Peace Amid the Chaos

Earlier today, Governor Kate Brown issued Executive Order No. 20-12, requiring certain retail businesses to cease operations, and ordering other businesses to comply with work-from-home and telework requirements, or impose social distancing in the workplace.  While for us here on the farm not much has changed in our daily lives my heart certainly goes out to so many others!  First off I’d like to remind everybody to take a deep breath, please don’t just read it, DO IT.  I know, that’s easy for me to say in my super isolated life, on our middle of nowhere farm away from the madness but I really do get it and here’s why.

I most often make the assumption that y’all know us and somewhat of what our life entails but I feel the need to explain right now, so bear with me.  Paul & I chose years ago to unplug from T.V. media.  It was a good move for us, but then there was the aspect of social media for our business so we reluctantly dove into that.  To be honest it’s been fun, scary and downright frustrating at times!  Right now, I’m extremely thankful for this platform.

Late winter, early spring is incredibly busy for us here, planning crops, seeding them, etc. so we tend not to focus on much of the outside world but that. Before Covid-19 hit we had already planned a trip to Rhode Island to attend our youngest son’s graduation as a Naval Officer, as parents there wasn’t much that could have kept us from attending that!  The flights were fine and we used extra precaution everywhere but there was just a bit of craziness in the air.  Of course, we wrote it off to the fact that we don’t travel much and this must be how the rest of the world is.

On our return flight, we safely landed in Medford, OR and needed to pick up some groceries in Grants Pass.  That’s when all of this became a reality! I was shocked at the grocery store and how people were reacting to each other!  Everyone was in a frenzy and all I can say was it was ‘me first give me mine’!   I truly had to resist the urge to jump up on the meat counter and yell for everyone to calm down and give them some encouraging words, but I resited with the same old mantra in my head (Shan, your not everyone’s mama, just smile and be kind, these people don’t know you and will just think your some crazy nut!)    The thought that still lingers in my head is what’s the worst that could have happened?  Some may have thought I was crazy and maybe some may have listened, like most things I guess I’ll never know.

As this pandemic has escalated we’ve been inundated with calls and e-mails asking if we’d have enough veggie starts, can we sell them locally etc.,   Please know we’ve been thankful for all of these!  This is where we truly can say,  take a deep breath, sit back and relax, we’ve got you covered!

As essential services, food and agriculture will continue to operate using all precautions provided by the Oregon Health Authority.  We have been advised to continue our business providing starts to local nurseries.  This includes not only food for the body, veggie & herb crops, but also food for the soul which are flowers!!!

       So the take away is, be patient with your local nurseries as they are working hard to keep shelves stocked with a commodity that can’t be produced overnight.

   There is great satisfaction in eating produce you have grown yourself, and it tastes so much better than what you can buy in the store!

    A productive edible garden can also be a relaxing and tranquil space and is a great way to learn about plants.  It’s also a healthy and satisfying way to spend more time outdoors, there is always something happening in your edible garden!

    Now that the kids are home from school, what a great time to give them a better understanding of where food comes from.  Young and old alike learn a great deal even just observing the way the garden grows and changes through the seasons.

    We’re all in this together and we will get through it!   If you have any questions on seed starting or gardening in general, please reach out to us.  We’re happy to help in any way we can.

Let’s all remember to be kind to each other, help each other and love one another!