"Do or do not...there is no try." -Yoda

Sometimes, 

things don't turn out how we plan.

Chef Anna Olson's Strudel

My first attempt at Strudel

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had the experience of seeing something done and saying, "Hey, I could do that."  We have in our head this vision of a perfect result.  But when we try our hand at it, something goes wrong, and we end up with something that doesn't match up with our expectations.  What then?

That's when we decide what kind of person we are.  Do we live the motto, "I tried that and it didn't work"?  Or maybe we're more the, "I'll try again, but..." kind of people.  That seems just about as doomed to failure as the first.  I'd like to think I'm the, "Failure is not an option" type of person.  I'm not a Star Wars fan, but I do like this quote:

     Luke: All right, I'll give it a try.
     Yoda: No.  Try not.  Do...or do not.  There is no try.

This isn't to say we have to succeed on the first attempt, but it's the sort of resolve that circumstances don't change.  No one expects to become the greatest at something without practice.  We have to practice at life, too.  The key is to learn something from every experience.

I think my sister said it pretty well.  When I pulled the "murdered" looking strudel from the oven, we all stood around staring at it for a moment, then she said to my son, "Well, one thing's sure.  Your mom will never make a strudel this bad again!"

How much we learned from the past seasons will determine how we handle the challenges is the coming ones.  I'm looking forward to it!  ...And to some good strudel.

Frost!

People often ask, "How's the farm?"  The answer varies a lot, as anyone who's worked a farm knows.  But for the last couple weeks, my answer has been the same each time.  "It's frosted!"  There's so much wrapped up in that simple statement.  That means everything we've raced to get done all summer has come to a screeching halt - racing to get the raspberries picked, racing to pull weeds that grow inches a week, racing to pick bugs off our plants faster than they can reproduce, racing to finish the baking before market - it's all come to an end.  And like the changing seasons, life on the farm keeps moving on.  Field work has been replaced with teaching "reading, writing, and arithmetic".  Vetting lambs has moved on to breeding season again.  Farmer's Market has ended and Holiday baking has begun.  I've never enjoyed the changing seasons so much as I have this year, watching all the changes around the farm.  Every season has it's thrills and threats, and on with the game of life we go!

Community

 I find airports to be fascinating, as many people do.  There are so many people from all over the world crossing paths for brief moments, then they're off to their own destinations.  The conversations you have will most likely never be continued.  The understanding of other's lives and circumstances is gleaned from short snippets of a staccato existence.  There is a sense of community in that you're all in transit, sharing this space and time. Juxtaposed to this -though no less fascinating - are local farmer's markets.  People gather, pick up conversations where they left them, bring their families and even pets, and share a little more of their lives with each other each week.  The community begins to take shape as stories and experiences are shared and pieced together.  Strangers become acquaintances, and acquaintances become friends.    

Well, we're still far from being veterans at the Farmers Market, but we're feeling a little less like strangers and a little more like friends.  It's nice to recognize faces and to be recognized.  Local farmers markets are all about building community, and we're enjoying becoming a part of the Downtown Owosso Farmer's Market community!

Farmers Market Fun

We had our first day at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.  The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed meeting and talking with lots of people.  Other than some rookie mistakes, like forgetting to bring bags for people's purchases,  (Thanks to our friend and veteran vendor for bailing us out!) our first day wending went well.  We learned a lot from the "regulars", who spotted us as new to the market and came by to chat.  The Downtown Owosso Farmer's Market has a  Facebook page with a lot of pictures from the market each week.  Here are some pictures of our booth.

 We're looking forward to Saturday - our next market day!

Welcome!

Well, we're in the thick of it now.  All the dreams of having row upon row of berry plants have come true. The baaing of lambs comes through our open windows with the breeze, and we enjoy fresh eggs from our back yard every day.  Along with this, however, weeds threatening to grow out of control, repeating ourselves because we can't talk over the sheep, and cleaning out the chicken coop are also part of our reality!

It's been a couple years now since we embarked on this journey to a farm.  We've confirmed that farming is not for the faint of heart, but we've found satisfaction in our work, even when we're sweat soaked, sunburned and mosquito bitten.  Not everyone would enjoy this life.  Farming has been romanticized, to be sure.  Sunrises and sunsets, worn jeans and cowboy hats, tractors and trucks are indeed an everyday part of farm life.  So too are skinned knuckles, smelly animals, broken equipment, pests and uncooperative weather. And where the idealistic notions meet the challenges of reality, there the real farm is found.

 Welcome to The Talking Berry Farm.

Sunrise at the farm