Am I quitting farming?

The last three months of 2013 was full of trials and tribulations for me. Layoffs, temp jobs and failed business plans have left me reeling and trying to find balance.

I'm starting to think that I'm setting myself up for failure if I go through with the plans I had started on in October. This is complicated by the fact that my involvement in the tree stand didn't produce a darn thing. That's right. I made nothing for 7 weeks of work. Luckily I had my other temp job that looks like it's going to become permanent.

I've got an offer, but it's an hour and a half commute each way, which I might be able to live with if it weren't for the fact that I'm keeping my graveyard shift job at all costs.

That said, I need to take a few days after the Holiday Apocalypse to get things figured out. I'd really like to get a farm position that's either regular pay or salary plus commission.

Back in September, I was seriously considering never farming again. I thought I had changed my mind in October, but these things are hard sometimes. I have to provide for my family somehow and it seems like all the people who supported me in farming have either bugged out or proven unreliable with a few notable exceptions, hence the far-away job offer.

Focus will come in time. In the meantime, I'm resting like the land.

Holiday Apocalypse... or Why I Miss Farming Right Now....

Well, coming up on the end of tree season and it can't come soon enough. Working two jobs has really beaten me up a bit, even to the point that if you touch my left shoulder, I'll scream.

Cancelled plans for the weekend over my overt brokenness in favor of spending the evening at the tree lot, trying not to lift anything.

Right now, I really miss farming. I miss the farm I used to work at to the point that I've stopped by and visited a few times recently. They've had their own set of challenges recently with the serious freeze... broken pipes, frozen water lines and the inevitable hauling of buckets of water to their animals. I've had a few of those issues with my own critters and am happy to not be hauling buckets of warm water on top of having an angry rotator cuff.

I really miss the quiet of winter farming though. The time spent weeding seedlings in the high tunnel and biding my time until spring. I miss my former coworkers, especially those who had their ways with quiet sarcasm.

I can't say I miss the outhouse on cold days. Especially since my "real" job had to haul in outhouses for a few days this past week during the worst of the deep freeze. Thanks, City of Bremerton, for not keeping your water mains functional!

Back in October, I could look over the farm and only see death and doom as crops succumbed to the frosts. On a frosty December day, however, you can see all the potential, the ground biding its time until it welcomes new crops in a few months.

I'm itching to do some farm planning. I'm ready to start making things grow again. Soon, but not yet.

A Little Twisted Humor...

If you can't laugh at life, you're going to be miserable all the time.

Here's my thoughts of the evening in photos...

Oww! Christmas Tree, Oww! Christmas Tree! How heavy are your branches!

I've been hinting lately on a few business projects I've been working on. Now it's time to spill the beans on the first one. I've been a bit remiss since I've been running all over two counties trying to get this set up and helping my majority business partner, Ryan, in getting everything ready to do.

So... the long-awaited business project announcement!

We're doing a Christmas Tree Lot! Yikes! I had no idea what I was getting myself into, as the punishing last two weeks have proven. It's been a lot to juggle with my graveyard shift job, but we're out of the woods and ready to open tomorrow morning!

If you're in my neck of the woods, stop by Holly Trees in Bremerton, behind McCloud's restaurant in the Red Apple parking lot. We're going to have many trees to choose from, plus local wreaths from Peterson Legacy Farm in Silverdale as well as locally-made ornaments and crafts as they are delivered to us!

After this project is over and done with, I'll probably elaborate more on the process of setting things up, but for now, I'm physically exhausted and ready to sleep.

Look! Trees!

Adversity

I was hoping to announce an awesome business deal this week. Unfortunately, we hit a big roadblock today. My business partner scrambled all day trying to pick up the pieces while I was making desperate phone calls, looking for advice on how to proceed.

After an unplanned emergency meeting, it was decided that my business partner was going to carry on with or without my help and that we could work something out if I decided to help in some capacity. I'm sleeping on it tonight, but my gut feeling is that the roadblock we hit is going to be the death knell for this venture being that the original intent was for marketing benefit more than profit.

I am thankful tonight for understanding farm contacts, valued friends who don't mind fielding a panicked phone call right after work, and of course, my family who backs me on this adventure I'm undertaking.

Sometimes you have to go through a lot of "No" before you get to "Yes." It's part of having your own business, so I need to get used to it. Now, what to do next? You don't even have to ask. Push forward, put your head down and concentrate on the next thing on the horizon.

Onward.

Kicking The Tires...

