Backyard Farmgals

The farm is planted!  I never thought I would be so relieved to share that little tid-bit.  We planted the entire plot this year, by hand.  In years past, we have planted up to two-thirds of it, all by hand also.  My hands are blistered and callused, and the feel of the wooden-handled rake and hoe have become a little too familiar.  Planting the entire space has just about killed me.  Not really, but there were days when I wondered if we would make the goal of being planted by June.  Here we are, goal met, and a week before June, and I am so relieved. Planting the last of the corn with "Mama" cat on my back, she perches like a parrot! I am gaining a greater appreciation for farmers than I have ever had.  I am planting a mere speck of a plot, but there are many that have farmed before me, planting acre after acre by hand.  I can only imagine the backbreaking work, the sweat, the scorching sun, and the worn hands and bodies.  Suc...

I am asked almost every single day why I do this.  "Why do you work so hard?",  "Why would you want to do something so dirty?",  "Why don't you just be a nurse, that's a nice job?" are all phrases that I hear every day of my life.  So, WHY?  Why do I choose to do this hard, dirty, sometimes not-so-nice job of being a slightly crazy organic farmer?   I have this funny daydream that I am Scarlet O'Hara, standing in the middle of my crops, grabbing a handful of dirt and shouting to the heavens, "As God is my witness, I will never be hungry again"!  All with a fantastic Southern accent, of course, could you imagine it any other way?  I call Melanie a ninny, then, I make dresses out of curtains and it all goes a little wild from there... There are days when I think that I have the determination of Scarlet to succeed at conquering the earth.  Could the answer be so simple, I just want to conquer, to stand on top of it ...