Hard Work and Gratitude
And new plastic for Valhalla
It can be hard to do and be several things at once.
Yet, that is something Tammy and I continue to attempt on a regular basis. It’s definitely a fine way to introduce stress and self-inflicted worry on yourself. But it is also filled with the potential of a variety of rewards for the effort. And it is never boring.
Our most recent “all-encompassing” project preempted our “other selves” this past weekend and our bodies are certainly feeling the physical and mental push. The reward, on the other hand, is going to be so worth it.
Valhalla has it’s cover once again. And it is a glorious sight as far as the Genuine Faux Farmers are concerned.
Back in March, we lost the plastic covering for both of our high tunnels (named Valhalla and Eden) at the Genuine Faux Farm. Because the weather was unsympathetic to our plight, I was able to be “Writer Rob” and “Advocate Rob” instead of “Farmer Rob” and I could use the situation to make a point or two.
As time marched on into April, it might have been apparent to some readers that the lack of a cover for both high tunnels was on my mind. For those who don’t do the small-scale, diversified farming thing - a high tunnel is a tool we use to extend our growing season. Normally, we would have been planting seeds and transplanting in our high tunnels in April. Instead, we were using calmer weather moments to remove torn plastic remnants, take out old wiggle wire, and to start the process of repairing both buildings where time and weather had damaged them.
We made the call to not put plastic on during a weekend that looked like it would be nice enough because there were predicted severe storms on the following Monday. Imagine how it would have felt to complete this task only to have it all destroyed just one day later. I think the word for that is “demoralizing.”
To be perfectly honest, the timing is probably working out for the best because - as I mentioned earlier - we’re trying to be many things at once. It is entirely likely that we could not have expected to be completely ready for this project any earlier than this past weekend. Or, more precisely, we probably should not have expected to be completely ready and still stay sane at the same time.
As it was, there was a great deal of repair and prep work that went on this past Friday and Saturday. And we did a pretty good job of it because when Sunday, May the 4th came around, the weather was glorious. And we were ready.
Tammy and I were up and running around as the sun came up, which was some point between five and six in the morning. Scarily enough, we woke up before the alarm.
I suspect we were a bit keyed up to get this project done.
Our crew of ten helpers began arriving around seven and the process of setting up scaffolding on the East side (the West was already done) and spreading out the new plastic commenced.
To make a long story less long, the process of skinning a high tunnel is relatively simple, but it has to be done on a very calm day. Even the tiniest bit of breeze can become a nightmare rapidly.
Once the plastic was spread out to one side of the building, we used tennis balls to tie ropes to the plastic. The other end of the rope was thrown over the building so we could pull the plastic up and over. Then, the crew had to pull on opposite ends of the plastic to stretch it out.
For context, the building is 96 feet long. So this is no small feat.
Once the plastic is tight enough, we started using “wiggle wire” to attach the plastic to the structure.
Easy as pie. Or something like that.
Needless to say, there was a lot of hand and arm strength used in this project. And, of course, there was climbing and multiple instances of kneeling and even a little crawling.
And now we can consider doing a little planting.
But first, there is relief that we’ve gotten this far, gratitude for all of the help we received and a small bit of pride that we can progress this far. Here’s to hard work and gratitude!
Like Phoenix ... (And if your muscles will allow, pat yourselves on the back!)
Congrats, done is good!