Back to Busyness

I was planning on taking my time and posting pictures of our trip at a leisurely pace until my writer's block passed but so much has been going down on the farm since we got back, I wanted to get some of it down for posterity. We had my good friend from UNC, Mr. Brown, staying at our place while we traveled and taking care of the dogs, chickens, vegetables and my beloved sourdough starter. It was a huge blessing for us and the boys since they didn't have to go to a kennel and we didn't have to pay for one. Mr. Brown did a great job and we came home to almost 25 dozen eggs and all 20 chickens somehow managed to avoid death by fox, snake and chupacabra. I can imagine how lonesome it probably got up on the ridge here during the 17 days we were gone for with his only compnay being a redneck blue heeler and a german shepherd who smells like sauerkraut. Mr. Brown comes from Daytona Beach and I am pretty sure he didn't have much farm experience before he drove up to help us out, I was impressed to find out he did make some amigos at the local barber shop and even took a lady out to the metropolis of Hickory for dinner and a movie. One of the first things we did once we stumbled in the door was to throw our 2 weeks worth of traveling clothes in the wash. I only brought 2 pairs of jeans and I swear one of em was doing the stanky leg almost as good as my wife before I crammed them in the washer. We had planned on using a laundromat over in Spain but the Spanish aren't as big on self service laundromats as we had anticipated. Our repeated searches for "un lavanderia autoservicio" or "un lugar donde podemos lavar nuestro ropa (while making rapid scrubbing motions with our hands)" were met with blank stares for the most part. One very hospitable pension owner offered to let us use grandma's washer but since we had to depart early the next morning and they did not have a dryer, we had to politely decline the offer. To make a long story shorter, I ended up using liberal amounts of cologne in strategic places in order not to offend the nostrils of the Spanish and Portuguese. This is not a new problem at all though, April read how in the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela they employ an enormous incense burner on a long chain strung from the very top of the cathedral called a botafumeiro. When loaded with about 40 kg of charcoal and incense and swung like a deadly pendulum; it does a good job of masking the stench of pilgrims like us who may not have bathed or washed their hiking socks recently.

I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few voicemails and emails with orders for our jams and eggs upon our return home. It took me a good couple of hours to wash 25 dozen eggs but yesterday I had our first customer come out here to the farm to pick up 3 dozen. I threw in a free liter of my home-brewed lager with the eggs, I am not sure if that is a bonus or not but we hit it off discussing bread baking and his grandson's exploits in karate. Then a few minutes later, I got a call from a gentleman looking for 5 dozen, so I drove out to meet him in the Lowe's parking lot before my Lion's Club meeting and ended up chatting with him for a good 45 minutes too. Not the most efficient way of doing egg business but it sure beats waking up at 5:00am to sell at the Farmer's Market. The biggest and best surprise was a call from a lady I took the Master Gardener course with who was looking for something to use as party favors for her upcoming family reunion. She had purchased a jar of our spiced peach jam at the market and was interested in getting a variety of flavors and some spicy tomatillo salsa for her husband. She ended up ordering 20 jars and April and I spent Sunday afternoon peeling off the old "colorful modern" labels and replacing them with our new "old-fashioned" style labels so they would look sharp for her reunion. I think the success we had at the county fair has been really good for business and as discouraged as I have been at times about the viability of making money off the farm, a friend reminded me that it takes at least 5 years for a new business to really gain recognition and a strong customer base. So, we will just keep on keeping on. After the big jam order, I was amazed to get another call asking for as many of of our sweet pear jams as we had left from a different couple I had met selling at the farmers market. I was able to get 10 together but we are starting to run blessedly low on our stocks of jam in the pantry and much sooner than I ever expected as well. The final feather in the cap was this last weekend at the Lion's Club BBQ fundraiser where I was able to move some of the things I am not allowed to sell at the Farmer's Market like my pickles, relishes, apple sauce and apple butter. No one would try and shut down a BBQ fundraiser for the visually impaired so I set out my jars on the counter of the trailer where we were selling pulled pork sandwiches and plates and was able to move about 24 jars in 2 days. It may not be enough to pay the mortgage and lights but at least we are getting back the initial investment in jars, lids , 50lb bags of sugar and a little for our time and efforts as well. It feels like God decided to smile on us here a little bit after the pilgrimage we made to Santiago during the holy year. Plus, as I have been telling folks around here legend has it that doing a camino during un ano santo will get you a free pass through purgatory too when the time comes to meet St. Peter. That's a pretty good deal for walking 125 kilometers.