Date Night Revisited

A Faux Real Story

Last year I tried to give everyone some short stories for the holiday season. This was pre-Substack and I was rarely sure if anyone saw what I wrote. So, I thought I’d try it again with the newish (now almost one year) environment.

Now, before you discount them, these stories aren’t just any story - they’re Faux Real Stories! They aren't fictional, but I've been told they are, nonetheless, somewhat entertaining. So, sip on some hot chocolate, reach your hands out to warm them by the fire... and enjoy.

And yes, please subscribe or encourage others to subscribe. It’s a sure-fire way to encourage me to do more Faux Real Stories in the future!

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The Farmer “Time Zone”

Before the Genuine Faux Farm became such a big part of our lives, Tammy and I saw Friday as the gateway to the weekend, just as so many people do. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that Fridays were our most common day of the week for a date. But, once we started this vegetable and poultry farm thing, Fridays just didn't mean the same thing they used to.

GFF Fridays were often the precursor to the big farmer’s market until we modified our business plan and took those markets off of our list. But even after we stopped doing those markets, Fridays during the growing season were still full of farm activities. And now that I have an off-farm job, Fridays have become the entrance to the days we do most of our farm work because that’s when we have time to do it.

Yes, those days would be the weekend for most of the rest of the world.

I recognize that most people don’t exactly understand what I am talking about, and that’s fine. I usually just ask that you accept the idea that operating a farm puts the farmer into a different time zone. It doesn’t matter if they reside in Pacific, Central or European Time Zones - there is a special Farmer Time Zone that often has nothing to do with how the rest of the world works. Our perspective on things like weekends are just different.

Similarly, the concept of a going out on a date changed for us. The good news is that date nights don’t have to be during a weekend - they can be any night you chose. But when you farm, date nights have to be worked in and around chores and whatever else the farm requires.

And that brings me to today’s Faux Real Story.

One early May night in 2013 began with a wild flurry to get the truck loaded for our plant sale down at Hansen's Outlet in Cedar Falls. We were also delivering egg orders and our Spring CSA shares. While we were at it, we delivered lettuce and asparagus to a restaurant and a retail outlet. Nearly everyone who placed orders showed up, many plants were purchased, and we were able to converse with many wonderful people.

This process of combining tasks into one trip should be familiar to other growers of local food. We were doing everything we could to make each departure from the farm worth our time. And, if we could attach other things to that trip - like picking up some supplies or enjoying a dinner together - we would do it.

And so, after the sales, we reloaded the truck and made short work of the deliveries. Then, we actually managed to go somewhere for dinner. But we did so with the knowledge that rain was coming *and* we still had to prepare for the Waverly Farmers' Market the next morning. We ate fairly quickly and rolled home, keeping a wary eye towards the clouds looming in the west.

Veggie cleaning by candlelight

While days in May are long, we found ourselves running short on light to do our work this particular evening. Not only were the dark clouds in the west covering what was left of the day’s sunlight, we started the cleaning process at 9:15 PM. This suggests to me that we were probably asking for some problems with available natural light regardless of the weather. So, we grabbed a trouble light and an extension cord and hung it up so we could (mostly) see what we were doing.

That's when Tammy told me that she thought it was romantic to be cleaning veggies by "candlelight."

Ok, maybe she didn't really think it was romantic. I suspect there was some sarcasm at play here. But, it was still part of our Date Night.

To make a long story less long, it started to rain at about 9:30 PM - and our cleaning area was outside. It was a moment in time where we were both amused and irritated by the situation.

It's better if we emphasize the amused part.

Always more to it than that

This is, of course, the abbreviated version of Date Night. I failed to mention the romantic interlude where we put the hens into their night time sanctuary. And I neglected to tell you about the tender moment when we checked in on the chicks to make sure the temperatures in the brooder room were steady. Then there was the heavy breathing that was a result of a dash out to the high tunnel to close it down just in case there was wind in those clouds.

We even touched hands once in a while as we passed containers and unpurchased plants out of the truck so we could clean the truck bed and start REPACKING it for the next morning.

I am sure we both will move forward in our lives with fond memories of this particular Date Night. Although my remembrance gets a bit foggy during the latter portion where we both took showers (separately) and collapsed into bed (together). I suspect we were both mostly asleep before we made contact with the mattress. But the rest of Date Night was assuredly most memorable.

Memorable enough that we have a Faux Real Story recounting a very romantic evening for the two of us. That’s got to count for something!

Perspective

As I mentioned in the introduction, we eventually removed farmers' markets (except for Spring plant sales) from our list, which provided us with a new perspective on weekends and, of course, Date Night. That's not to say there weren't still plenty of opportunities to gaze lovingly into each other's eyes while our hands were thrust into icy water so we could get another thirty pounds of lettuce cleaned and packed for some reason or another.

Things are different now. Our opportunities for late-night veggie cleaning after making numerous farm deliveries have dwindled. Yet, we still have plenty of opportunities to spend quality time together.

Maybe we could clean the turkey room out this weekend? We could start Friday night! Does that count as a date?

That's me - ever the romantic.