Why, at this late date, am I attempting to become a farmer? Why spend long days in the hot sun doing difficult manual labor?
For one thing, it is challenging to encounter new problems and learn new skills. To do this I have to dabble in small engine repair, plumbing (hydraulics), carpentry, as well as pruning, mulching, out-house construction, weather watching and many other pursuits that I have never encountered before. It is exhilarating to do things I have never tried before.
There is the autonomy of it, too. No boss, no computer, no staff meetings, no "team player" asininity. Just see the problems, make a plan, find the tools and do the job. There is nothing alienated about this labor.
Then there is the sense of immediate accomplishment, so unlike teaching. When I finish a job here, I can look at the tangible results and think, I did that. None of that "touching the future" bullshit. Even so, as I do the daily work, I have to be able to imagine ahead to the future, to the harvest. Farming requires faith.
Books, words and ideas have been the primary domain of my life. I love them and consider it a life well spent. But there is something about getting my hands dirty...
- mce
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