Trying to Be Flexible

The flex tine cultivator has been sitting in one spot for a few months, since I last used it, and it needs to get moved to its winter storage location.  There are some things we need to do to prepare the hen room for colder weather, like acquire new heaters for the water and put the plastic cover over the sides to cut the wind and keep some heat in.  And we still need to finish the end of season work in the high tunnels.

The Thanksgiving "break" on our farm is often a good time to do this work - but it's often a better time to be disappointed that we didn't complete these things BEFORE it got chilly enough to make the work uncomfortable.

Now, if there is sunshine, the high tunnels will be pretty nice to work in.  So, I don't want to complain about that too much.  But, I still need to organize the garage so the car can get into it.  Already Tammy has had to deal with frosted windows in the morning more times than I want to admit.  

Unfortunately, the garage is not a "warm" place to work anymore.  And there will be things I will look at and sadly recognize that I won't get those things done AGAIN this year.  The same thing will happen in the truck barn.. and the Poultry Pavilion.. and pretty much everywhere else I walk on the farm.

This is a cycle we go through every year.  It's probably a cycle that many of you who read the blog can recognize.  We spend so much time just navigating our lives that all of the grand plans that we expect to accomplish throughout a day, week, month, season or year, seem to get pushed aside.  Only the regret that they weren't realized remain.

Ok, regret and a solid resolve that we will do better next time.

You could try to tell me that we should adjust our goals to fit reality - but that won't work.  Part of the issue is that, when you are a steward of a small-scale farm, there are things that need to get done and no one else is going to do them.  But, in reality, the issue is big enough and complex enough that a simple paragraph or three doesn't even begin to cover it.

So, I find myself trying to model myself after the flex tine cultivator (the first image).  The heavy, but flexible tines bounce over the soil, disturbing it enough to uproot small weeds.  It bounces over and around tougher objects, like rocks or bigger plants.  I need to bounce around some of these bigger obstacles to continue to move forward and make things better.

And that's what soothes me when I am discontented with progress.  We are making progress, continually.  We just don't always have the huge visual or obvious improvements that we crave.  And, yes, we don't get to it all.  But, we're still moving forward.  

I just need to be flexible enough to accept that.