A Quarter Century

August 16, 1988-Fauquier County was in the middle of a heatwave.  The heat and humidity had it feeling like it was in the triple digits.

August 16, 1988-the air conditioning in Fauquier County Hospital broke down.

August 16, 1988-our eldest daughter made her much anticipated, much delayed arrival into the world.

      ...at the Fauquier County Hospital...
 
                                              ...during that heatwave.    ugh!

That was some of the hardest work I had done in my life up to that point.  I suddenly understood why it was referred to as labor.

While the Boss headed out to make the obligatory phonecalls, I watched our newborn daughter stare at me rather bemusedly in the early morning light and wondered over this new person that we had in our lives. What would the future hold? 

If I had only known.  Honestly, labor was just the beginning of the hard work.  …and I wasn’t the only one who was going to work hard.

Lately, Toughchick has been reminding me that she’s going to be a “Quarter Century” …I’m not sure if it’s because that is a good-sized accomplishment (keeping in mind that she was considered almost certainly a “goner” at one point) or if it’s to remind me that I am much farther down the road. (that HALF century is looming large)...or maybe it's just because she doesn't want me to forget the chocolate cake and fried chicken supper she was promised. (There is a definite down-side to a summer birthday in the country.  It's smack-dab in the middle of harvest AND fair season!)

sharing a special moment with Great-Grandpa Bing

Of course, when Toughchick was born, she wasn’t Toughchick at all.


She was just a round, wise-looking little person....

                                  ....with a propensity for smiling.



 I figured I had a lot to teach her.  What I didn’t realize is just how much SHE would teach ME.

Toughchick has taught me much about love and loyalty...

enjoying life..

Lake Anna with Papa

             

Sister fun

                            …and being your own person.

She's fearless, too!
yes...that IS a snake and she IS smiling!

As she grew up on our small farm, we taught her about hard work and that tie to family and the land. Homeschool lessons were nothing compared to the life lessons that farm life offered on a daily basis.

Her love of animals, particularly chickens (and other birds) means that she’s the “go-to-person” whenever we have poultry issues.  She also served as our introduction to a whole host of interesting “chicken people”. I suppose the proper term for the group of friends from shows and sales would be poultry enthusiasts. Regardless of term, they are a great group of friends who have always been there to provide encouragement and support.  Today, she and the Beermeister have their own poultry business.

Toughchick and I have had our tough times when…well, I don’t think either one of us liked the other one too much.  The tough times in our relationship made me realize that for all my “open-mindedness”, I really wasn’t.  For all my talk about “be true to yourself”, I wasn’t real accepting of anything other than my own definitions.  I learned a lot in those tough times.

I guess I wasn’t ready for my little baby to sprout her wings and fly.  But, fly she did.

That round, wise little baby somehow became a responsible adult (it seemed like overnight!) .  Before I knew it, she was all grown-up with a husband, a job, a nice home, a business and a life of her own.

 My daughters amaze me sometimes.

When tragedy struck, I was amazed again.

Honestly, NO mother should have to watch her child learn to walk a second time.     But, I did. 

I learned a lot during that summer of recovery after a drunken, drag-racing teenager nearly killed our daughter, her husband and their dogs on that horrible April night.   A little bit of that story can be read HERE.

Every day I saw new evidence of LOVE, PERSEVERANCE and DETERMINATION.

 Toughchick and the Beermeister are amazing examples of just what love can accomplish.

After she recovered and returned to work, Toughchick took on a challenge that completely floored me. 

Not only did she go and visit the Rescue Squad that was responsible for saving her life…she joined them.  

She spent hours and hours (days/weeks) studying to get her EMT training and her EVOC (ambulance driver) certification.  The girl who was given a 5% chance at survival (that was just to make it over the mountain to the trauma center) was now out there working to help others. No one can comprehend just  how amazing her old mama finds that one. You might want to read Read THIS! 

So, Toughchick…on your 25^th birthday…that quarter century mark…

I just want to wish you many, many more.  I can only hope that Life is everything you wish it to be.

Here’s to you being that super cool 100+ year old lady who has done everything on that ever-growing "bucket list". I know you can do whatever you set your mind to.

Just remember this one thing…

“Yer old Mama luvs ya!”
     

                       (…and of course, so does PaPa!
                                                and the rest of the gang)

                                               Happy Birthday, kiddo!

