When sharing the story of our initiation into farming, Trefor often mentions that “we were unencumbered by knowledge.” And it’s true. We jumped in with enthusiasm and purpose, but no direct experience and little more than a basic understanding of what we were getting into.
On the whole, moving to rural Québec, stepping into homesteading, and launching our farm business has been a positive experience. We are blessed with daily experiences of profound gratitude, be it the feeling of crisp morning air, being on the receiving end of a side-eye from our dear llama Loretta, or witnessing yet another staggeringly beautiful sunset. Still, it has been a challenging season. Drought brought some stress and uncertainty, predators (hawks mostly) made raising pastured chicken difficult, and a second summer of roadwork in front of our farm saw many customers impeded from coming to us to get their eggs and honey.
As we marked five years in farming, we also found ourselves asking, “would we have made this leap if we’d known how hard it would be?”
I wish I could say we responded with a resounding “yes,” but that would be disingenuous. As new farmers and new farm business owners, we’ve worked harder than we ever have before, cried more tears than we could have imagined, and learned something tremendously important: This shit is hard. Really hard.
And still, we’re so grateful to be here. We love where we live and the community we are so fortunate to be a part of.
You see, while there is real awe in seeing a lamb being born, and great satisfaction in harvesting a massive red pepper, at the end of the day, it is the people with whom we are able to share this place make it all worthwhile.
So, as we enter this season of sharing and gratitude, we hope you’ll join us at one (or all!) of our upcoming events.
With thanks,
Karri
