Five years down.
Last year ended with at least one significant change for us.
That is, we moved. Of course, that doesn't just mean we have a new commute.
For five years we have been trying to build a farm while holding on to the knowledge that we would eventually be moving. Moving was always part of the plan. That set certain restraints on what we did.
For instance, everything needed to remain fairly mobile. It didn't make much sense to put in a foundation or a new well or long fences if we were just going to leave after a few years. It almost didn't even make sense to build up too much fertility in our fields. Small logistical headaches were put up with because, well, it just wasn't worth fixing.
Instead we put our time an energy into things we could take with us. Like technique. And knowledge. And systems. And social connections. Those things are all extremely valuable to a business and they can be moved from one location to another pretty easily.
And we simply grit our teeth and worked around the other inconveniences for the time being.
But now, our initial five years are up. And now, WE HAVE LAND!!!!
We can't even comprehend the changes this allows. It will take time for it to sink in.
And of course, just because we have land doesn't mean we can do just anything. There are still economics to think about. And ecology. And the fact that there are only so many hours in a day. And we are only a small handful of people...
But I have a hunch that the labor pains of this farm birth are behind us. I know from experience that there are still a lot of sleepless nights ahead, but at least the labor pains are done!