Why I Farm

"A farmer who was interviewing a candidate for a field job asked her why she wanted to work with flowers. She responded that she found working with flowers so peaceful and therapeutic. 'This isn't therapy,' the farmer told her. 'This is commercial floriculture.'
To an outsider, growing flowers for a living may seem idyllic. To the experienced grower, though, flower farming is like any other kind of farming - it entails hard work, long hours, physical discomfort, a frequently a high level of stress. Of course like any farming, it also offers personal freedom, the opportunity to work outdoors, a direct relationship between hard work and income, and the feeling of fulfillment that comes from producing something tangible. "
From The Flower Farmer by Lynn Byczynski


I wanted to share this excerpt because it explains quite perfectly what I go through daily, especially lately.

Peaceful, farming is not. Therapeutic, farming is not.

Hard, farming is. Physically tiring, farming is. Stressful, farming is.

So why do I farm? Because I love being free to pursue what I like, I love being outdoors, I love knowing at the end of the week that I worked hard to pay for what I have, and I love producing something. Producing something that is aesthetically pleasing is just an added benefit (that I often do not get to enjoy).