Our Motivation...

Our family of boys. Credit: Charles Caldwell photographer extraordinaire

It seems when ever I talk about our plans for our farm in Sharpsburg, I often get asked about the "whys?"...the "what is your reasoning/motivation?"..."are you crazy?" (yes)....etc..

Well, like I had mentioned in our very first ever blog, I have been growing everything that has ever produced a seed that I could get a hold of since I was a wee, little boy.  But it certainly helps having a supportive wife, who by the way, is just about as crazy as me.  Just about.  She calms me down when I get angry at the squirrels(which now, btw, is a struggle to even swerve when they are crossing the road because of what they have done to my corn) , encourages me to plant more when I have overestimated crop yield (do farmers really do that?), helps me tie up tomatoes, (good wives should always help tie up tomatoes, right? ), helps write, no..um, writes the business plan for the farm, all while holding back the proverbial iron skillet while I complain about something gone wrong outside.  WOW, betcha didn't think I could get that all in one sentence, did ya??

This is Mason. It this doesn't motivate you to action, nothing will.

The other, more serious motivation is the health of my boys. Yes, we have two of them, Camron and Mason. They do make life fun. Two years back, my youngest Mason, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma on his fourth birthday.   With out going into to too much detail, he is doing good now and very healthy. But this was a certain wake up call for us as a family. Part of the problem with cancer in general is that so many things can cause it. For instance:

• Genetics (or really, genetics gone wrong) - Uncontrollable
• Chemicals (exposure to household cleaners, etc...) - Controllable
• Pesticides (either food bought at the grocery store, synthetic pesticides used on my garden, etc..) - Controllable

See the trend. There are many more, but this is a good enough sample.  Anyway, the casual seven dust spraying as a knock down for infestation and the synthetic 10 10 10 fertilizer on my crops are now and have been a thing of the past for a few years.  We have gone "Organic".
But it is not just my son that has had this battle. They are many. And the challenge is getting the parents to buy/eat/feed good, righteous food to there family that can impact healthiness in a positive way instead of a negative.

God has set all these systems in place so that wrongs can be righted in a natural way.  We as people have chosen to make our solutions to these problems and we are now paying the price.  And trust me, I'm one of those "people" who has done it wrong.  But like most things, we are afforded a chance to change.  Hence my motivations.

Quote:

"That whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together." Author: Jonathan Swift