Journal SolemnDragon's Journal: Talking about farming 11

Farming is tough, he says. You have to work with the weather and the land. We don't make money in the winter. It's a thing you have to love, because the land gives back only enough, no more. You lose a lot of money on every crop, and you work hard for it- a good day is one where i get half of what i'd planned. You have to be everything- mechanic, builder, field worker. You fight for every little patch of earth and every little plant.

The weeds are your enemy. Like parasites, they creep into the rows, and every bit of growth they show is stolen from your plants- they take the nutrients that your crops need. You weed like a parent, ruthlessly and often, or your crops go hungry... and then you do, too.

Sometimes you rely on the weather. Other times, you rely on the 2+ miles of drip irrigation that you installed by hand. Again, tedious work. it's a lot of work. It's dirt and sweat and fight and removing rocks, it's sun and stones and bugs that you have to look up because you don't recognise them all on sight. It's pumpkins that become worthless Nov. 1, and miles of vines tangled up with your family and your self-worth.

It takes work to get things to grow- grueling work with no immediate result. It takes months for things to grow. You wait patiently, and frequently something goes wrong so you have to start all over and hope it goes better.

Then my friend had to go, he was a roofer that day, some shingles had blown off and he had to do some repairs.

Never let anybody tell you that your life is not a poem.