P.S. Fried chicken, all the sides and chocolate, chocolate cake...next week...promise!

The Housing Incident

There are perhaps a million reasons I could list for not getting my work done. But, most of the time it’s my own fault for lacking focus, for being so very easily distracted. 

But, singing IS distracting.  Not my own singing…that’s far worse than distracting…but, that’s not the subject. 

Someone was singing…loudly…the sound seemed to fill the office as I tried to work.  I really didn’t mind the distraction and the sound was nice, but where was it coming from?

No, it wasn’t the Boss.  He was quietly working on his side of the office. But, he heard it, too and commented on it.

I looked out the window. No one was in sight.

I sat down.  It started again.  It seemed to get louder.

I looked again.  Nothing.

I went outside, checked the apple tree next to the house, the top of the shed, the fenceline…nothing. But, I could still hear it.

Then, I found the performer…

It was a little house wren, singing with all his might.  Singing to impress….oh look….little Mrs. House wren!

Look real close...Mrs. Wren is inside the tube

…and they weren’t in the apple tree, or on top the shed, or along the fenceline.  They had chosen to build their nest INSIDE the pipe---the metal tube---that is the top of the clothesline pole!  I couldn’t believe that they would fit.  But, watch this! (It’s not great quality; I shot it through the office window.  And, as you can probably tell, window washing is not a real high priority around here)

Okay, I was hooked.  How often do you get to do any birdwatching from the office window?  The bookwork could wait.

Mr. Wren would sing.  Mrs. Wren would answer.  They were quite animated and it was amusing.  However, this wasn’t the joyful singing of courtship…something else was going on.

Suddenly, a villain appeared.  (cue the bad guy music) A sparrow came flying in to “check things out”.  

Sparrows are notorious for stealing housing from the other little birds and a lot of people hold the entire population in great contempt.  I understand why. 

I figured that the wren’s chosen home was safe since the sparrow was a much bigger bird.  But, no…somehow, he squeezed in the little tube and poked around.

Mr. and Mrs. Wren were getting quite shrill at this point.  As the sparrow came out, they flew at him repeatedly, not seeming to notice the size difference.

Eventually (about a thousand frames later…that really is an exaggeration) the sparrow finally gave up.

Mr. Wren claimed victory.

Mrs. Wren went back to her nest-building/house-cleaning.

…and I…

                well, I was left trying to remember what I was supposed to be doing in the first place!

VICTORY!

**the incident occurred earlier this summer...the wrens were successful in raising their family.  The fledglings are grown now and singing all around the farm.**

Sunday Walkabout 8-11

I’m real glad that this week is over!

The beginning of the week was incredibly stressful.  The whole worry over the “issues” of the Market had a much deeper effect on me than anyone (except the Boss) really knows.  But, it’s over and done with…on to other things.

It seemed appropriate to wear my new t-shirt to Market on Saturday...

We’ve reached that point in the growing season where it’s real easy to get discouraged or at least distracted.  

The weird weather patterns have given rise to disease and bugs…not to mention weeds of epic proportion.  Sometimes, it seems that every trip to the garden reveals a little more loss or yet another problem.  That can be a real downer.  However, if you look a little closer…there are lots of things to encourage us. 

August in the upper garden

The late season cucumbers and squash plants are looking good.

The fall crop of brassicas are doing incredibly well.

There is broccoli in AUGUST!

The corn is just about ready…(that may explain why we trapped FOUR raccoons and a possum this week!)

At first I was distraught to see that our beautiful winter squash patch was looking a “mite peaked”…when I took a closer look, I couldn’t believe all the squashes in there!  A couple more weeks and we will be harvesting a WHOLE LOT of squash.

...and lettuce...how could I forget the lettuce?

I thought I’d take you on a little visit to the animals, but they weren’t feeling particularly gracious.  It doesn’t look like this ewe wanted her picture taken.

  …and this chick has a definite attitude problem

 But here is one update from the ewe flock…

Tess went to the vet this week for some of her kitten shots.  We got a small reprieve from “cat-nado”, otherwise known as the "Stealth Ninja" as she slept for hours afterwards.

she's growing...but, so are her ears!

We had a downpour during the Saturday Market.  …and I DO mean a DOWNPOUR!  That’s definitely NOT something you need at an open air market. But, the customers took it in stride and it finally stopped raining…and we sold a bunch of stuff.

