Sunday Walkabout 7-22

Since I can’t get past the fact that I’m fairly certain someone actually advised us to “make lemonade out of lemons!” after pelting us with fruit (figuratively, of course), this week’s post may be somewhat terse. I wish the flippant words were a figment of my imagination, but I am fairly certain they were not.  And, the offer to provide “inspiration” to work around a seemingly insurmountable challenge of their creation was astounding. Honestly, it felt like we’d been smacked in the face and then told to smile nice. I promise to return to the lemonade story in full when I’m not annoyed, irritated and still leaning toward an excessive use of bad words.

I will say one thing. I don’t need your “inspiration” to make my business work. We’ve been doing this (successfully) for over 20 years without loans, grants or outside help. We’ve learned how to read the Market, make changes when necessary while building our business and taking care of our family. It would be nice to be recognized as a valuable, viable part of the community. Don’t smack me and then tell me to take it with a smile. I’ve been abused in the past and not only do I not like it…I do not have to take that type of treatment ever again.

But…

Enough of that.

 

the summer garden

It’s been a long, hot week here on the hill, so the weather isn’t helping with the whole search for the positive deal. The only rain we have had was just enough to temporarily settle the dust. The grass is getting brown and crunchy and we’ve got the irrigation running regularly just to keep the crops alive. Production rates are way off and that certainly doesn’t help the bottom line. It took the Boss twice as long to harvest potatoes since the plow kept bouncing out of the hard, dry ground. The weather forecast looks tantalizingly wet, but we have yet to see a single raindrop in our part of the Valley.

However, there was one positive note in the long, hot week.

safely in the holding pen

We got the lambs hauled to the processor without a single incident!

heading to the barn

No trampled farmer, broken gate, escapee lambs, torn pants or swear words were involved. Just a nice, boring trip up the interstate. When you’re hauling livestock, boring is a good thing. Over the years I have heard far too many stories of disabled vehicles, accidents and/or escapee animals. That’s one experience we could most certainly do without.

ready to go

poop on my boots
just part of the job

3 hours later
home again!

We’ve taken this same trip up the interstate so many times now we feel a kinship with the farms we pass along the sides of the interstate and can judge the season by their progress. The effects of the copious amounts of rain in the early season are now sadly evident. Many fields that should be full of abundant, verdant corn are either empty, weedy or planted in some other crop. It made me wonder what these farms would do for winter forage. That led us to a discussion of the difference between haylage and silage. (for the record, haylage is a type of silage…and silage is simply green matter stored in such a way that it ferments before it is fed to livestock)

silos in the distance

The wonders of technology (smartphone and the internet) allowed me to spend the better part of the ride researching odd and random silo/silage facts. (things like that make my inner-nerd SO happy) You may not know that there are different kinds of silos for different kinds of crop storage. And, silos of some sort have been in usage since the 8^th century B.C. It would be quite possible to write an entire post about silos and silage, if one were so inclined.

While many farmers in our area are using “ag-bags” (those long white, plastic tubes that you may see in fields) instead of building new infrastructure, (and more folks than not have absolutely no clue how silos are used) I am certain that silos will always be an iconic part of rural America.

Back home on the hill, it was more of the same. More picking and planting and same-old, same-old.

indigo bunting in the weeds

you know it's bad when you have to use
the weed-whacker on the weeds

Pollinators at work
happy to see the honeybee
the cucumber beetle? not so much

this time she was behind the barn...

broilers are looking good

the corn is tasseling

end of the day

The week ended on a somewhat sour note. At the end of the market, we had a rather informal meeting with the organizer of the upcoming “magic” weekend. This is going to be a major tourism weekend in town and with an eye to festival safety, the City made the decision to close the entire downtown area to vehicular traffic. While this is understandable since they are expecting approximately 20,000 people, (and the memories of the tragedy last August in Charlottesville are still fresh in the minds of many Virginians) it is indeed disastrous for the Farmers’ Market. Our customers will have to walk in from elsewhere and somehow schlep their purchases back. I honestly don’t think many (if any) of them will do this. And, while the City offered the possibility of another spot, it is well off the beaten path, without adequate electricity and offers no convenient restroom facilities. Besides, trying to change a 25-year institution for one week is not without its issues. Judging the group on body language alone, this was not a successful meeting.

we have 5 hours a week
for 34 weeks of the year
to make our living

When you come face to face with the fact that someone else sees no value in what you do…that they have no comprehension of your occupation nor concern for your welfare and well-being, it’s shocking. And, hurtful. Let’s face it. it makes you mad.

There has always been a disconnect between city and country. Consumers do not understand what it takes to produce the very products that they demand. But, don’t tell me that everyone thinks the other guy has it easy. Nope, that is NOT what I think and I am certainly not implying it.

And, don’t you think for one minute that farming is easy. It’s not. Never has been. And, if it weren’t for the less than 2% of folks who do it, we wouldn’t have the food to have restaurants, groceries or anything else.

Sadly, even in agriculture there is a great deal of bickering. Big farms look down on small farms. Small farms point out the errors of “big ag”.

Lordy.

To quote Rodney King…”can’t we all just get along?”

After being slighted, to be given the offer of “inspiration” was like being slapped in the face with a smile. There is no way…NO WAY…this weekend can be good for the Farmers’ Market. None. 

Please just say that. Please know that the guy who pointed out he would lose an entire week’s earnings was not overstating the situation. Understand that the gal who pointed out that you just don’t order up something for the week’s sales and that they would lose all that produce was not exaggerating…at all. And, the fella who said he had the best solution, the simplest solution…”I will just stay home!” had a valid point. The Market is life and livelihood for these vendors and to re-vamp to make sandwiches and/or magic wands for one week just isn’t happening. Honestly, your offer of help to meet this “challenge” or “solve the problem” was condescending at best. It will be a huge loss to people who have devoted their lives to producing food for the local community for years and this needs to be recognized by all those involved. But, it won’t happen. Because tourism (and the dollars it brings) is king. And while there is some validity to “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”, I would argue that no one needs magic and mayhem (or whatever the event is called), but then that’s just me.

Honestly, this is just a drop in the bucket to the recent challenges. Weather, health, market, the political landscape, these things have all been wearing of late. It’s enough to make you want to shake things up, to make some radical changes…to throw in the towel and go off on some new tangent.

So, excuse me while I grumble. Just overlook my bad mood and angry words. We will adjust and overcome, but it will take a while.

maybe we just need a nap

Thank you for stopping by. Thanks for reading. (even when I grouse)

I hope you have a Happy Sunday! 

another beautiful sunset

We’re gonna do our “durnedest” to make it a good week. 

See ya next time!

as another day dawns

Click HERE to see the Boss' Market photos from this week.