Happiness

My hands are dry; the skin is cracking and hardening. Multiple layers of soil live beneath my fingernails. The muscles in my back ache from bending down each day, reaching to the Earth for weeds and produce. The skin on my arms and legs has never looked this brown.I am probably perpetually dehydrated from the sweltering, Montana sun. Yet, I have never been happier.

I wake up each morning and watch the sun rise over the mountains as I begin my work. I no longer watch the sun rise and fall from inside a tall, glass building. This time, I get to participate in the nature of the day. I feel the sun begin to warm up the air as I am finishing up the morning chicken chores. I take off a layer of clothing before I begin to weed a row of lettuce. By mid-morning, the sun is scorching. It’s time to put on my dorky, green farming hat, which may not win any fashion awards, but does protect me from the sun’s dangerous rays. The winds blow steadily in Montana and I thank God for them at this time each day. Sometimes, I am lucky and the wind blows clouds across the sun. Such seemingly small moments are only appreciated when you are outside, working in the elements. In my previous, cubicle-living, work environment I never even noticed the clouds or the wind. I only cursed the sun when it created a glare on my computer screen and slowed my work pace. 

Not a day passes when I am not thankful for the life changing decision I made to step off the rungs of the corporate ladder and climb into the rich soil of farming. Working outdoors gives me energy like I have never known. I am constantly weeding, harvesting, hoeing, or chasing chickens, but at the end of the day I still feel alive. I spend my evenings reading books, writing, cooking, or laughing with friends. I think this is what people would call a balanced lifestyle. And this is exactly why I changed careers. I used to come home at the end of the day and feel like a zombie, like my brain had used every last bit of juice focusing during meetings and working on spreadsheets. It was all I could do to muster up the energy to prepare and eat dinner. I never want to return to such a state of living, because it wasn’t living, it was simply existing. My life had no balance because my life did not revolve around me. My life revolved around my clients, employees and superiors. I was living to make them happy. I am now focusing on living to make myself happy. Thus far, it is working. I have never been happier.  

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." - Hans Christian Andersen

Happy Dana 

The CSA Model on Crazy View Farm

Monday is our early day on the farm. We get the day started at 7:00am and we do not stop until all of the work is done. The day is busy because we harvest for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), Bozeman Farmer’s Market and MDF (Market Day Foods). Crazy View Farm works with three other farms to grow, pick, package and distribute produce to 78 CSA shareholders each week for 16 weeks (June – October). 

The CSA Model is an agreement between the farmer and customer that provides capital to the farmer during the planning and planting season to pay for seeds, growing materials, equipment, and labor. In return, the farmer provides CSA members with a weekly box of produce throughout the growing season. CSA members are invested in the farm for the entire season. They share in the harvest, when it is bountiful, but also share in the inherent risks and challenges of growing food – drought, frost, wind, hail, to name a few.  Shareholders, or families, pay $360 at the beginning of the growing season and receive a weekly share of the produce. That breaks down to only $22.50 per share, per week. Health insurance companies have learned that families and individuals who participate in CSA programs have lower heath care costs. Ask your health insurance provider if they offer rebates for their customers that are a part of a CSA. When offered, health insurance companies typically offer $100 rebates for individuals and $200 rebates for families. Even if your health insurance provider says no, it is always good to be pushing them to look for new ways of lowering the cost of healthy foods for you and lowering the health care costs to the insurance company. CSAs become a win-win scenario for both families and health insurance providers.

Cleaning lettuce heads and bundling up the carrots

Crazy View puts a concentrated effort into growing a majority of the greens that make up the weekly CSA share. Today we harvested basil, heads of lettuce, zucchini and eggs for the shareholders. All four farms work together to provide a diverse variety of produce to their shareholders each week. The other farms contributed fennel, tomatoes, squash, cucumber and onion to the share. If you think receiving fresh vegetables, picked at the peak of perfection and in your hands within 24 hours sounds ideal, then you should consider become a CSA member. It will not only feed your body organic, wholesome goodness but it will also teach you and your children about the vegetables that grow well in your area and when they are in season. If you are unsure how to find a farm in your area that operates a CSA, contact me and I will help you or attend the next farmer’s market in your town. Ask the farmers if they are operating a CSA program and how you can become a member.