I’ve got a new toy I mean tool to learn how to use. Since today is a somewhat rainy Sunday, the timing is perfect.

Thanks for dropping by.

Happy Sunday!

Thankful Thursday 8-8

Well now, that was anti-climactic!

I’ll be real honest here, walking into that meeting last night was about the last thing I wanted to do.  I had anticipated all sorts of scenarios, and not one of them was pleasant.

After a number of hectic days when tensions ran high, emails were flying, the future of the Market seemed in jeopardy and I found myself reeling from my first encounter with cyber-bullies,
 it’s all over…

                           ...just like that.

I guess I should begin at the beginning.

I first heard about the Task Force policy proposals on Saturday at the Market.  I was struck speechless.

…and then the words wouldn’t stop. Writing is my coping mechanism, the therapy that gives me emotional release, and the way I figure out just where I stand on a subject.  Not only was I writing about it…every single conversation the Boss and I had centered on this whole ordeal.  Since the Market is such a big part of our life, we had to talk about it. There was no escaping it.

"Too Much Thinkin' " is the most widely read and shared thing I have written since I started blogging in 2009.  I was a little surprised at the level of interest.

But, I was completely taken aback that it elicited hatred. That post was “appalling”?  No, wait, it wasn’t just the post.  It was the Market, the Boss, me and the post. (and the fact that I call my husband “ the Boss”)

The diatribe of hate was full of accusations, falsehoods, gross exaggerations and personal attacks on the Boss.  Thankfully, comments to my blog have to moderated by me…so we were the only ones privy to the hurtful words.  The hateful, anonymous diatribe was not the only message received that day…there is a lot of anger and hate out there.  That scares me sometimes.

It seemed necessary to let our customer-friends know what was going on with the proposals concerning the Market. I mean, without them, it doesn’t matter how much food we produce, it doesn’t matter if it’s local, if it’s fresh…without them, we’re out of business.

The reaction from our customer-friends exponentially outweighed the opinions of the haters.  They (the customer-friends) took to cyberspace writing emails, posting on Facebook, making their voices heard.

When the local news covered the story, it began to worry a lot more folks.  Kudos to the Market Chair for remaining cool and collected during the interview---you did good, Susan!

The public meeting was scheduled for Wednesday night.  As of Wednesday afternoon, the phonecalls and emails were still flying and the task force was starting to put a different spin on things.  Those of us involved with the Market were more than a little concerned.

The meeting was just starting as the Boss and I arrived.  As we found a spot to stand and listen, I noticed something odd.  There was a sheet that had a revised proposal on it.  They had changed the proposal!

Where it was full of concerning phrases before, now it was fairly benign.

Here, you read it.

6. Expand opportunities for public markets. REVISED

We propose to lift the current City of Staunton ban on the sale of artisan crafts at public markets operating in Staunton, leaving the decision on craft sales to the markets themselves.

-Benefit to City: Staunton City code Chapter 12.35 – City Markets- allows for the operation of one or more public markets within the city.  Lifting the current ban on the sale of artisan crafts would encourage more activity at public markets, whether a currently existing market or one that would be founded in the future.

-Benefit to markets and vendors-Takes the decision about craft sales out of City Hall and puts it back into the private sector, giving current and future public markets more control over their own offerings.

-Details- Modifies Staunton City Code 12.35.020 (2) “Purpose” currently reading “Art and crafts are not permitted” to “art and crafts are permitted.” Lifting this blanket ban would not require any market to sell crafts.  Lifting the ban would merely allow any public market to sell crafts, at the discretion of its management.

Honestly, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

There is power in the people!

So, for today’s “thankful Thursday”, I must say…I’m thankful for a lot of things.

Our customers- They are the BEST! This is not the first time that a number of them have supported us and stood beside us.  There are simply no words to describe what these folks mean to me---to us.

Social media- Facebook, our farm blog and emails made communicating with a great number of people easy and efficient.  We were able to “rally the troops” quickly when time was of the essence.  Cyberspace also made it possible for our customer-friends to make their voices heard.

The haters- yes, part of me is thankful for the haters.  Without them, I wouldn’t have felt compelled to ask for the support of our customers.  While I really wasn’t looking for that kind of reaction, at least I know that my words are creating strong feelings in my readers!

…and I’m thankful that this is behind us.  Oh, we’ll have to keep an eye on policy proposals…but for now, we can get back to the business of raising food.

      Happy Farmers’ Market Week!