Field Notes
I've always enjoyed hiking, swimming, sailing, fishing, and generally being outdoors and in nature. When I was pretending to go to school at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan, wayyyy up in the UP, I lived blocks away from the beach and the shores of Lake Superior. There were very few days that I wasn't hiking the North Country Trail, camping, sailing, surfing, cliff-diving, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing or fly fishing for salmon, steelhead and trout.
When I ran away from school to Mountain Harvest Organics outside Hotsprings, NC, I would trek out on the Appalachian Trail most days after work, or hike up the mountain on the 120 acre property. Being active outdoors has always been a sort of meditation for me, something that brought me joy and a general appreciation for life and the natural beauty of the world.
Horseshoe Farm is on a beautiful 21 acres nestled between subdivisions and Reedy River floodplain and marsh, and although I occasionally allow myself time to hunt certain mushrooms at certain times of the year, I haven't made enough time lately to simply walk the property and enjoy its inherent beauty.
While working on the farm is a perfect fit for my passion for the outdoors and wanting to be a 'steward of the land' as Aldo Leopold would say, I'm primarily focused on just a couple acres of this gorgeous property.
I get so busy and caught up with vegetable production and trying my damndest to make this business sustainable not only ecologically, but physically, emotionally and especially financially that I don't appreciate what initially drew me to this work and lifestyle.
I end up with an ever-sprawling "farm mess", the opposite of my goal of being a 'steward of the land', an aching body succumbing to years of abuse as a perennial laborer and former extreme sport (and traditional sport) athlete that's rapidly aging in dog years, and a clouded mind with the constant stress and anxiety manifesting itself physically as well.
I allowed myself the time to walk the property this week, using the excuse of looking for oyster mushrooms and scouting for deer to justify my time away from farm labor. I ended up spending way too much time taking inventory of the forest, noticing the beautiful diversity in the forest and the wetlands and thinking about what trees might make good lumber and firewood. I enjoyed my walk immensely, simultaneously thinking deeply and about nothing at all. I was present in the moment as well as dreaming about the future and what I want my life to look like.
I remembered why I prefer to spend so much time out in nature, and that sometimes you don't need to go far to gain a different perspective. The old 'seeing the forest through the trees' expression is almost quite literal in this case, but I walked out of the woods refreshed and energized to get back to work on the farm.