I spend the last 5 weeks harvesting vegetables, in few sunny, mostly misty rainy mornings.
Why?
To learn something new and get an inside into a part of agriculture I haven’t had yet. Of workflows and needs. Also, a warm place to stay and good food to eat with people we like.
But really? I have a crush.
Touching the soil and feeling the morning dew on the fresh plants. Observing the ecosystem while carrying back and forth crates filled with vegetables. Watching geese in their v-shape above. Listening to the sound of rustling leaves, still clinging onto the branches.
Every time when working with and on a farm, it’s the beginning of a relationship I have with the land. Like going on a first date.
Sometimes I wonder what establishes first. The relationship with the land steward and me or their land and me.
When we go on first dates as well as in a good relationship, we care about the other. We will sit there and listen. We notice small changes in behavior, in mood and expression. We make an effort in being there for them.
When we are too much occupied with our own thoughts and our own voice, we stop listening to the person in front of us. We will maybe hear their words, but already think about what we want to say or want to move on with whatever we have in mind.
Same with the land.
There are numbers and measurements, soil tests and satellite surveillance. Recommendations on brief observations.
There is so much more to do.
Yet, when we step onto the land, when we sit with it, listen and observe its different moods and weathers, we are getting back into the relationship. We start to sense so much more than we can put in words.
And we know we can do this. When we step into a room with people, we “know” if we interrupted a sad, angry or joyful conversation. Often we “know” how our partner is feeling just by looking at their backs.
The same senses we can use when working with land and animals. When we care, we get a different kind of knowing what would be the next best action, tool, or decision to make in this relationship,
If it’s a new crush or rekindling our love, have you taken your land on a date lately?
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