I've been spending a lot of time in meetings and walk-throughs and planning sessions the past few days. It has been intimidating but productive.

I'm not ready to reveal any big details just yet, but the ball is rolling for something new.

I've got a meeting tomorrow that requires a nice three-hour round trip. We've got something in the works and ready to jump, assuming tomorrow's walk-through is a positive experience. All feedback seems generally positive from the few people we've trusted to give input.

I'm not looking forward to the drive, but at least it's not the Oregon take-what-they-give-you deal that we had expected.

Sometimes you need to stop kicking the tires and drive the car. This could be a total disaster, but it's a step in the right direction one way or another. You can plan all you want, but nothing happens until you do.

Progress...

Meetings are the flavor of the week for me, it seems. Got the ball rolling on a few things I've been in talks about. Looks like I've got a lot of paperwork juggling and presentation writing on the horizon.

That said, I took a temp job and did safety training yesterday evening. It's something I've done before, so I'm happy to be able to return to that world for however long the job lasts. For now, it's on-call, so I have to call in every day at 3am to see if I'm needed. Soon, it should be stable, but these first few weeks will come in fits and starts.

I'm trying to get used to my new sleep schedule and that requires me waking around 3am, calling in to check for work, and if there isn't any work, I have to stay up until daylight so I'm adjusted when it comes time for me to work.

It's strange being awake when nobody else is. The upside is that it gives me uninterrupted time to deal with all the other projects I'm planning for the future. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to get more ducks and geese this spring.

Farmer mash-up. Burn Notice Intro: laid-off farmer style.

Original Burn Notice intro text:

My name is Michael Westen.  I used to be a spy until…”

“We got a burn notice on you.  You’re blacklisted.”

When you’re burned, you’ve got nothing: no cash, no credit, no job history.  You’re stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in.
Where am I?” – Michael
“Miami.” – Fiona
You do whatever work comes your way.  You rely on anyone who is still talking to you: a trigger-happy ex-girlfriend, an old friend who is informing on you to the FBI…
“You know spies. A bunch of bitchy little girls.” – Sam.
Family too.
“Hey, is that your Mom again” – Sam
If you’re desperate
“Someone needs your help, Michael.” – Madeline (Mom)
Bottom Line?  Until you figure out who burned you, you’re not going anywhere.

Farming Burn Notice, revisited.

I keep thinking I'm over my separation from the old farm, but the conspicuous silence this weekend is getting to me. I had planned to help with a project this weekend, but apparently nobody else got the memo.

No hard feelings, but I would like to be kept in the loop.

If you know me, I am a big fan of Burn Notice. You might know how frustrated Michael is in the beginning when nobody will talk to him after he's burned. That's how I feel right now. Maybe I need to have a Lithuanian operative send them a fruit basket in order to foster talks.

I spent the day inventorying seeds at another farm. Spring will come too soon and I want to be on top of this in case this is the opportunity I've been looking for. Spreadsheets cross my eyes, but I have to have everything listed and in order to be able to plan from a distance. No point in commuting when there's no gas money in my future.

One foot in front of the other.

A New Start... and A New Blog to go with it!

I've been threatening for a few years to separate my farm musings from my other random blogging. It seems that this is the time to do so since separation seems to be my life's theme right now.

Last month, I was laid off from the farm I had worked at for the past three years. There are no hard feelings involved, they just weren't making enough to support winter payroll and they were forced to make a choice. I can't hold that against them.

I ended up taking some temp work at a pumpkin patch for October, with potential for work in the spring.

It took me a while to get used to not being at the farm anymore. I tried to keep in touch, stopping in to visit a few times recently. In the end, it seems like divorce is inevitable.

Now I'm looking forward. I may have a line on a temp-to-permanent job that would also bring tuition reimbursement. I would finally be able to finish up Ag school with a little help, so there's upside in that. I'm also working on a potential business proposal. Not sure exactly where that wants to go, but I'm open to exploring options.

In the meantime, I've made my peace with the job layoff, and though I miss the people, I need to respect that they need space right now. I've been working on some creative projects at home, which you'll find information on if you follow my other blog.

For those of you who are just finding this blog:
I'm also a freelance photographer. Check out my work here.

I'm a little sweet on actor Bruce Campbell.

I raise ducks.

Oh, did I mention that I'm a photographer?

I'm also a writer. I don't have a special page for my writing, but here's my non-farm blog!


Thanks for reading! I hope I have plenty of farm adventures to share with you as my journey continues to things unknown!