To say the past year and a half has been disruptive is... an understatement. I'm not sure where to start. A global pandemic, a contentious US election, an intensification of "right" vs "left", failures of the old employment paradigms, etc. etc. etc.
And many of us have lost family and friends, both to death and to ideologies, in these troubling times. No one has remained untouched by the disruptive course of events over the last year and a half. Continuing to trudge forward, our eyes ever on the small light at the end of the tunnel, hoping for some small relief around the next bend, is the only thing left for us.
With no disrespect to anyone who has ever lived in a war zone, this is all settling down to feel like we're becoming numb to the bombs and gunfire of military-like conflict. Even when you don't watch the daily news the issues of the day still weasel their way into your ears and eyes. The number of covid infected, number of covid deaths, spread of new variants... the bodies keep piling up. It seems inevitable to become numb to this tragedy.
We all have our coping strategies under times of stress. Mine has been to retreat from the world as much as possible. Moving to my farm just a few months before covid hit turned out to be a blessing. The just-under-an-hour commute I had for work (with Agnesian in Fond du Lac) was a motivator to find something closer, which eventually turned into seeking some gig work online. Just enough to pay the bills. Working at home the majority of my days has allowed me to take a step back and assess what's really important in my life.
Developing a plan to restore the natural ecosystem of the farm is now my top priority. This includes giving the fields a rest from row cropping, planting trees and shrubs along the field edges to buffer this space from spray drift, and increase the diversity of the pasture plants to encourage pollinators. These things will take many years to accomplish, and I fully expect this farm to be a work-in-progress for the rest of my life. Which isn't much, considering I'm now 53.
Working on establishing an income from the farm is also a more pertinent goal now. After trying a few things, mostly through thought experiments and researching food laws, I've come to find that growing mushrooms is my mojo sweet spot. My background in laboratory medicine fits perfectly with the process of growing mushrooms indoors. Culture plates, liquid cultures, grain spawn - all under HEPA filtration air flow - is right up my alley.
And managing the indoor grow tent is a fun challenge also. The little mushies need a near-constant 90% humidity, as well as copious fresh air ventilation. The mushrooms grow out from blocks of sawdust and soy hull nutrients in this amazing display of mycological beauty. When you first see these fruiting blocks busting with mushrooms it kind of takes your breath away.
So from here on out, depending on market conditions, I would very much like to continue growing these gorgeous oyster, shiitake, chestnut, etc. mushrooms for people to enjoy. They're beautiful. They're delicious. And they have a lot of health benefits.
In these times of upheaval, make sure you take a step back and think about what's really important in your life. For me it's my farm, and the natural flow of nature that wants to come back in. Generating revenue through mushroom production will help fuel that vision. The beauty of mushrooms will help bring back the beauty of this farm.
Reflecting on what will bring beauty into your life, in this time of disruptions, is now your challenge. Carpe diem.
Headliner image found in Time's Top 100 Photos of 2020. Photograph by Al Bello (Getty Images). A grandaughter hugging her grandmother through plastic film seemed like the one image that summed up the last year. We are all so close, and yet so far, from each other.
Image of mushrooms on logs in a forest is open source from dreamstime.com.