By Arden Rosenthal, Community Fellow
As far as I know, farming is one of the few jobs in the United States that allows you to actually live with the seasons. Most other jobs demand the same level of productivity in the winter, when most other mammals are resting, as in the summer.
Farming, however, is limited by the seasons and changing weather patterns–a blessing and a curse. While tunnels and other forms of season extension have made winter production possible, it is a fraction of the work needed for the abundance of summer.
For me, a person’s whose pay and livelihood is not dependent on the sale of produce, this winter lull is a welcome friend. Being able to actually take a step back and (somewhat) rest as days are shorter and colder has given me a sense of peace and connection with nature I have never felt.
While I’ve always enjoyed Spring, I’ve never anticipated it or sensed it with such enthusiasm. As Spring makes its way into town and the frost begins to melt, I feel some sunshine coming back into my life as well. I am eager for that first transplanting of flowers on April 16, and our first harvest (hopefully) at the end of May. I can feel myself starting to wake up again, and I feel like I am truly a part of nature. Of course, I always have been, but have never felt like it before.
I’m sure that this mentality will completely shift in the height of summer: when the plants begin to wilt in the heat, so will I. But for now, I’m trying to embrace the joys of living and moving with the seasons, the way we were always meant to be.