On the Garden Path at 5~Acre Farm: Early to Bed, Early to Rise

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Early to Bed, Early to Rise

Paramenopause is a pain in the b..... well (ladies), you know. But combine it with diabetes and polycystic ovarian syndrome, and I am trying to go uphill against the wind. I've always been forward-moving, highly organized, and detail-oriented (I can catch details others never see!). However, these days, my concentration and focus are frequently lagging, and my energy level can vary significantly; lately, it's been running quite low. As much as I want to be outside in my garden, I struggle to motivate myself to get there, even knowing I will feel better if I make myself go, and work in the dirt. Though I was quick to purchase plants early in the season, however, I am falling behind at getting them into the garden.

Aside from the fact that the garden bed wasn't ready for planting until mid-April, it hasn't helped that my see-saw energy level has been competing with many rainy days for time in the garden. We've had more rain this spring than we've had in 3-5 years total. Living in a state that has been in an official drought for 7 years or so now, I am grateful for the rain, but it can be equally, a gardener's blessing and bane.

Once the garden was ready for planting, my first priority was to get the tomato plants into the ground. John and I together accomplished that one clear morning two weeks ago. No sooner had we finished planting and watering however, than it started raining!

At this point, all of the tomatoes are doing very well, growing steadily, and even bearing small green fruit. If all goes well, we should get a nice tomato harvest this year. I certainly hope so, considering we've planted 35 tomato plants!

This morning was my next opportunity to get out in the garden. I haven't been sleeping well at night, being mostly wakeful after 4 a.m. So on this day I decided to go ahead and get up instead of rolling around in the bed for several more hours. I had an 11 a.m. medical appointment, and I thought I'd see what I could accomplish before it was time to go.

It was just after 6 a.m. when I rose, dressed, and carried kitchen scraps and feed to the chickens. I removed their night covering and they scrambled into the daylight, pouncing joyfully on the feed when I tossed it all in. I watched them for a little while (a delightful passtime I have adopted), and then decided to work in the garden.

I decided a few days ago that I needed to get the melons in the ground next. I'd had a false start yesterday, when I suddenly lost energy before I could get the melons planted, and had to retreat to the house to lie down. So this morning, while the morning was still cool, and the sun had not yet risen over the trees at the bottom of 5 Acre Farm, and I felt okay, I tried again.

On my hands and knees, crawling through the dirt from one end of the 32' garden to the other, I managed to plant nine Watermelon, three Cantaloupe, and two Buttercup Squash Pumpkin plants! I felt good as I began the task, and I still felt good when it was done.

It was 8:30 a.m. by then, so I went inside, woke John, and got into the shower to clean up. We made it to my appointment on time, then spent the afternoon running errands. We got home around 6:00 p.m., and I threw a quick dinner together while John fed the chickens, the dogs, and the pig. Then we rushed out for a gathering at the church we recently began visiting.

It's been a good day. A day I am grateful for. A day in which I can say I did something productive for a change. I hope tomorrow can be another good day.

I've got a lot of peppers to plant next.

And oh, yes, it rained again today. It started just before we left for my appointment, and it has drizzled on and off all day and into the night where a steady, light downfall, gently hitting the roof and tin awning, will soon be lulling me to sleep.

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John and Michelle, and 5 Acre Farm

How We Came To Be

John was born and raised in Georgia by parents who lived incredible lives of their own, and passed on to John a rich family history from both sides. He was a die hard Boy Scout, and later, spent 17 years as a Troop Leader. He earned a dual Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering degree at ABAC in Tipton, where he also started the college's radio station. After college, John served on nuclear submarines in the Navy, where he once saved the lives of his shipmates, and, rumor has it, did many incredible things in the service of our country. He married and had a family, and after the Navy, worked briefly with the EPA before opening his own HVAC-Refrigeration company. John was inventive as a child, and that carried over into everything in his life. He is a fixer of severe mechanical problems, and an inventor of all kinds of things that improve on or simplify existing machinery, equipment, and ideas. His inventions are unique, and some of them may some day aide humanity, save lives, and save our planet if we can get the right people to listen.

My dad was career Army. I was born in France, and introduced, at a very young age, to the Virginia countryside, where we raised rabbits and chickens. After dad retired, we moved to North Carolina, his home state, where we spent many years on the coast, near Wilmington. Here, we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and fished commercially. Our freezer was always full of fresh Spot and shrimp, and oyster roasts were a weekly event! As a young adult I lived with my family in the mountains south of Asheville. Here too we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, as well as geese and peacocks. I worked for many years with an arts council, Christian organizations, and other non-profits. I helped train missionaries, researched/wrote grants, produced professional documents, edited newsletters, and wrote a lot of publicity materials. I already had two Associate degrees, but in my late 30s I finally completed an undergraduate degree in English/Art History. For 20 years I was active in community theater, sang solos with a community choir, and danced with a show choir. Treasured memories! I moved to Georgia in late 1998, and married my first husband in 2002. I was 45. Eighteen months later, I was widowed.

John and I first met in 2000. After I was widowed, and John was divorced, we found each other again. Of like minds, spirits, and goals, our hearts came together quickly, and we married in 2005. Each of us has undergone Elijah House training, and we were both ordained into ministry in 2006. I have been a Christian counselor and prayer warrior for probably 30 years. John and I live to put God first in our lives, and in our dreams for this small piece of earth of which we are the caretakers.

We call our place "5 Acre Farm." John's father took this barren, overworked field from a larger parcel of farmland in the mid-70s. He fenced off about three-quarters of an acre for the house, and added plants, flowers, and trees. Elsewhere, he transformed the property through years of hard work, adding an apple orchard, peach trees, pears, two fig orchards, grape vines, and a greenhouse. John and I have been trying to continue his father's work on this land, adding to it with our own hopes and dreams, and our late-in-life efforts. Not a day goes by that I don't feel great respect for John's father, for the man he was, for the work he did here, and gratitude for the bounty we reap because of his hard work.

John and I are in our 50s, just starting life together, but with age and health trying to work against us. We aren't ready to sit down and take it easy. We have a goal to become self-sufficient by growing our own food (meat and vegetables), and getting off the grid. The challenges we face in doing this are age, health, and finances. John's inventiveness is being strongly applied, as is my gift for budget stretching and frugality. Our strength? The love we have for each other, and the trust that we are working inside the will of God.

One of the things we ask ourselves now and then is this: "Is it worth it?" I never had children. John's son has set his own path with family and career. There does not seem to be anyone we can leave this property to who will continue the work and the dream; one of John's grandchildren, perhaps, but they are very young right now, and do not yet notice or care.

So, is it worth it (all the work and expense) if there is every chance this land will end up in the hands of developers after we're gone? Well, our answer to that question so far is always "Yes, it's worth it." It's worth it to us, because of what we are accomplishing here in our lifetime. It's worth it because what we grow here we share with family, with friends, and with our community. And not just what we grow, but our faith and philosophy, our hopes and dreams, and our very desire to leave at least our little part of the world better than it was when we found it. We are living - consciously, and deliberately - a lifestyle that expresses who we are and what we believe. Does anybody care? Why don't read our blog, leave a comment, and let us know.