I hope y’all avoided significant damage with this week’s storm.  It was a rough one.  We scrambled to get our heads away from the window when the thunder started booming in an unsettling fashion during the wee hours.  We’ve both spent time in the hospital from electrocutions (her from lightning, me from a downed power line), so we have significant respect for lightning and do our best to get in safe spaces when it strikes close by. Fortunately we incurred no damage this time around.  Just mucky fields.

  We’ve been frantically digging up all our dahlia tubers this week to try and get them out of the field before even more rain comes next week.  It’s already tough enough to get them out of the current mud, but once a real sustained period of rain comes through, it’ll be exponentially more difficult and unpleasant.  Squishing and slipping, while fighting the suction of the mud to try and pull out 8,000 clumps of tubers, while the mud repeatedly attempts to hold you put and steal your boots is not a good time for anyone.  Not to mention the potential for rot and loss increases since winter fields don’t dry out much.  So we are working long hours to get them out now.  Fingers crossed we finish by the end of today, so we can work on other things this weekend.  Like cabins, coffee, doughnuts, pastries, and possibly the Comer Christmas parade. 

  I’m looking forward to getting this season’s big projects done, so I can start fixing myself.  It’s that point in the year where my body is screaming with tendonitis, fasciitis, arthritis, thoracic outlet syndrome and all the other fun things that constant use coupled with a lack of maintenance can leave you with.  If you are a young farmer, do better than me.  Don’t neglect your health.  You’ll need it if you keep farming for the long term.   Do yoga.  Get massages.  Find a good chiropractor.  Do strength training.  Don’t get tick-borne diseases.  I know.  Easier said than done.  But try.

  Rachel’s working on something exciting for the holidays that we’ll be announcing within the next few days.

  The puppies have all found homes with sweet and responsible people.  They are trickling out one or two at a time.  Mandy and I have both shed a tear as we’ve handed them over. Tunnels are still getting planted with later successions and we are fastidiously protecting them from frost and making sure they establish roots without over watering or under-watering them.  Alarms keep going off alerting us of abnormalities in temperature or with sensor battery issues, ensuring that we wake up at 3 a.m. most days to walk the cold night and try and solve the issues, and not get back to sleep.  If not alarms, it’s coyotes at the fence ensuring Mandy bolts upright and races out to defend the puppies with her knuckles.      Cotton tore a ligament chasing coyotes awhile back, so we have her locked up on the porch at night and Mandy is acting as her surrogate.

  Hence, our desire for coffee, doughnuts, and pastries this weekend.  Sometimes I feel like we are parents to 25 animals and 50,000 plant babies.  I know it's not really the same as being an actual parent, but I feel like there are some parallels. I can't think of another reason I’d consistently wake up in a mild panic and go be responsible and uncomfortable at 3 a.m.  

  The store is back open and Mandy spent every night this week filling the shelves and tables with new goodies and just generally making it pretty, so swing on by and poke around if you’re in the mood for a little holiday shopping.

  Oh, and last week I mentioned a small business that we love whose fundraiser was to start this week, but…it got postponed to January.  Once it goes live I will definitely share the info.  We are very excited at the prospect of having their amazing restaurant to dine at in Athens.

  That’s it from the farm! I hope your week has been good and your weekend goes even better.

-Steve