These past couple of years have
been like approaching a fork in the road ~ uphill ~ on roller skates with loose
trucks….let me explain.
We rented the land for two years
growing chickens in chicken tractors* for meat and eggs along with a small
market garden in a raised bed system back home. Although our client base was
growing quite rapidly, we remained stunted by the lack of a permanent place in
which to build the farm. So we just hung in limbo….until….incredibly….we were
visiting Farmer Luke’s family in New Zealand in the spring of 2012 and we found
out that Mrs. Ball, the landowner, had passed away after a short illness. That,
in and of itself, was a truly sad moment as she and Farmer Luke had developed a
very sweet relationship over the years. Clearly she felt the same way..... We were
told that she had left us the rights of first refusal of 100 acres that they would sever off
the main house.
BLINK….
BLINK….
BLINK. BLINK. BLINK.
what?
… noooo…
seriously?
… what?...
That’s insane.
Utterly surprised does not
explain…completely humbled and honoured does not express…we could hardly take
anymore beatings from destiny…WE HAD TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN… and we did. WOooooOW!
OK. Deeeeeep breath.
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| we're going to farm about 40 acres and leave 60 acres to conservation and trails |
By this time I was doing A LOT of
business travel. Sometimes I’d be gone all week, 2-4 weeks of a month. UGH! There
is nothing like the yearning to be back in your family’s arms ~ there is
nothing like ‘kid energy’ to give you a boost. Bottomline…LOVE my work…but I’m
burnt out in travel. To illustrate ~ the most epic of my trips took me 17 days and
13 flights! DO THE MATH MY FRIENDS!!! I was traveling over 75% of the time that
I was away over a 17 day period. At one point I was stationed in Sioux Lookout,
Ontario and I was booked to fly
in and out of three small communities over a three day period in order to meet
with clients. No worries right? Suuuuure…I’ll travel in November in order to avoid
the snow and impending winter…AREN’T I SMART!...such foresight... such instinct.....
such insight into the environment…UM. Nope! ….I soon found out that November
was actually the WORST time to fly because the air was colder than the earth
forcing the cloud cover lower and visibility unpredictable and poor….WHO KNEW?...apparently
everyone up north but me!…. the reality of this quickly became a point of conversation
and I began to learn how truly unpredictable my trip was becoming… Nonetheless,
I decided to attempt the first flight into Deer
Lake, a small community only
accessible by air and winter road…armed with a bevy of advice such as: go to
the police or nursing station if snowed in for days and be sure to take food,
warm clothes and a sleeping bag…what? what!....GULP…off I went after a good 3
hour excruciating delay.
On a side note: To be honest…I
know the community would never have let me go without somewhere warm to sleep
and they certainly would never of let me be hungry…so other than more
commitments and staying on track, I wasn’t too concerned…just more
inconvenienced.
I boarded a very small propeller plane,
loaded and stewarded by the pilots with only 8 passenger seats …GULP….nothing I
had ever encountered before. I chose the first seat behind the pilots on the
assumption that it was a ‘pretty safe bet’…ie….it was in everyone’s best
interest that the pilots survive…right?...anyhoo, I quickly discovered that I
could CERTAINLY do without watching the pilots…..every light…every beep...…every
movement....it was all interpreted as possible insight into the plane’s demise. It became
unbearable. I had to force myself not to look or listen. My stop was the first. So much stress. On a moment of relapse
I quickly discovered that things WEREN’T right…. panic set in… then the barely coherent
speaker announced we were moving on without landing due to low cloud cover….WHOOOOOOSH….my heart instantly relaxed… my anxiety released… and I
sat back and happily ignored the pilots for the rest of the ‘milk run’…. enjoying
the views knowing that from that point on… I’d be flying my clients to me.
 |
| you can see where I went in 17 days and 13 flights ~ I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!!! |
So ya…‘I was busy’ is a bit of an understatement. Forrest
was at home until she was 16 months old…that meant Farmer Luke raised our
little Ms. Rea and our Mr. Fab Finn for 2 summers while he ran the farm and our
family and I worked like a mad woman. THIS WAS NUTS ~ no sugar coating here
folks!! For those unfamiliar with the mechanics of roller skates; your wheels
are attached to trucks which attach to the boot of the skate. You need to
maintain the tightening of your trucks and your wheels for optimum performance.
When the trucks are loose it’s an awful feeling! You continue to skate and
propel but you feel utterly helpless and completely off balance. Insert our
life. We plugged and propelled along but it wasn’t pretty….nor anywhere near
perfect. Semi-organized chaos maybe…but mostly moment by moment. In the end we
all agreed we needed balance. So Ms. Rea went into care part-time…and WOW this was
an instant release for all of us and it was one major shift which was needed in
order to bring our life back into balance. Once equilibrium returned we were
confident and committed to going forward with the purchase of the land and
begin our future together.
THE END. a farm is born!! awwww isn't it cute :)
This final post has been brought you by…a right hook by
destiny, an environmental lesson…and knowing when you need to calibrate...
….and a double yolker…..cuz it’s always a 'good time'
when you get a double yolker!!!
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