Farm Meditation: Retreating from the Chaos

We have passed the Winter Solstice, Hanukah, and Christmas, and are headed full steam ahead into New Year’s. Yet here in Southern Iowa, winter hasn’t really arrived. Everywhere is brown or gray and a bit droopy looking, with little cold or snow.

A bird is singing outside like she is hailing the coming of spring. And we found huge tadpoles yesterday by the pond, their bloated bodies ready to transition to frogdom any minute in the unfrozen waters.

I hope snowy winters have not left this part of the world forever. The past few have been mild, so mild that snow hardly stayed on the ground for more than a day. Which is problematic in more ways than you think. Yes, it deprives me of my great love: skiing of all kinds—down big hills, across latent soybean fields, and through oak forests.

Cattle, hanging out on another gray day

But more than a personal woe, the lack of cold and snow will likely bring new issues to our neck of the woods. The absence of a real freeze means pests can overwinter in farm fields, and months without snow might mean an even more serious drought.

According to Iowa State University, the planet--and Iowa—are warming. While this does not mean that every winter and every day is hotter than the previous year, it does mean that significant changes are clearly happening. According to ISU:

Winters have warmed more than any other season. Falls have warmed more than springs. Summers have essentially remained unchanged, but this is expected to change in the future. Also, nights have warmed faster than days.

The Midwest is projected to see the largest future increases in temperatures in the US.

I will stop quoting the article there, as it warns of hotter summers, the kind none of us want to think about. And all by 2050.

Add to this dire climate prediction the current state of politics—with the world seemingly on the brink of war—and a nauseating election cycle coming up, and it is making for an anxious new year. In fact, I can’t quite recall a time in my life when I dreaded the coming year more.

2024 might just suck the big one.

Sadly, I can only hope that I am just being dramatic. But what I do know for certain is that we are all going to have to find ways to cope, to again (or more deeply) pull out our soulful magnifying lenses, and focus on the good and the beautiful amidst the doom and gloom. If we are going to hear about the bad everywhere we go, we also need a place to see—and feel—awe.

Luckily we have the farm. This spring and summer that respite is going to be in the garden where I will nurture little seedlings, and grow them out to be delicious and healthy foods for the world to enjoy. A place where the magic of life will take back the balance of power.

I’ve just received my first seeds in the mail, the packages full of thousands of tiny seeds with huge potential. Among them are some of the staples for our farm: green beans, kale, onions, and crunchy pickling cucumbers.

There are also the stand-out favorites our customers love, like sun gold cherry tomatoes—sweet and tart, which make the most amazing tomato spread when slow-roasted with garlic, basil, and olive oil.

And the melons…oh the melons!! Yellow fleshed Watermelons that John grows and the crowd pleaser Brilliant melons I adore.

The Brilliant melons in the garden last year

Along with spending time with the plants outdoors, part of my keeping-sane plan also includes people…people who come to the farm to cook or eat, write or garden, those also looking for a retreat and a day (or two) away from the “Real World.” I can’t wait for our Writing Retreats, and for the Rabbie Burns party, in which John will pull out his best Scottish accent and cook up a storm. Hilarious hijinks will ensue, and we will laugh, which of course is good for us all.

This is how I will take care of myself, so that I will then have energy for taking care of others: goats and dogs, neighbors and family.

What about you? What will help ground you in the coming year? Which activities will you do to retreat from the chaos of the world?

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If you are interested in learning more about what we sell at the farm or want to see our schedule of events (including classes and hearing about when veggie boxes are available), check out the Whippoorwill Creek Farm website and sign up for our blog.

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