Stepping Back to See Better

I was curious.  If I took a look at some of the digital pictures I have in the folder labeled OctNov2013, what would I find there?  This is not an entirely facetious question because there really is no telling what sorts of images would be in any particular folder on my computer.

Of course, there are patterns.  Spring months feature a lot of young plants in trays.  September is likely to have many images of the harvest.  But, from year to year, I have not gone about collecting images with any particular plan.  Sometimes, I try to capture images of fields as they progress.  Other times, I try to discover new ways of looking at things.

And, during some of the most trying months, I find very few photos.  And thus those trying times are often allowed to fade a bit more easily with time.

This time, I noticed a few photos that documented the project of moving Eden, our smaller high tunnel from one position to the other.  Here we are, earlier in the day, with Eden in its Eastern position.  Our two lawn tractors (Biter and Beater) were out to help.  Our tractor, Durnik, can be seen in the background.  There is no Rosie (the big red tractor).  The trees near the Harvestore are much smaller.  There is no perennial planting that is now located just to the left of the lawn tractor in the foreground.

In short - things look, and feel, different in this picture than they do in the present day.

I discovered this image of the old barn in that folder as well.  I had forgotten that a wind storm had flipped the roof off and in front of the frame that September.  And all of the trees and brush that has sprung up around the old barn in the past ten years have barely made an appearance in 2013.

Now, it's not that I am completely enamored with the way things are today on the farm.  There are numerous things about both of these pictures that I wish we could have addressed and gotten to differently than we did.  But, I am okay with the increase of habitat - intentional or not - that we have had at the Genuine Faux Farm over the past ten years.

These 2013 images feel barren - and it isn't just because they were taken after the Fall leaves had fled the branches they once held on to.

Again, there are some things I really would like to "clean up" at our farm that have become "wild."  And there are wild places I would like to be a different kind of "wild."  But overall?  I still think we've been going in the right direction.  It's not perfect - but if stepping back to 2013 so I can see 2023 better leads me to the conclusion that we've done ok.   I am good with that.

Thanks for reading today!  I hope you have a fine remainder and that you have a chance to step back and get a welcome perspective.