If you’re a farmer and live in a climate like ours, the year is truly broken up into four seasons. We tossed out a 12 month calendar a long time ago and are now slaves to four very distinctive intervals in time. We tend to each season differently (they all demand different things) and work our way from one to the next- sometimes without taking a breath in-between. As we dive deeper into autumn our bodies and minds are acclimating to a “slower” pace of life. And for some reason (in this season that we SO look forward to all year long) we somehow have the hardest time adjusting to our new “normal.”
Taylor and I are getting more sleep than we have in the past 8 months. We’re eating like kings and socializing with friends once again. We still have a few more weeks left of CSA deliveries and just over a month more of farmers markets and restaurant accounts. With that being said, the hard part is over. All of the winter storage crops have been harvested, the day-to-day chores are less demanding and yet, somehow, we’re still struggling. With less of a workload the mundane tasks seem totally brutal. Chores that were easy in the summer feel like a total pain in the ass in the Fall. Our bodies feel worn down and beat up. Taylor recently found me curled up crying outside the greenhouse for no apparent reason.
“why are you crying?”
“I don’t know….Please leave me alone. Dammit, I’m just so fucking tired.” (I said this after a solid 8 hours of sleep the night before)
What I’ve come to realize is that in the early spring and summer Taylor and I live in survival mode. We move through the motions of the day at tremendous speed and we’re constantly on high alert. We’ll work 12-14 hour long days without batting an eye. We’ll crawl into bed still dirty from the days chores and wake up to do it all over again no problem. And as we come down from the chaos and stress of Spring and Summer we are quickly reminded that it’s okay to cry for no other reason than being completely beat down. It’s totally acceptable to bitch and moan through chores that we once looked forward to in the summer because they felt like a break from the more demanding tasks at hand. And it’s okay to feel tired even after a proper nights rest.
As we continue on this path deeper into the slow season I think we’ll settle into our new “normal” just fine. It’s the adjustment period that’s always hard. We’re lucky that our friends have all accepted us back into their lives after months of being completely absent. Our dinner table fills up in the evenings with delicious food and the best company to enjoy our small feasts. We may be struggling to adjust to this new season but I’ll be damned if we don’t eat amazing food to help get us through.
With all that being said, I hope this Fall you all are able to slow down a bit and soak up a little down time. I know everyone works really hard and we all deserve a break from time to time. I’m so thankful that we farm in a place that grants us a true “slow” season. Before we know it the farm will be tucked in under a blanket of snow and we’ll be flipping through seed catalogs while preparing for our 2016 season. Before that time comes I want to enjoy as much of Autumn as I can. There’s still a lot of pumpkin beer that needs to get drank, pumpkin pie that needs to get made, and way more pumpkin spice muffins need to get eaten.
I hope this weekend you all get to crack open a few pumpkin beers (they’re my favorite!) and enjoy this beautiful season that we’re deep into know. Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm.
I love your honesty here. Long time reader although I haven’t commented in a while. I’m in a different season of my life now; I’m not tending garden beds, but instead my nine month old daughter. She’s always slept like shit, but she’s way better than when she was three or four months. I’m just so fucking tired too. I, like you in the summer, was just in survival mode before. The little bit of extra sleep I get now gives me just enough space to realize how damn exhausted I am.
I hope you find peace in your slower season very soon.
Liz, thank you for your honestly here. It takes a village and I’m so inspired by new moms all the time. Glad to hear that your little one is settling in to more of a routine. No doubt you deserve a LOT of much needed rest and catch up time.
Thank you for supporting the blog and being a bad ass mama! Take care of yourself and always remember that a few breakdowns and tears are good for the soul. Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm. xoxoxo
You’ll feel twice as satisfied after the hard working season ends! Cheers from London!
I so look forward to your Friday posts and love your honesty…Farming demands more from the human body and spirit than most jobs…..thankfully there are still people like you and Taylor in the world….. God Bless
Susan! thank you for this lovely comment and for following us along. We feel crazy for farming as our livlihood most of the time but deep down it just feels right. Thanks for supporting us!!!! xoxo
I especially appreciated your comment about being thankful you live in a place where the farm has a down season. While you cozy down for the season to come, I’ll still be out working the land. Here on Maui, there is no slow season.
Though it’s warmer here, I often long for a down season. Best to you.
I love your posts Andrea, so inspiring, fun and honest, plus it’s like we are part of your journey! Going to try the muffin recipe this weekend
Thanks for the updates from the farm and terrific photos. We are in Scotland the west coast also dramatic scenery you would love it!
Amanda! Thank you so much for following along. It’s amazing to have folks from so far away rooting us on and following our journey. I hope you are having a lovely season and I can only imagine how beautiful your part if the world is. Someday we may have to visit!!! xo
thanks for sharing this Andrea you guys are troopers and living such a grounded existence (guess there’s a pun there, sorry) but this is the real deal in this modern age and what takes, also gives as you know very well.
my 30+ years of ranching paid enormous dividends too but demanded most of my attention and hard as that was at times I wouldn’t trade any of that for a job in a suit.
enjoy the season of “yourselves first” and have another pumpkin brew and know you’ve earned it.
and keep dishing up that dirt !!
Tim!!!
Thank you for your lovely comment. Taylor and I were so thrilled to have you and Laura out to the farm this summer. You both are amazing and we’re so lucky to call you family now!!! Come back to Tumbleweed anytime. xoxoxoxoxo
Sending a huuuuuge warm hug from New England! You are so oustanding at what you do, and you even run an amazing food blog on the side. You’re a wonderwoman, and don’t ever forget that <3
Sarah! you are wonderful. xoxo
Good thing for Taylor you didn’t have that pitchfork beside you when he found you behind the greenhouse. I really wish more people understood the downright hard work and risk management inherent in farming. Thanks for educating us and helping us better appreciate the fabulous food you produce. I also suspect that you rarely yearn for your fashionista days of yesteryear either.
I made your fritter recipe with broccoli and cumin for breakfast this morning. Hutchins had yummy broccoli WITH the stems thank you very much. Where did the dumb idea of just crowns come from?
Take care.
Jean! I appreciate your comments more than you know! you’ve been here since the beginning and have followed our journey. Thank your for rooting us on (we feel it!) It’s always wonderful to hear about Hutchins and what you’re cooking up from the farm stand. We miss that place and it feels good to hear about your visits to the farm!!! Happy Fall. xoxo
I am in awe of your commitment – what an inspiration you are!!!!
Sorry to hear it’s been so tough. Have you thought about getting some apprentices in. Or young teenagers looks for summer jobs? Great way to get help and also inspire the younger community. Hope you get some rest and thanks for sharing.
I love your blog! It’s the only I’ve ever bothered to subscribe! Also, i’m sure my dad has that same tractor, and one day it will be mine, all mine!
your photos are beautiful….
Thank you for your honesty. We don’t realize the hours you put in to make it all work. Living in Florida, our best gardening season is starting so I am busy getting ready. Hope you find rest in this season.
Love this very real post, Andrea. Your photos are so beautiful and your recipes so delicious, it’s easy for us on the outside to lose sight of how incredibly hard (physically and mentally) farming must be. Your strength and commitment is inspiring! Hang in there through the transition time. Sounds like you will find your new gear very soon.