Simon is not a farmer.

So after five months on the farm I finally reached this conclusion, at a concert in Northampton, MA while talking to my friend Toby. She had gone through a simlar process and also realized that farming is really too feckin’ hard.

Earlier that day I had spent the afternoon visiting a farm for a possible apprenticeship next year. The place was amazing and I would definitely finish the year with all the skills I need to actually run my own farm, but as I was mulling the possibility over I got a huge pit in my stomach. Once again I would be uprooting myself to a new place and even though this farm is a lot closer to bigger towns than Cedar Circle it would still be socially alienating.

I was fully aware before I moved out here about how difficult farming is, but I honestly did think it was something I wanted to. I still want to be growing veggies in some capacity, just not as a full time all encompassing occupation. If I wanted to be a full time farmer I would basically have to sacrifice all other aspects of my life and I’m just not ready to do that. So what next?

I had this idea today. Farmer Simon is going to have an online contest. Send me your ideas of what I should with the rest of my life and I will take the best suggestion and try to follow if through. It has to be related to food and agriculture although I would consider exotic dancing on a temporary basis.

In late October I will pack up my car once again to begin an extended vacation/cross country trip. I hope to land in the Bay Area again sometime in mid November to drop off my car and then head to England and Italy to fulfill my familial visiting obligations for the next year.

Here’s the exciting part. In December, Brooke and I are embarking on a traveling adventure to Brazil!! Brazil has been top of my destinations list for years and now it’s going to finally happen. Brooke has to get back to school after three weeks, but I plan to keep on going until get restless or run out of money. Probably until March.

So fall has finally descended on Cedar Circle farm after a hot, sweaty and dry summer. Got down to 40 degrees last night and although it’s still 70’s and sometimes 80’s in the day the leaves are starting to change color. Soon hordes of leaf peekers will head up to this parts. My parents are coming for a peek in October.

We still have a lot of crops in the field, but things are definitely slowing down. The tomato plants are on their last legs, peppers, eggplant and corn are close behind. We still have about five weeks left on our CSA and it’s going to be a stretch to keep the baskets filled. Lots of winter squash, onions, salad stuff and of course the perennial favorite Kale.

Our days are still occupied with a morning harvest, but our duties are switching to shutting down the farm. We’re pulling up irrigation tape from the fields, plowing in crops which have stopped producing, and taking care of the fall crops that will be fighting nightly frosts in a few weeks. Now looking back on the year (even though it’s far from over) I realize that I have learned a lot more than I thought I had. I still can’t hammer a nail into a piece of wood, but I know a lot of other stuff.

Farmer Simon

Here's a list. Some great movies i saw this summer.

1. Vera Drake
2. Fitzcarraldo
3. Ma Vie En Rose
4. Farmers and Their Diversified Horticultural Marketing Strategies.
5. Weeds gone wild (Vol. 4 in Daytona Beach)
6. Bad Education
7. The Bicycle Thief
8. Four Days in September
9. Born into Brothels
10. Dave Chapelle Show