Look in the Mirror

Looking at older photos can be just as informative as it is nostalgic for me.  Of course we can't help but go through the 'remember when' process that happens when we view a photo from an earlier point in time.   But, we also see these pictures as useful records that can help us make future decisions.  And, at the very least, they provide us with a combination of encouragement that we can effect the changes we want with a significant dose of humility as we realize the changes we envisioned always seem to be different than what we actually achieve.

A building that could have been useful - if only.

 When we first moved to the farm, there were more buildings - but they were all in need of repair.  The sad thing is that the building you see in this photo was probably the right size for us to find it useful.  Unfortunately, we weren't in a position to repair it in time to prevent its collapse in 2007.  The night we had a strong wind gust take it down was the very night we decided to park the truck just to the South of the building.  "Just this once."  Ooops.


It took quite some time and numerous helpers to get this building cleaned up.  The process helped us figure out how to work with college or high school students who wanted to make a few dollars doing a task or two for us at the farm.  We also learned to accept that the poultry and plants on the farm always take precedence over projects such as this one. 

Ok.  We also learned that we should LEARN to accept that the poultry and plants on the farm always take precedence over projects such as this one.  But, we also learned the best way to get something like this done is to find a way to link the project to the success of the rest of the farm. 

The photo at the left is from 2007 or 2008 and it is jarring to me to see how small (and how few) the trees are just North (behind) the building.  Since the time of this picture, we have cleared out all of the lumber, there have been cold frames just this side of the slab and we now have a cleaning station on the slab itself.  There is a bush line and three raised beds in front of the slab and all of that is bound to change yet again. 

The barn has undergone changes as well.  It was functional, but in desperate need of renovation when we moved in.  We did our due diligence and found the price of a new roof to be prohibitive.  So, it was with regret that we let the building go.  We did use it for a time to provide housing for chickens and turkeys, but it rapidly became obvious that it would not be safe to use for much longer.  And, like all good farm buildings, it doesn't want to come down the rest of the way.  It's just the way it goes.  A building that probably has a set up that fits what we want to do won't stay up and one that doesn't, won't come down.

This picture holds two lessons in particular for us and our farm.  First, we can't get everything that we want and we have to let go of some ideas when it becomes apparent the goal isn't reasonable.  Sure, we would have liked to have an old, functional barn on the property.  For that matter, we would even like a newer, functional barn.  But, the time and place that the barn needed repair was not the time or place that we could provide those repairs.  Second, every decision has unintended consequences.  If you look at the electrical lines in the picture at the right, you will see that there is a host of barn swallows on that line.  As the barn has declined, so has the swallow population.  We still have several families, but they are far fewer than we used to have.  Perhaps it is largely because of the reduced nesting space?  There certainly could be other reasons because we do have other locations on the farm they could use (and the barn is not entirely gone).  

We have tried many solutions to many problems during our tenure as farmers at the Genuine Faux Farm.  Some of these solutions worked very well and others did not work so well. 

The bushes you see at the top of the picture at the right went in during 2006 and are now quite thick and much taller.   When I look at this picture, I am amazed by how exposed I would feel now if I were in that field.  I am also a bit surprised by how far these bushes have pushed our fields back towards the center of the farm.  That's not a bad thing, just an observation.

The other interesting thing is to note that even in 2008 (when this picture was taken), we were trying to push the tail end of the season as much as we could.  We have had to admit defeat many times each season when a crop doesn't quite get to the point of harvest before it gets too cold for them.  But, we also believe that seed is inexpensive as compared to the relative benefit we get when we have a nice crop of some sort of veggie when no one else in the area has it! 

 The red cages were our first effort to find ways to exclude varmints that wanted to get into our crops.  While weeds and insects are less of an issue from September through October, the varmints are more of an issue.  Fewer things are green and tasty during that time of year.  So, of course, if you provide green and tasty, the varmints will come and visit you.

We also learned of the power of snow pack and the ability of even young, short bushes to cause drifting.  We left the cages out over the Winter and the cages closest to the bush line were buried in snow.  Um... Ooops.

The biggest lesson I take from this is that there is knowing of a thing and then there is knowing.  Tammy and I aren't stupid.  We knew that bushes caused drifts.  We also knew that a sufficient volume of snow can be heavy.  But, that did not equate to an ability to connect that knowledge with the possibility that it will crush an exclusion cage if it is a bit too close to the bushes.  I am pleased to say that we do not make similar mistakes anymore because of a lack of knowing.  Instead, we make mistakes with drifting and snow pack because we can't always do everything and things sometimes fall through the cracks.  We know some things won't get done every season.  But, that doesn't always mean we forgive ourselves when we discover unwanted problems because we didn't get to it.  I guess that is the next lesson to learn.

There are some things I think we both wish we could still do because we liked the results when we could accomplish it.  The picture above shows the process of mulching peppers with grass clippings.  First, I would like to say that grass clippings are probably the wrong mulch for peppers early in the season because it cools the soil and slows the growth of the peppers significantly.  But, grass clippings were the mulch of choice for our green bean plantings.  It also worked well for tomatoes and some other crops.  

The problem?  The process of collecting and spreading grass mulch was terribly time intensive.  And, what happens if you don't get rain?  Then, there is no grass mulch.  Still, I look at this picture and realize that some of the old processes might be reasonable again some time in the future.  Perhaps we have a new set of tools (or can get a new set) that will allow us to make the process more efficient in some way, shape or form?  This is where looking at the old farm photos give me the most value for the future.  They provide a check for the truth I have built in my head about the way things used to be AND they remind me of tools that I might have set aside for the time being.

That, and I get to see that we have accomplished a fair bit since we moved to the Genuine Faux Farm in 2004.