Good Things Come in Threes

Earlier this year an amazing thing happened. The weekly email went out Wednesday night and at the bottom was a sentence seeking volunteers. Three incredible individuals came forward and said yes. No pay. No recognition. Just a simple, yes, I will help you.

I was the proverbial dog that caught the car. I was terrified.

It wasn’t keeping them busy that worried me. Goodness knows there’s enough work on the farm to keep a small army fully employed. What scared me was that these three generous souls would soon see behind the curtain. They’d witness the messy, mistake ridden process I was trudging through.

And, I was certain, they’d go running away, their hands in the air, screaming ‘this woman doesn’t know what the hell she is doing?!’

Okay, to my knowledge no one ran or screamed. Instead they all seemed to embrace the “throw everything on the wall and see what sticks” approach.

The beauty of Jim, Bob and Ellen was the grace with which they approached the farm. Those of a certain age carry wisdom that no money can afford. They showed up with smiles and laughter and wanted to be here. They worked hard and enjoyed each other.

We’ve worked together for months now, through the heat, the rain, a crazy cattle dog, wormy corn, weeds, weeds and more weeds. They planted hundreds of seeds, harvested thousands of sunflowers, zinnias and vegetables. They kept the farm running and gave me confidence that the grand experiment is worth it.

Here we are in October and our summer together is winding down. But in our own way we’ll stay together.

Jim, who is somehow undaunted by the sheer number of projects to be done, has agreed to work at the farm part time. Today he plowed the back field and is officially Chief of All Things Mechanical and Head Tractor Driver. We’ll be working on irrigation and new equipment in the off-season.

Bob is a lifelong organic grower, an endless source of information and research and all around good idea guy. He’s itching to get his hands deeper in the dirt so is now renting a plot at the farm. He’ll be growing for the stand soon. With his background in mental health services, Bob is officially Head of Carolyn’s Growing Sanity.

Ellen, ah, my sweet Ellen. She is the embodiment of “let’s get ‘er done!” After tragically losing 22 chickens to the heat, she showed up with a donation for another 30 chicks. The peepers get a visit every few days from Ellen and are aptly named Ellen 1 through 30. Ellen is off to work the holiday season at Amazon but her little girls will carry on her legacy of cheerfulness and hard work.

It’s been one heck of a ride. I’m fortunate to have so many good friends to share the journey. Thank you to my favorite three peeps of 2016!

If you want to join us there is ALWAYS room at Dug In. Drop me a line, we’re cranking until the end of November and will start up again next March. And, as always thank you for stopping by, Carolyn

#FarmLife