artsy farmsy

this one is a little bittersweet for me… looking through the lens of a camera leads me sometimes to observe more deeply what is happening in the world around me, and really take in realities like the deterioration of the farm i grew up on; the place where i learned that i am a product of the place in which i live and grow, the place where i learned to be a steward of the land as a matter of survival on earth. yet along with that decay is so much beauty, which i hope i have captured a tiny little slice of in this moment of time; shafts of light beaming through dusty windowpanes, the red paint that still clings to the knottiest pieces of wood, the sunset glow on snow chains and old handtools. i will refrain from ranting about subsidies, the farm bill, or corporate agriculture at this time. but i will quote wendell berry, my favorite curmudgeon/bioregionalist/envirofarmer… avoiding his rants as well…

Never forget: We are alive within mysteries.

be joyful

though you have considered all the facts.

What I stand for
is what I stand on.

I believe that the world was created and approved by love, that it subsists, coheres, and endures by love, and that, insofar as it is redeemable, it can be redeemed only by love.

Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: “Love. They must do it for love.” Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live. If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the measure of independence that farm life can still provide. I have an idea that a lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live at least a part of their lives without a boss.

if you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are.