are actually talking about you?

It is ironic that I don't want to be popular now, as opposed to my many late nights scheming with my teen-aged friends about how we could break through to the popular cliche. Back then I thought being on the pom-pom squad, or having the lead in the school play would change how everyone perceived me, and how I even felt about myself. Of course none of that made any difference, although I do admit it was kind of fun to wear the cheerleader outfits and sing my lungs out.

Our new cliche is the farm community here on the island. At first, I was a bit worried that farming would isolate me from the community, and I would not meet all the people on the island that are worth sharing time with. But now I see we just got elected Homecoming Queen. We are the new kids on the block, and lately it seems that just about everyone is watching our fledgling footsteps. What techniques are we employing to maintain our "crops"? Where will we sell our products; farmer's market, wholesale distributor, farm stand? Are we going to price our products according to what the market can bear, or do we just want to feed the world? And of course, every time we answer one question, a branch of the family tree of popularity is sprouted. Do we go up into the lore of the farmers everyone wants to hang with? Or do we droop down into the mucky wallows of the wanna be "hobby" farmers? And is it just okay to fall on our faces a couple of times while we sort it out?

I have been thinking a lot about the Buddhist fairy tale of the farmer and his horse. A farmer wakes up one day to find his horse has run away. His neighbors come by to say they are sorry for his bad luck. The farmer responds that maybe it is bad luck and maybe it is not. The next day the horse returns with two other wild horses, and the neighbors all congratulate him on his good luck. The farmer responds again that maybe it is good luck and maybe not. The story continues on like that until the average thinker starts to get the message that there is no luck, but there is balance in life and we need to check how we perceive things.

Gus and Freja started school recently, and they both have blossomed. Freja is just the most amazing, imaginative, and talkative two-year-old you could imagine. Gus loves kindergarten so much he does not want to leave, and is already perfecting signing his name. The farm is tons of work, and we have met a number of wonderful people who buy what we can spare, and cheer us on along the way. I got to spend the morning with a cow named Hazel, a farmer named Will, a produce maven named Norine, and a caterer named Mardi. Toby enjoys every day that he commutes by ferry, and comes home every evening with tidbits of information gleaned from the friends he has made on the boat. We received an offer on the house in Seattle, and although it is ridiculous, it is an offer.

In Seattle we had a groove that we had worn pretty deep. Here on the island, on our farm we are just scratching the surface, and already are amazed with what we have uncovered.