Fresh Farmings 4/4
- Holly
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Fresh Farmings April 4 |
Hello Porch Swingers! Sing with me - Raindrops keep falling on my head... |
I've always been a reader, a lover of libraries. I'd read anything as a young person - trashy romance, mysteries, my mom's hand-me-down Stephen King novels. Some folks might say that I was too young for some of these, but I certainly accessed a lot of stuff that I wasn't learning in small town Arkansas.
A moment of honesty here. I used to read fast and burn through books. Nowadays, I'm pretty tired (old person) at night and about 20 pages is all I get through before my eyelids turn to lead.
Thought this would be a nice opportunity to share what I've been mainlining into my brain, either through my ears or via those 20 nightly pages.
I love to listen to books while I'm working. The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) has an amazing collection of audiobooks that I access through Libby.
This morning, I just finished Ann Patchett's Bel Canto. It was on the NYT list of best books of the last 25 years that I'm slowly working through. I won't spoil anything, but it lulled me into a warm, comforting place and then pulled the rug out from underneath me.
Aaron and I learned much about farming from reading - books, articles, researching who to talk to, even reviewing our own records. As you guys know, neither of us are business people. So more reading, right? What we're reading right now is Aaron's pick, Jim Collins' Good to Great. We have 2 great friends - Desi and Brenda - who both recommended it as guidance for our young business lives. We're early on in the book but are discussing it as we go. Aaron likes the part about asking lots of questions, and I'm a fan of getting the best people on the bus with you.
I'm also listening to, at the generous recommendation of Rich, Chris Hayes' The Sirens' Call. It is about the capacity for soul/mind-numbing distraction that the tiny computers in our pockets possess. I'm reminded of the documentary from a few years ago about the corn industry, King Corn. The connection is about who's controlling who here. We enable corn to prosper at the exclusion of other competition willingly in order to reap the rewards of many uses. We "spend" our attention on these little devices, tiny cogs in a broader economy of buying and selling your time. Also a thoughtful discussion of the difference between idleness and boredom.
What am I looking forward to reading? My darling SIL recommended Chelsea Handler's newest book, I'll Have What She's Having. I'm thinking a laugh or two would do me some good. ------------------------------- We had two losses in our larger family in the past couple of weeks. Our friends the Priebes' lost their much admired mother and grandmother Nancy. We were able to attend a lovely memorial in her honor this week. Hugs going out to that family.
We also lost a long-time theatre friend, Jonathan Smoots. A talented and generous actor who I had the pleasure of working with throughout my theatre career. Lots of love going out to Laura, his wife and our friend, and to the community that he was such a big part of.
While we're at it, go ahead and hug someone you love right now. No harm in it. Time is fleeting. ------------------------------- I am watching the weather closely, and it does look like we're due for more rain on Saturday. I'll be at the market rain or shine. If you want to speed up the process and get in and out quickly, go ahead and order now. If you pull up in front of my little meat shack and give a little honk, I'll run your order out to your car. One of the many services I provide.
We made nuts! I'll have Porch Swing Pecans at the market but also available for purchase online for pickup and shipping. Yeah!
We'll see you all at the Hillcrest Market this week 8-11 am. Thanks for all your support! |
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