To Do

What happens to a dream deferred?

 Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

      Or fester like a sore—

      And then run?

      Does it stink like rotten meat?

      Or crust and sugar over—

      like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

      like a heavy load.

 

      Or does it explode?

 

                                         -Langston Hughes

 

Almost three months ago, Anna and Noah tasked us with writing our own job descriptions, with particular emphasis on our personal goals and farm dreams for the upcoming growing season. Below are some highlights we wrote: some practical, some whimsical. Let’s check in again in late fall to see how we did!

Adam:  (Who has time for this?)

  1. Have a horse drawn wagon instead of a harvest truck. Boo truck! Hurray ponies and coffee!
  2. Drive and continue donkey training: Ideally 2-3 times per week
  3. Finish my house
  4. Animal Care:   Have a flock of compost turning laying hens.

                                    Graze the headlands more, mow less

                                    Pigs to help perennial compost and packshed waste

                                    Build a proper shelter for cattle

Anna:

Personal dreams:

  1. More weekends spent deep in the mountains.
  2. Take care of a productive medicinal herb garden.
  3. Plant lots of trees around the farm.
  4. More time roller skating.
  5. Regular yoga/stretch movement practice.
  6. More relaxed time with friends and family.

Farm dreams:

  1. Get the farmstand beautiful, fun to stop at, and fully stocked all summer!
  2. Sharing the good food with more people by expanding our CSA.
  3. Having successful broccoli crops all season.

Joanne:

Leadership: Work on being a better leader by not getting stressed.

I dream that we are able to communicate our needs to each other so that we can effectively share the stress-load of what it is to run a farm. I want to support everyone here in their process of figuring out how to make farming a lifelong career and not get burnt out.  This season outside the farm, I am excited to build a cabin with my sweetheart, go on more bike trips, play more fiddle and put more energy into my small yogurt business.

Jordan:

  1. Try to figure out how to do a job that didn’t exist last year, while keeping in mind that it’s really not thatimportant and the sun will still rise if I don’t do it.
  2. Get better at communication.
  3. Help people more.
  4. Keep it all together and try not to think poorly of myself in the process of figuring out those things.
  5. Make time to harvest wild foods and make preserves, jams, pickles, and dried things to last through winter.
  6. Help Anna and Noah with designing and making flyers, postcards, and some merchandise to sell at markets. [Jordan has already made the employees some awesome shirts!]

Matt:

  1. Horse Work: Explore going to auctions to buy needed equipment.

                                                -Go to 2018 Horse Progress Days in Michigan and Montana.

      b)   Cropping: Plant flint corn and dry beans as season extension experiments.

                                                -200-600 feet each?

      c)   Free time: Continue playing hockey on Wednesdays and racquetball with Teresa.

Theresa:

  1. Plant a rice plot and an asian greens garden!
  2. Make lots of kimchi; trial new and different kinds of kimchi; try selling at market through the farm.
  3. Data tracking project on the farm to create a profit/loss analysis at the end of the season.
  4. Lift at the gym regularly and incorporate more cardio.
  5. More camping, hiking, swimming, and exploring the outdoors!
  6. Put more energy into self-care (ie. get regular massages, set aside alone time, practice saying “no”)
  7. Have weekly dinners with the farm-ily.

Noah:

I dream of putting focused energy into fertility, cover cropping, tillage experiments, equipment and efficiency improvements.

I dream of improved horsemanship, more field tasks that revolve around horses, a strong partnership with John [RRF’s draft horse mentor], and continued affirmation that horses are still relevant for the small farm.

I dream of bringing farmers markets and the CSA to next level (i.e. educational marketing, customer loyalty, good communication).

I dream of a website with educational content, communicating what is possible with a partnership between a conscious consumer and a conscious agriculture.

I dream of propagating perennial plants and planting them all over the farm..

I dream of working only 10 months this next season.

I dream of a having everyone happy and satisfied in their jobs.

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