What the Folk? A weekly Wrap-up
Wednesday morning opened up with a beautiful sunrise. Bright orange and yellow filled the house. Then the sky turned dark. To the west a dark cloud filled the sky, foreboding, as I headed out the door.
The winds started to really pick up around 10. By 11 we had called it a day, forced to head in as the wind pushed harder and harder. Back at home the texts started to roll in.
“Looks like you got some damage”
“Hey Alex, there is a large piece of the roof hanging in front of the Farm Stand”
I could only wait as the wind raged on and our brave CSA members picked up their weekly shares.
The next day we surveyed the damage. The west side of our unheated greenhouse had been picked up from its ground supports and pancaked itself together. The east side end wall had completely blown out, twisting the structure ninety degrees and breaking several purlins. Overall we lost 25% of the structure and can salvage the remaining 75 feet. The roof of our farm stand is set at a perfect western angle. Wind found its way under the sheet metal and worked these panels backwards, bending them like pop cans. This damage is relatively superficial and shouldn’t require much more than replacing the metal sheets. Our homemade billboard also met its fate. The legs were snapped in half like toothpicks as the sign found relief from the wind on the ground. Honestly, we saw this happening eventually so it isn’t very surprising.
Folks Farm expanded a lot this year. We took on more projects and cut corners to make it happen. We put the hoophouse up tired from a long year and didn’t fully secure it. The billboard was a shot that simply wasn’t enough. The roof, well not much we could have done about that. There are clear lessons from freakish events like the windstorm to consider heading into a new year.
Consolidate. We are working towards bringing the loose ends together for 2022. Focusing our energy inwards and improving the strength of our systems. This week Rey and I have been moving houses. We had been living close to town and are now renting a property on a small chunk of land. The back lot will allow me to move the nursery, turning a 15 minute drive into a thirty second walk.
Before this storm we were getting ahead. Now, I am being called to slow down, focus on regrouping, rest, family, and friends. Solstice and the New Year are potent times to set intentions for the next season. A cosmic window when our reflections from the past are clear and the feelings raw.
A highlight from this week was meeting up with a brother in farm, my dude, Jared Hagood. I first met Hagood back in 2014 when we were both working on McCauley Family Farm. He is an exuberant man that has been running his own business for several years now. Farming with someone can mean spending lots of time together. Jared and I worked closely together for several years and probably know more about one another than we would like. The bonds created in the field can last a lifetime and it is so special to reminisce over seasons past with those you love. If you are looking for holiday gifts I would recommend checking out the clay pots of Lineage Seeds.