ONION HARVEST.

Things on the farm have been a little chaotic, lately. If you have been wondering where we've been: Cher broke her leg (and is 7 months pregnant, by the way!) We had nearly 10 inches of rain, basically all at once. A giant tower of stacked soil block trays toppled over in the greenhouse. So, yes, I'm sure you are tired of hearing it, we are busy.But things are good! Cher is healing well, the weeds are insane but the food is still growing, the gardens are beginning to dry. We harvested onions a few days ago, and Further was complete trooper in the 95 degree heat. It was a somewhat sad harvest, as the recent deluge of rain was not kind to the onions, but we are glad to have them out! They are all laid out on woven wire fencing in the greenhouse, where they can hopefully dry out in the intense sun. After we get the potatoes dug, all of our "major" summer projects are finished....I'm already dreaming of the ease of the fall garden!- Hannah.

THE HEAT IS ON.

This will be our 5^th year of living without electricity - without air conditioning. And truly, it is not so bad. There are always some rough spells during the summers – a few 100-degree days that are just pretty nasty. But when you work outside all day, coming back to a chilly, air-conditioned house makes the outside seem that much worse. Once your body gets acclimated to the temperatures, when your body does the work to cool itself, it is not so bad. Really!THAT BEING SAID – we are having a hard time adjusting this summer. I can’t exactly pinpoint why, but I have my ideas. First, the past couple of mild summers have spoiled us. We didn’t have 100-degree days, or 100 percent humidity, in June. This past week contained four consecutive scorchers with choking humidity. No thank you. Second, we have never had a summer with a baby before. We have to consider him when deciding whether to tough it out in the blazing sun to try to finish that last row of garlic. Jesse and I can deal with a little bit too much sun or heat, but it’s not just about us anymore. Plus, when it comes specifically to ME, I have a tiny, sweaty, hotbox of a human suctioned onto me for most of the day. If he isn’t literally attached to me, I am wearing him in a carrier or holding him or sleeping next to him– which is just so, so unpleasant when it is this hot.But of course, as I write this, the heat wave has broken, and we have survived, as we always do. The heat has brought on the tomatoes, corn, and melons, and we employed some new coping mechanisms: we went to the creek every day, I fanned myself with prefold diapers while nursing Further, we closed up the windows and curtains during the day to try to preserve that little bit of cool air from the nights, and we only went into town for ice cream once.- Hannah.

FAVORS AND NEIGHBORS.

I was standing in the garden cultivating as best I could despite the heat. It was only May, but no one told the weather. The air was blistering hot, lingering somewhere between ninety degrees and fire. I could hear a golf cart coming up the drive, and when it came into view, I realized it was one of my favorite humans, our neighbor Sam. So I stepped into the shade to chat.Sam's an old-timer and has done his fair share of hard work over the years. But his son and grandson were putting up square bales of hay and wanted to see if I could come help.We had a lot to do in the gardens, but if I've learned anything living out here, it's that if someone comes asking for help, they need it. So I put down my hoe, hopped on the golf cart and spent an hour or so heaving large square bales into a barn sweating like crazy in the heavy spring heat. And when it was over, they thanked me and I just went back to what I was doing.Then the other day Hannah and I had a bulldozer come out and clear some land for next year's garden (more on this later). There were at least infinity trees in the area, which left infinity roots and I really felt like it needed a discing afterward to break them up, and break up the bulldozing compaction. But we don't own a disc. Neither do Eric and Cher with whom we often work. I knew Sam and his family, however, did.So I called Sam and sheepishly told him I needed some help, but we were willing and wanting to pay for it. Despite the fact that it's June, that no one has a spare second, they were over shortly thereafter with a giant tractor and a disc. Then Sam's grandkid did the discing while he and I talked about farming. When it was over I asked them how much I owed them, and they laughed. They wouldn't let me pay them for the work. Out here, you pay in favors. And when someone asks for help, they need it, and you do it not because it helps you, but because this is a community and it helps everyone.We truly cherish this place. And the community here is rapidly becoming our most prized possession. We don't know what we would do without it.- Jesse.

MONEY FOR FARMING.

Farming has never been about money for me. When I think back on to the guy I was when I started farming, I remember thinking very vaguely about money, like it wasn't really something I did, or really could, care much about. As long as I was farming, and had everything I needed to do that, I was going to be happy. And for the most part I wasn't entirely wrong.But there are so many projects on the farm we would love to be able to afford to do, or afford to finish. We still need to skirt our house. We need to build a cellar, a springhouse, a shed, an intern shelter. We just simply don't have the time or money. And I go out into the woods, after a long day's work and try and clear the forest so we can have more garden space, so we can make more money, so we can do more farming, but it's slow going, and a silly, tiring cycle of fatigue.So we've recently decided to pay someone to clear it. This is a big step for us. It could mean that here in a few weeks we would have another half-acre of garden space on our property. It could mean a fair bit more food to sell, thus more money for farming.Hannah and I are trying to build our dream homestead here, and we're not doing it on our current budget. And although a half acre is a laughable amount of ground to most farmers, we think we'll be able to double, but potentially triple, our income on it. Which would mean we could afford more of what we love to do––farm. It's a bit of a concession, deciding to no longer clear it all ourselves––and ultimately deciding to invest in some light machinery––but it's also a little bit of relief. I will soon feel like I can save some of that energy I spend felling trees and hauling logs to play with our son at night––to be able to actually hold him without wincing in pain. That alone, is worth hiring out the work.- Jesse.