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Passing the Gift Along

What do farmers do in the wintertime, anyway?

Pay taxes.

Fill out organic paperwork.

Order seed and nutrients for the spring planting.

Attend commodity and board meetings.

Rest a little.

Take a vacation (unless you're an animal farmer).

Milk cows for other farmers while they take a vacation.

Knit socks. Weave rugs.

Go to year-round, indoor farmers markets to sell food and fiber.

Fix and rebuild broken things.

This morning, as we left a breakfast meeting on social media (yes, really), The Farmer got a phone call. He tossed me the keys, and I drove home so that he could talk without distraction.

You see, The Farmer is a mini-expert on composting. And people get to know that, and call him. And all the things that he's learned over the years, he gives freely to others. This morning, as I drove, listening quietly to him tell an Amish farmer why windrow composting would probably be his best option (it was because of the straw bedding), I was grateful. All those people who poured knowledge into The Farmer gave him a gift. And he is just passing the gift along...
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  1. KateFebruary 17, 2012 at 1:06 PM

    I appreciate all the gifts we have been handed over the years. We are doing our best to return them too!

    ReplyDelete

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