Aside from the healthy vegetables and learnin’ that you will receive by becoming a member, you will also be supporting your local farming community. Think about it – you are purchasing your share in the springtime, the exact time of year when farmers need capital the most and you are removing the middleman. Rather than driving to the grocery store for every edible desire, you are going straight to the Farmer. By making this choice you are delivering the true value of the product to the Farmer. When you purchase your produce at a grocery store, the Farmer’s price decreases by every person that it takes to get the product from the Farm and to your plate. A portion of the value gets paid to the farmer, truck drivers, warehouse, marketer and grocer. I do know that it is convenient and efficient to get your produce from a grocery store, but I do hope that you consider purchasing a portion of the food you eat directly from the human whose sweat, blood and tears went into growing your dinner. 

The list of produce to harvest for the day

Washing, weighing and packaging

Witnessing the World

We woke up to another beautiful morning on the farm. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and, best of all, the wind was brisk and warm. I just knew this was going to be a good day. It may not be surprising but one of my favorite things about working outdoors, rather than in an office, is the ability to experience the day. Being surrounded by four walls all day, you forget how warm the sun gets and how much the wind is appreciated during the afternoon hours.

New Morning Farm 

In fact, you forget a lot of things about nature when sitting inside all day and I am slowly learning them again. The thing I learned today was how to complete a task and take pleasure in the task itself, rather than just the pleasure of crossing it off my list. Does this sound familiar to you? I go about my life making so many lists that all I think about when working is how I am going to get the next thing on my list done. In my former life, I worked like a drone, just trying to accomplish the task at hand as fast and efficient as possible. While this may make the ideal employee, for me, it felt like the world was going by and I wasn’t even experiencing it.

Today, we had the task of planting tomatoes, peppers, melons, and eggplants. Instead of just planting, planting, planting, I actually took the time to feel the dirt on my hands and the way it tickled my skin when it went down my shirt. I noticed all of the life that was living in the soil as it squirmed around my hands. I heard the birds singing their lovely songs in the trees and wished I could carry a tune. I feel so much better at the end of a day, when I know that I witnessed the day first-hand. In my prior life, I would go days without spending more than five minutes in the sunlight. I would leave the house when the sun was still sleeping and I would get home after the sun had gone down. This life seems so sad to me now and I truly hope I never have to live like that again.

Yes, that little pig is yawning 

The glory of the day continued well after our planting was done. Chase and I wandered over to our favorite animals on the farm, the pigs, and filled their home with fresh straw. They delighted in the wonder of this new, fresh, fun and began to shuffle and sniff it around their home. I could spend a whole day playing with pigs. They are just like people – shy at first, confident with friends and curious as a cat. Everyday I spend time with them and everyday they grow a little more comfortable with me rubbing their backs and touching their wet snouts. One day, I know that they will become dinner, but for now they are my dirty, smelly friends. 

When Lorne noticed my love for the pigs, he mentioned that Chase and I are just like Li'l Abner and Daisy Mae, a satirical comic that appeared in newspapers from 1934 - 1977. In the comic, Daisy Mae loves the pigs almost as much as she loves Li'l Abner. 

Daisy Mae and Li'l Abner 

Filming on the Farm: Week One

For those who prefer to watch videos rather than read blog posts, take a look at our video recap of the past week on the farm.

Chicken Coop Clean-Up

Warning: if you have recently eaten or have a weak stomach, stop reading now.

I have always thought of myself as having a tough stomach. I grew up dissecting dead animals we had found in the woods, I have assisted in gynecological surgical procedures and I ate my way through the back alley streets of Peru without any problems. However, nothing could have prepared me for the stench of cleaning out the chicken coop. New Morning Farm has quite a few chickens and they represent all of the stages of a chicken’s lifespan. There are the little baby chicks that still cling to one another when they go outdoors and even a few featherless ‘things’ that have been in so many chicken fights it’s amazing they are still alive. All of these chickens live in separate pens in the chicken coop and all of these chickens still have active digestive systems. Every couple of months someone is honored with the task of scrapping up and shoveling out the excrements. We were the lucky couple this time! I rarely admit defeat, but this coop defeated me.

I blazed into the coop, pitchfork in hand, mask securely fastened to my face and ready to clean up the crap. Ten minutes in, I was doing all I could to stop myself from gagging every time I lifted up a new pile of waste. Suddenly, my gallant knight in rubber boots strode in to relieve me of my task and finish up the coop himself. All I had to do was keep shoveling the manure into the wheelbarrow and bring it to the tractor. An hour later, Chase emerged from the coop without any signs of disgust. What a brave boyfriend I have.

I took a final peak inside the coop and, surprisingly, I could see the bare wood floor. Chase’s ability to fight through the smell resulted in a beautifully clean home for the chickens. We layered in fresh straw and let the chickens back into their shiny new home. I am still deciding whether the deliciousness of fresh eggs is worth the disgust, but I am leaning towards yes – especially with Chase in the picture.