The whole family helped pick the first of our apples two weekends ago.
For me, each month of the year brings its own important question for us on the farm. In July, the question is, “are we caught up with our work?” For it is in July that we can first assess how well we’ve made it through springs in terms of planting and the earliest weeding. Because if we haven’t kept up with weeding, suddenly we will find ourselves in a forest of them when those warm July days arrive.
August’s question is about balance. Whereas in July we check on the progress of our weeds, in August we check on the state of our bodies and souls. For this is the time of the year when even a slight imbalance can result in extreme fatigue, brought on even more strongly with the hot sticky weather we receive in this month.
Farmers are notorious over-workers. In a different region, where perhaps most of the farm’s activities are constrained to the number of months without snow (or mud), I suppose working 12 hour days every day makes some sense. That kind of activity assumes that there will indeed be a long winter’s rest. Of course, even in that scenario, most farmers have plenty of winter’s work, just much less than the high growing season!
That trend holds some truth on our farm too. Certainly, if nothing else, the long dark nights of winter forcibly slow us down! But we harvest and deliver vegetables for most weeks of the year; we take care of the animals; we milk. So, we’ve realized over the years of our farming here, that we must rest too. Even in summer, we must play. Our bodies and souls both cannot sustain 12 hour days year-round, or even for many weeks of the summer.
I’m just guessing here, but based on how our farmer friends talk, I think we work a pretty light week. This is intentional, stemming from long-held values about The Good Things in Life. I think it’s easy for farmers to become work-aholics and not recognize the patterns they might share with an ambitious lawyer, because of course we love our work (I hope that so does the lawyer!). And, farmers work at home, outside, in the elements. It is easy in such a scenario to feel that those long hours are still Quality Time, because they are. Oh, this work is juicy and good and wonderful.
But. The Good Things in Life. They do include Nature and Work and Service and Industry. This is why we love our work and how it connects us to our deep purpose of being humans in service of the world. But The Good Things in Life also include Play and Rest and Family and Friends and Music and so much more.
So, we seek balance. This August, Casey and I are both feeling like, at least this year, we’ve found some form it. Between the farm and the kids, we certainly can’t enjoy all of The Good Things in Life — but this is a season in our life when things like long conversations over dinner just ain’t going to happen as regularly as they did in past eras (or in future ones!). But we can enjoy all these good things that do come from being farmers with a family — plenty of time just playing with the kids being at the top of our list.
If you’re wondering about specifics, our whole crew works what I think are pretty unprecedented hours of 7:30 am to 4 pm, five days per week. Casey works longer days on Tuesday and Thursday (because of CSA pick-ups), and in the summer he moves pipe on the weekends too. But by farmer standards, we’re barely working at all! Of course it must be said that Casey literally runs all day long, as he moves from task to task. He feels best when he is working at top form, and he feels like he can do this knowing that a true rest is at hand. Come Friday, he is physically very tired, but our two days (mostly) off provide a deep rest for his hard working body.
Many years ago, I read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Honestly, I can’t remember much from this book, but there’s one story or parable that has always stuck with me. There is a man in a forest trying to cut through a very large log with a very dull saw, and of course the going is very slow. Another man walks by and asks him why he doesn’t sharpen his saw. The first man’s response: “I don’t have time to stop and sharpen my saw; I need to cut through this log!”
Casey and I have had other seasons when we feel like that man, knowing that our saw is so dull and yet not feeling like we even have the space to pause (or even know how to sharpen it!). And those periods of life are probably inevitable and/or necessary at times to get new things launched. But not every year, year in and year out.
This August, however, we’re feeling good. Oh, what joy! We don’t get all the pieces right in any one growing season, including this one. But to find that balance in our bodies and souls feels like a very important priority, so we rejoice in that success this year!
Certainly farmers are not the only ones guilty of considering long hard hours of work necessary for a job well done! I hope that if there is anyone else out there seeking balance that they can take some time on these hot days to ponder the question of what is truly necessary and how efficient one can work when too tired.
And perhaps a little community time would help you sharpen your saw? CSA members are invited to join us here on the farm for a potluck dinner (and farm tour). See more details below. We hope you can join us!
Enjoy this week’s vegetables!
Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla
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CSA Potluck this Saturday, August 16
CSA Members (Veggie and Full Diet both) — you are invited to join us on the farm this Saturday for a farm tour and potluck! Here’s the schedule of events and details:
- 4:00 pm — Come out for a farm tour led by Farmer Casey. The farm is large enough that you won’t be able to see everything, but he’ll get you to plenty of interesting stuff! We’ll walk a distance, and some of the ground you walk on will be slightly uneven, so please wear sturdy shoes (also hats for sun, etc.)
- 5:00 pm — Folks will start gathering for dinner (come at this time if you want to skip the tour).
- 5:30 pm — We will eat! Please bring a dish to share and your own plates and utensils (we’ll have some extras if folks forget but perhaps not enough for everyone!).
Directions to the farm: From the HWY-18 bypass, take the Dayton exit. Drive south through Dayton and stay on Wallace Rd / HWY-221 heading south. Drive for about seven miles. Turn LEFT onto Grand Island Rd. After crossing the bridge, turn RIGHT at the first intersection onto SE Upper Island Rd. Our driveway is immediately on your LEFT. We’ll try to help folks park in a safe, logical manner in our driveway. We’ll be eating under our very large walnut tree, which is tucked behind our brown 2-story house at the right back of the driveway. Our address is 18705 SE Upper Island Rd, Dayton OR 97114. See you there!
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Meet this week’s vegetables:
- Tomatoes!!!!
- Tomatillos! — These are the surprise hit of the summer. We’ve received so many rave reviews from CSA members who are adding these fruits to cooked dishes, sauces, etc. When we first started the farm in 2006, we literally couldn’t even give away tomatillos at market. I love how culture shifts to accept new and different foods! These are certainly a good one!
- Apples
- Basil
- Green peppers
- Cucumbers
- Broccoli / cauliflower / cabbage
- Chard
- Summer squash & zucchini
- Potatoes
