Lots of little checks.....................

A few weeks ago, I heard Lisa Kivirist talk about women in agriculture.... particularly, organic and sustainable agriculture.

One point that really hit home to me ......... was that their income was made up of lots of little checks.

Yea. 

I think many people look at my farm and see.......... flowers.  And flowers are an important part of the farm.  But flowers bloom in my garden for roughly 5 months out of the year.  So from October to June, where does the money come?

My grandparents farmed during the Depression.  On Saturdays, my mother and her three sisters would take off on horseback and deliver farm-fresh goods to the neighbors.  Eggs and butter, freshly-dressed chickens and baked goods.  She sold a wedding cake here.  A birthday cake there. My grandmother was the queen of little checks.  She would open her home to strangers and sell and serve holiday meals at her dining room table.

I want to be the queen of little checks.

And I am learning.  I spin some yarn.  I knit a scarf.  I sell some eggs.  I teach a class.

Little checks.

It's extending seasons ......... value-added agriculture ..... learning new skills.

And all the while..... I have to be true to myself and the vision of my farm.

For Christmas, Honey and I are giving each other the gift of a new skill.  We are learning to cane.  And since there are truly 15 billion chairs in our home that need seats..... we will have lots of practice time!  A new skill.  And maybe more little checks in the future.

Its funny .......... for decades we went to work at the same place.  Did the same job daily. Spent thirty years there.  Brought home a gold watch. 

And now, like my grandmother........ our lives are the accumulation of many skills and talents.

And lots of little checks.