Farm Life and Every Thing After
7 months seemed like a lifetime when I told my boyfriend what I might be doing for the rest of 2019 in April of this year. I couldn’t imagine what November would bring, or what would happen in that time, this “experimental sabbatical” I was calling it then.
It took me about 2 weeks from the email I sent to molly saying yes I’ll come work on the farm – to telling my boss I was leaving my salaried desk job. Quitting for another radio job would be one thing. Quitting to leave the industry all together and work on a farm was another. I was scared of what my boss would think, what my coworkers would think, my friends and really anyone else who would hear about this change. But now, as I get ready to leave this apprenticeship and move on to another (I’ll be spending the winter mushing dogs in Vermont) I realize none of that matters if I’m happy and supporting myself.
I learned a lot about what farming is and isn’t this summer. That everyone has a side gig, a freelance job, something to sustain the farm itself. Half the time farming is done behind computer screens, inside stores; its construction and spreadsheets and planning and analysis afterward. I still ordered takeout more than I thought I would, and my body has been tired in new ways. Farming is more long term than I ever realized it to be. Tasks that I couldn’t wrap my head around doing in May (pruning “ghost berries” for hours on end) only made sense come August when I saw that yes, trees produce more fruit than they really need to have, and getting rid of the runts makes for a better product in season. From the hyper micro-world of daily news, it’s a new perspective of looking at the world I hope to take with me.
Until then, I hope I’ll see y’all at Ossipee Festival 2020…If they’ll let me behind the bar again 🙂