Full Hearts, Tired Bones (week 12)

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“I have planted by the stars in defiance of the experts,
and tilled somewhat by incantation and by singing,
and reaped, as I knew, by luck and Heaven’s favor,
in spite of the best advice.” – Wendell Berry

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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We hope you all made it through that insane triple digit heat wave we’ve been suffering through for what seems like forever… haha! Seriously though, on Thursday it reached 110 on the farm, which is just totally not acceptable (especially on a harvest day). But the good news is, after a succession of 100+ days, the farmers, the livestock and the plants all made it out alive! Thanks to the help of shade, water, you guys rooting us on and commiseration texts with fellow farmer friends we were able to make it through the worst of it.  It has us wondering though… when did Oregon become such a microwave?

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Summer sunsets, a rare sweaty selfie and all that glorious hay!

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Physically we’re feeling it. The sun and oppressive heat can take it out of you. Bucking 4 more tons of hay on Friday nearly wiped us out but we’re staying in the moment and in the day as much as we can. Mostly it’s the working around the sun that is getting to us. Not enough hours of sleep it seems especially when it’s an early morning wake up call and a late evening planting… which doesn’t leave that much room for sleep after dinner is made. We’re officially in survivor mode and are looking forward to 80 degree summer days again this week!  Good thing we eat good!  I often wonder how many calories Brian and I burn through in a day….

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do the best you can.  

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Summer is here in the garden… let the tomatoes roll on in (especially after all that heat!)

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The heat wave also has up playing catch up this week with planting. Since it was unbearably hot we were unable to plant last week for fear of too much stress (on the plants and the farmers) but with ‘cooler temps’ we are getting them in one crop at a time. Planting the fall crops has got us excited about what the rest of the season will bring! And we’ve still got so many yummy things to look forward to for summer (tomatoes, corn, melons, pole beans etc).

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We’ve been listening to a lot of Wendell Berry interviews while planting in the field and found inspiration in this little snippet:  “The answers will come, not from walking up to your farm and saying ‘this is what I want, [and] this is what I expect from you..You walk up and say, ‘what do you need?’ and you commit yourself and say, ‘alright I’m not going to do any extensive damage here until I know what it is you’re asking of me’. And this can’t be hurried.” – Wendell Berry

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one step at a time.  

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His and her veggie quiches, our ode to coffee and gloucester hanging out in the morning shade (80*!)

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We LOVE farming which is what keeps us motivated mentally.   Feeding our community amazing fresh food is just the best. The heat is just a whole other beast. If  the weather was optimal (partly cloudy and 70-80 degrees everyday) we’d be running around this farm no question about it.  Either way, our hearts are full as we go into harvest week/share 12. It’s been 11 bountiful weeks on the farm with so much more ahead! Many more endless possibilities…. Ohhh summer, sweet summer…

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Speaking of full hearts, we also celebrated our first year anniversary as a married couple over the weekend. Hard to believe we even pulled off getting married in the beginning of August (there’s no way we would have survived that this year). Thank goodness for all the friends and family who came and lent a hand the days leading up to it… I always think fondly of that time and experience and it’s definitely one of my favorite memories of our wedding. Besides marrying my best friend, of course 😉

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The piggies love to recycle, Brian doing some late evening bed prep and mama hen and her chicks..

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So many things can happen in the course of a year. Its been a wild ride and I feel so thankful that I have someone like Brian to move through these days with – there sure is something special and sacred that we share between us and I thank my lucky stars for the universe bringing us together. Farming is a mutual passion for both of us and one of the main reasons our paths first crossed. He is my other half (sometimes my better half) and my favorite person and I feel so lucky to walk through this life with him.  I wanted to share a poem that Farmer B (the english major) wrote about our first anniversary… it’s a good’un…

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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1st anniversary

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We will mark this occasion by planting Fall crops,

Into freshly turned soil that has been given time.

By rotating our cows and pigs onto fresh grass that has regrown after,

A quick first pass in the cool spring.

And by tending to our flock of hens, watching them,

Watching their newly hatched chicks discover the world,

Learning to hide under mother hen as the Red Tails call.

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We will celebrate this day by doing what needs to be done

By setting future failures aside and focusing on the tasks at hand.

Making our way past the English Hawthorns down to the river and back.

We will do what gives us gravity, a place, a home and

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Gratitude.

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“Farm sweet Farm” said the screen print set in a good solid frame.

Our first wedding gift.

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After eating a good breakfast made with all good things,

We will make a list and make priorities,

And prioritize the things that cannot wait.

We will work side by side,

Begging the farm to give us permission.

Thinking of all the friends and our family that we carry with us.

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And we will first work under the light of the blue moon,

As the crickets drowned the noisiness of the world,

And we will sleep deeply with gratitude for all we have been given.

To adventure and to those endless possibilities.

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We will celebrate this day by doing.

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By Farmer B

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A few snippets from our wedding last season…

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With full hearts (and tired bones) we look forward to what this harvest week will bring. Send us your bottled up energy and well wishes! It’s amazing what a little encouragement and cookies (for farmer brian) will do 😉  And a big thank you to the food faeries in the CSA who have been leaving homemade goodies, snacks, cold treats and even dinners.  You have been lifesavers for your farmers!  Thank you for thinking of us!

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Oh, and be sure to check your email titled ‘WHF Pastured Pork & Sausage Shares!’ regarding the first of our summer pork and sausage (link) shares!

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Be well and take care of yourselves!

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With kind regards,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts