The Water is Fine

There are hazardous waters and then there are dangerous waters.

I tend to think that a thing is hazardous when it has elements that bring about the potential for danger.  But, with the right training, skill set and planning, hazards can be avoided or overcome, despite the fact that one might say the situation is hazardous.  On the other hand, things become dangerous when you combine hazard with negligence, naivete or exhaustion.

We were entering dangerous waters at the farm in 2018.

I'd like to think that it had less to do with negligence or naivete, but rather exhaustion that came about as a result of a wide range of things.  Yes, it was a very difficult growing year with truly exceptional rainfall levels (we did set a rainfall record for the year, for the Fall and for several months).  But, it was also difficult for many other reasons that we will not go into here.  Tammy and I realized we were wearing down, but I do not think we were fully aware of exactly how much.

I am grateful that the two of us recognized that we needed to recharge and I am even more grateful that we had the unique opportunity (with the help of many others) to take the unprecedented (for us) step of taking four weeks off from the farm and our everyday lives.  We are fully aware that not everyone has this sort of opportunity, but rather than apologize for how lucky we are, we will simply say 'thank you' and assure everyone we are doing our best to leave the dangerous waters so we can navigate the hazardous waters.

We have been able to do a fair amount of hiking, photo taking, reading, talking and even some creative writing.  We can share some of the writing and photo taking here and we hope you enjoy some of it at least.

Here's to sailing successfully through the hazardous waters. 

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You may notice that I am trying to get back to periodically selecting a "Throwback" post on Thursdays.  These are blog or newsletter pieces I have written in the past that I think are currently applicable OR I think people might enjoy seeing them again.  

In this case, I was reflecting on some of our "big choices" in the past few years to step back a bit with our farming.  We DO still farm.  But, it is different.  And, I have to admit that the trip we took in January of 2019 allowed us to take the deep breath and consider what directions we needed to take.

We were sailing hazardous waters and we were tired enough that they had become dangerous.  

Do we still sail in harzardous waters?  Of course we do.  But, we're always on the lookout for danger and we have some skill and some experience to help us to avoid that. 

Once again - here's to sailing successfully through hazardous waters - may you all find the waters that are best for you and yours.