Countdown

The race is on, the annual race to get this farm laid down for the winter before I take off for gainful employment. I've got a few more patches of land to turn over and cover crop, and a few more trailer loads of greenhouse paraphernalia to haul over from a neighbor's field. I've got a little plastic bag of goodies for the van: filters, plugs, etc. I've got to seal off the greenhouses and drain the pipes in the house. That's all that's on my list. I think.
It's, of course, the same list as last year. And the same list as the year before that ....
When I return, a bit after New Year, I'll fire up the greenhouses almost immediately. Build another greenhouse. Get another field ready - a field only about five miles from the house. And make the whole farm deer proof. There's probably a few things I'm forgetting, but those are the big things.
I'll do the CSA again next year, and my usual markets. The CSA is the big thing. I've been disappointed with the CSA the past two years - I just haven't been satisfied with the quality of the shares I've provided. I can do better. I also want to be a stronger presence at my markets. I've been, the past two years, the poor cousin down the way with not much on his table.
The way to get there is to have the infrastructure in place early to allow us to do the work that needs to be done. I need things set up so that when it's time to farm, I get to farm. I spend too much time fixing broken stuff.
All this is possible, barring unforeseen catastrophe. It's the unforeseen catastrophe that gets me every time.