THE HEAD AND THE HEART
First, I see things in my heart,
then I see things in my mind.
My focus and energy go there,
My hands and body take over trying to make things real.
Obstacles arise, but the heart keeps me moving,
And somehow these things from the heart blossom into reality.
If this is the progression of things, then I would say that most of the winter has been spent with my mind trying to figure out the heart. I think that this is what winter is for. I am grateful that I have this farming lifestyle because it gives me the opportunity to live with the seasons. I get so excited when my mind finally glimpses and understands what’s coming from my heart. When understanding between the mind and heart align and you see the full picture it’s called “Vision”.
THE PEARS
All the trees are still happily dormant. During this time, every single tree must be pruned and we are making steady progress on this end. It’s only been interrupted by the snow storms a little. For a moment, I thought we would have to break out the snowshoes to finish pruning in time. Believe it or not, we have had to do this in the past, but thankfully, that hasn’t happened so far!
We have been busy doing a lot of planning, measuring, researching, and brainstorming. Since we bought our farm at the very beginning of spring last year, we had to just dive right into farming with all the existing infrastructure and limiting any big changes. This year, we are evaluating how it went and making infrastructure changes as needed.
First up is the frost protection system. The big windmill looking towers all over the valley are frost control machines. They take advantage of a “weather temperature inversion” (this is when the air is warmer as height goes up). The frost fans mix up the air enough to prevent the blossoms and delicate baby fruit from freezing and dying. We mapped out the topography and airflow to determine optimal frost fan placement. We ended up having to move them around and add a new one.
THE FLOWERS
Again, the focus here has been on planning and FINALLY selecting a location for the flower field; I’m SO happy with what we landed on. My husband and I selected it together... and after a lot of back and forth, we landed on a spot that’s absolutely STUNNING. The flower field plan is coming together and I can’t wait to share with you the varieties we are starting!
With love,
Yesenia
